Sports in Fiji Trivia Quiz

Answer: Men's Rugby Sevens

The Rugby Union Sevens was first contested at Rio de Janeiro and the flamboyant Fijians took all before them. They were unbeaten in the group stage, and then knocked off the World Champions, New Zealand, in the quarter-finals. They beat Japan in the semi-final, before hammering Great Britain in the gold medal match. They won 43-7! Four years later in Tokyo, they showed that their previous win was no fluke, defeating rugby heavyweights Australia and Argentina, before picking up their second successive gold medal, defeating New Zealand in a very entertaining final.

The Fijian women's team are no slouches either, claiming the bronze at Tokyo.
Fiji has been represented at almost every Games since 1956, and had never won a medal of ANY colour prior to the Sevens.

This scrum-ptious question was written by ozzz2002, for Phoenix Rising team's 2022 World Tour.

Answer: Outrigger canoe paddling

A simple outrigger canoe is made of a hollowed out tree trunk with a pole and float on one side, effectively creating a catamaran. In Va'a, the canoes are paddled but when a sail is added it is called a camakau. In ancient times, local Fijians used the canoes for fishing, trade and transport. Outrigger canoes are not limited to Fiji but can be found all around the Pacific. There are around six outrigger canoe clubs in Fiji and the sport is managed by a National body. Va'a has been contested at the Pacific Games (formerly South Pacific Games) since 1995.

This question was paddled into the quiz by leith90 of Phoenix Rising's Red Crew who found that getting out of an outrigger was far easier than getting in, but it involved getting wet and losing all dignity.

Answer: 1963

1963 was the first year of the Games, which was the brainchild of Dr A.H. Sahu Khan of Fiji, and thus the first iteration was held in Suva. The Fijian team won over 80 medals; Papua New Guinea was next on the roster with 30+ medals. Sports in the Games that year included swimming, track, boxing, basketball (netball) and men's volleyball.

Answer: Vijay Singh

Vijay Singh was born on the Fijian island of Viti Levu in 1963 and in addition to excelling on the PGA Tour, Singh also had 13 wins on the European Tour and five wins on the Asian Tour. Singh held the number one ranking in the world for 32 weeks in 2004 and 2005 and he was known for his work ethic that involved him practicing for hours on days in which he was competing in a tournament.

This question was putted into the quiz by Phoenix Rising teammate and Red Crew member Triviaballer as part of the team's 2022 World Tour.

Answer: Jimmy 'Superfly' Snuka

Jimmy 'Superfly' Snuka was born on May 18th, 1943, in Suva on Fiji. He spent a lot of time wrestling for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF - now WWE). Following his arrest for the 1983 murder of Nancy Argentino, his girlfriend, in 2015, he was removed from the WWF Hall of Fame. A diagnosis of dementia meant that he was found unfit to stand trial, and he subsequently died in 2017, at the age of 73. As well as 'Superfly', he also had the ring names 'Jimmy Kealoha' and 'Great Snuka' among others.

Red Crew's smpdit listened for the bell, and wrestled this into the quiz.

Answer: Lote Tuqiri

Starting his career in rugby league, he moved to rugby union and then later returned to rugby league. Tuqiri has appeared in several World Cups. In addition to playing for Fiji and Australia, he has signed with teams in England and Ireland as well. He suffered several injuries in the 2011-13 seasons. In 2014, he was the oldest player in the National Rugby League. All of the incorrect answers are players who have also switched from rugby league to rugby union.

Player pusdoc learned what a cap and a try are in order to toss this question into the quiz.

Answer: Bati

Bati translates as 'warrior'.

The team has had moderate success on the international stage, recording wins against New Zealand, Italy and USA in 2017. Many of the team names are copied from teams in the Australian National Rugby League (NRL), such as Nadi Eels (same as Parramatta), Nabua Broncos (Brisbane), Sabeto Roosters (Sydney).
The Kumuls represent Papua New Guinea. A kumul is a spectacular bird, known as the Bird of Paradise. The Wolverines are Canadian and the Azzurri (meaning 'blue') are from Italy.

Phoenix Rising Red Team member. ozzz2002, converted this question into a try.

Answer: Windsurfing

He was one of only two Fijians to be rated Number One in his sport (golfer Vijay Singh was the other), when he won five successive titles in the early 1990s. He was the flagbearer at the 2000 Olympics, as recognition of representing his country for the fifth time. He is a member of the Fiji Sporting Hall of Fame, and was twice voted Fiji Sportsman of the Year.

Answer: Bobby Singh

Bobby Singh was born in Suva, Fiji. He was drafted into the Canadian Football League but decided to forego the CFL for the National Football League and signed with the St Louis Rams. He was on the St Louis Rams practice roster when they won Super Bowl XXXIV. After recovering from surgery, he was cut from the roster and entered the XFL. He was a guard for the Los Angeles Xtreme when they won the XFL Million Dollar Game. That game was the only championship for the XFL. Singh made his way to the Canadian Football League. His team won the 2006 Grey Cup when he played for the Canadian Football League's BC Lions. Singh played several seasons with various teams in the CFL. Tommy Maddox, Jose Cortez and Oteman Sampson were all players in the XFL championship game.

Jaknginger punted this question into the Red Crew of Phoenix Rising's Global Tour quiz.

Answer: Sprinting

Niko Verekauta was born on the Fijian island of Kadavu in 1987 and he was one of the best sprinters in the Pacific region during the 2000s. At the same Pacific Games held in Apia, Samoa in 2007, Verekauta was a member of the Fijian relay teams in the 4x100 and 4x400 that also won a gold medal. He bested his four gold medal total from 2007 by earning five gold medals at the 2009 Pacific Mini Games held in Rarotonga, Cook Islands.

This question was sprinted into the quiz by Phoenix Rising teammate and Red Crew member Triviaballer as part of the team's 2022 World Tour.