The Tuvalu Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee (TASNOC) is the Tuvaluan organization recognized as a National Olympic Committee (NOC) by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). In 2006,

Tuvalu Tuvalu ( or ; formerly known as the Ellice Islands) is an island country and microstate in the Polynesian subregion of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. Its islands are situated about midway between Hawaii and Australia. They lie east-northeast ...

satisfied the IOC's criterion of a minimum five national sports federations recognized by their international sports federations, which included

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

, volleyball,

weightlifting Weightlifting generally refers to activities in which people lift Weight training#Equipment, weights, often in the form of dumbbells or barbells. People lift various kinds of weights for a variety of different reasons. These may include various t ...

, boxing and table tennis. TASNOC is a signatory to the World Anti-Doping Code published by the

World Anti-Doping Agency The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA; french: Agence mondiale antidopage, AMA) is a foundation initiated by the International Olympic Committee based in Canada to promote, coordinate, and monitor the fight against drugs in sports. The agency's key ...

History

TASNOC came into existence when the ''Tuvalu Amateur Sport Association'' or ''Tuvalu Association of Sports'' (TAS) was recognized as the ''Tuvalu National Olympic Committee'' on 16 July 2007. Robert Laupula managed the Tuvalu Sports Association and the application for membership of the Olympic movement, which was co-ordinated by the

Oceania National Olympic Committees The Oceania National Olympic Committees (acronym: ONOC) is an international organization that congregates the 17 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) of Oceania. It often assembles with other continental NOCs in the form of the Association of Nati ...

. Geoffrey Ludbrook, who represented Tuvalu at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne in the men's 50m Rifle Prone event, worked with the

Oceania Shooting Federation Oceania (, , ) is a geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern and Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of and a population of around 44.5 million as of ...

so that the Tuvalu Shooting Association obtained full membership of the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) in 2007. In 2013, Tuvalu was granted Associate status in the

Oceania Continent Handball Federation The Oceania Continent Handball Federation (OCHF) is the governing body for the Olympic sport of Handball in Oceania. It was founded in 2014 and is affiliated to the International Handball Federation (IHF). The OCHF is administered by an executiv ...

by the

International Handball Federation The International Handball Federation (IHF) is the administrative and controlling body for handball and beach handball. IHF is responsible for the organisation of handball's major international tournaments, notably the IHF World Men's Handball C ...

Facilities and management

Tuvalu has one sporting field close to the airport. Athletes also train on the airport tarmac, the beach, or on a road. TASNOC's Secretary General said the following about the biggest challenges the committee faces: "I think it's finance and facilities, sporting facilities." The athletes do not have access to nutritionists, physiotherapists, and sports psychologists. They talk with the pastors of the church for guidance. In 2007, the Secretary General of the Tuvalu National Olympic Committee was Nakibae Kitiseni. The Secretary General in 2012 was Teake Esene Manatu, who was succeeded by Isala T. Isala on April 3, 2014. The Secretary General is responsible for the logistics of the Tuvalu Games, as well as the logistics when athletes participate in regional and international competitions. They are also in charge of talent acquisition and recruiting.

Kausea Natano Kausea Natano (born 5 July 1957) is a Tuvaluan politician who is serving as Prime Minister of Tuvalu, in office since 19 September 2019. He is also serving as an MP for Funafuti, having also served as the country's deputy prime minister and mini ...

was TASNOC's President in 2007. Ampelosa Tehulu, from the Tuvalu Basketball Sports Federation, was elected President of TASNOC on 5 March 2015.

Eselealofa Apinelu Eselealofa 'Ese' Apinelu is a Tuvaluan lawyer and sports official. Apinelu attended The Cathedral School, Townsville, Queensland, Australia. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws from the University of Tasmania in 1998. She is ...

was the immediate past President. Iakopo Molotii was elected President of TASNOC on September 9, 2016. The annual budget of TASNOC is 10,000 Australian dollars.

Events

Olympics

participates in the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

in the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

and have not competed at the

Winter Games ''Winter Games'' is a sports video game developed by Epyx (and released in Europe by U.S. Gold), based on sports featured in the Winter Olympic Games. A snow-and-ice themed follow-up to the highly successful '' Summer Games'', ''Winter Games'' ...

. Tuvalu entered the Olympic Games for the first time at the 2008 Summer Games in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, China, with a weightlifter and two athletes in the men's and women's 100-metre sprints. A team with athletes in the same events represented

Tuvalu at the 2012 Summer Olympics Tuvalu competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, which was held from 27 July to 12 August 2012. The country's participation at London marked its second appearance in the Summer Olympics since its debut at the 2008 Summer Olympics. The del ...

, in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, United Kingdom.

Etimoni Timuani Etimoni Timuani (born 14 October 1991 in Funafuti)Etimoni Timuani , Profile

represented Tuvalu at

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

in the 100 metre event. Tuvalu was the only country to send one competitor to the 2016 Summer Olympics.Etimoni Timuani
. rio2016.com Tuvalu was represented in athletic events at the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

Karalo Maibuca Karalo Hepoiteloto Maibuca Junior (born 10 June 1999) is a Tuvaluan sprinter. He is the son of Ratu Karalo Maibuca Senior, a Fijian, and a mother from Kioa. He was selected to compete at the 2020 Summer Olympics and was given the honour of being ...

in the men’s 100 metres, and

Matie Stanley Matie Stanley (born 4 May 2003) is a Tuvaluan sprinter. She was selected to compete in the women's 100 metres at the 2020 Summer Games and was given the honour of being the flag bearer for her nation in the opening ceremony alongside Karalo Ma ...

in the women’s 100 metres.

Pacific Games

TASNOC organizes Tuvalu's participation in the

Pacific Games The Pacific Games (French: Jeux du Pacifique), is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from Oceania. The inaugural Games took place in 1963 in Suva, Fiji, and most recently in 2019 in Apia, Samoa. The Games were ...

, and they have participated in six Games. The association is responsible for training the athletes and preparation for the Games. Tuvalu arrived at the 2015 Pacific Games two hours before the Opening Ceremony due to a cyclone that affected the team's travel. They earned their first ever gold medal at the games when

Telupe Iosefa Telupe Iosefa (born 1 November 1986, in Nukulaelae) is a Tuvaluan powerlifter. In 2015 Telupe Iosefa received the first ever gold medal won by Tuvalu at the Pacific Games in the powerlifting 120 kg male division. Career The Tuvalu Weightli ...

won the powerlifting competition.

Tuvalu Commonwealth Games Association

TASNOC is also responsible for organising Tuvalu's participation in the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

and the

Commonwealth Youth Games The Commonwealth Youth Games (CYG) is an international multi-sport event organized by the Commonwealth Games Federation. The games were held in the years, mid-way between when the Commonwealth Games are held, until 2008. They continued to be held ...

. Tuvalu joined the

Commonwealth Games Federation The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), currently known as Commonwealth Sport, is the international organisation responsible for the direction and control of the Commonwealth Games and Commonwealth Youth Games, and is governing body of the ...

and first participated in the Commonwealth Games in 1998, when a weightlifter attended the games held at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

has subsequently sent teams to compete in every

since 2002. They have participated in table tennis, athletics, shooting, weightlifting, boxing and beach volleyball.

Affiliations

Tuvalu Athletics Association The Tuvalu Athletics Association (TAA) is the governing body for the sport of athletics in the Tuvalu. History A combined Gilbert and Ellice Islands team participated already at the 1963, 1966, and 1971 South Pacific Games. An athlete f ...

(TAA) *

References

{{Sports governing bodies in Tuvalu

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

Committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

Sports organizations established in 2007 2007 establishments in Tuvalu