The Micro Games

I’ve missed out on two Olympics while I’ve been on Pohnpei, but this month I got to watch Micronesia’s version of the Olympics – The Micro Games!

I can’t really overstate what a big deal this is here. There’s been a countdown outside the government buildings for the past year (since I knew I would be leaving Pohnpei around the same time as the Micro Games, it was a strange reminder of my impending COS).

The four states of FSM, Marshall Islands, Palau, Nauru, Kiribati, Northern Mariana Islands, and Guam all competed here on Pohnpei. There were standard events like track and field, basketball, volleyball, swimming, etc, and also traditional Micronesian events like spear fishing, canoe racing, and the “Micronesian All-Around” that consisted of coconut husking, swimming, tree climbing, spear throwing, etc. (Pohnpei won gold in the all-around, by the way.) 

Speedy coconut husking

A rainy day for a canoe race

The crowd watching the volleyball game

Pohnpei did quite well in the medal count – I think 2^nd in gold medals after the mighty Guam. But this was little comfort to many of my family members who were focused solely on volleyball and basketball. Guam swept both of these sports in both the women’s and men’s divisions.

This being Pohnpei, the crowds always showed the most excitement for the dancing spectators during breaks in the game. The first thing my nohno would ask when I got home was not “Who won?” but “Did you dance?” They need a dancing event at the next Micro Games!