Sport in the fenua: where to follow Polynesian sport

Polynesian sport is followed mainly in French, sometimes in Tahitian, through Tahiti Infos, Radio1, TNTV and Polynésie la 1ère, backed up by the football and va'a federation websites and by the Olympic Committee of French Polynesia.

From canoes to stadiums: a long tradition of coverage

Outrigger canoe races and the traditional sports of the Heiva long filled the pages of Papeete's newspapers. Football, cycling and athletics earned their place there in the post-war years, before local radio and television began broadcasting competitions live to island audiences.

Which general news outlets cover sport?

Tahiti Infos runs a daily sports section fed by correspondents inside the clubs. Radio1 airs results and interviews, while the newsrooms of TNTV and Polynésie la 1ère produce weekly magazine programmes devoted to the local championships and to the island's national teams.

Tahitian football and its leading clubs

The Tahitian Football Federation runs the local Ligue 1, where sides such as AS Pirae, AS Tefana, AS Vénus and AS Central Sport compete. The 2012 continental title earned Tahiti a place at the 2013 Confederations Cup in Brazil, a memorable episode.

Va'a, king of lagoon sports

Polynesian outrigger canoeing keeps clubs, sponsors and media busy all year round. Every autumn the Hawaiki Nui Va'a links Huahine, Raiatea, Taha'a and Bora Bora, and the Tahitian Va'a Federation publishes the calendars and rankings that radio and television then pick up.

Teahupo'o, a world-famous wave

On the Tahiti peninsula, the Teahupo'o wave regularly hosts a stop on the professional surfing tour and staged the Olympic event of the Paris 2024 Games. Tahitian surfer Kauli Vaast's gold medal there triggered exceptional media coverage across the islands.

Following the Pacific Games and Oceania

The Olympic Committee of French Polynesia coordinates the team sent to the Pacific Games, which Papeete hosted in 1971 and 1995. To compare results with New Caledonia or Fiji, our portal of news media across Oceania makes a useful starting point.

Television and live broadcasts

TNTV and Polynésie la 1ère share live coverage of the big local finals, va'a race finishes and occasionally national team matches. Their replays stay available online, and our page on Polynesian television channels explains what each broadcaster offers.

Listening to matches on the radio

Papeete's radio stations commentate weekend fixtures and relay results from the Leeward Islands or the Marquesas, which rarely make it onto screens. To pick a station and its online stream, see our selection of Tahiti radio stations broadcasting live.

Federations and social media on the front line

Many handball, volleyball, rugby and beach soccer clubs post their results on Facebook before any outlet picks them up. This first-hand information is valuable, but it should always be cross-checked against official statements from the relevant Polynesian sports federations.

Beach soccer and team sports

Tahiti's beach soccer team, runner-up at the 2015 and 2017 FIFA World Cups, gets steady attention from local media. Handball, volleyball and basketball also earn column space, particularly during the school and university championships held in Papeete each season.

Polynesian athletes beyond the fenua

Polynesian footballers, rugby players, surfers and paddlers often build careers in mainland France, New Zealand or Hawaii. Their stories are told by Outremers360 and Outre-mer La 1ère, two national outlets that closely follow champions from France's Pacific territories.

Checking a result before sharing it

A score posted in the heat of the moment on social media may be corrected after an appeal or a judges' ruling. For a va'a race or a football tournament, the federation's published standings remain the reference, ahead of any press article.

Following Tahitian sport from abroad

1. Pick a general news site such as Tahiti Infos and check its sports section each morning for the Polynesian weekend results.
2. Bookmark the websites of the Tahitian Football Federation and the Tahitian Va'a Federation for official fixture calendars.
3. Stream Radio1 or Polynésie la 1ère for live commentary, keeping the Tahiti time difference in mind.
4. Turn on notifications from your favourite clubs' Facebook pages, which often announce team line-ups faster than the press.
5. Watch TNTV and Polynésie la 1ère replays to see Hawaiki Nui Va'a finishes or local finals again.
6. Follow Teahupo'o surf events on the professional tour's platforms, then read the reactions in the local press.

Access to Polynesian sports content

Practical pointers for sport in the fenua

• Languages: mainly French, with Tahitian in some commentary and programmes
• Football: Tahitian Football Federation (FTF), affiliated to the OFC
• Va'a: Tahitian Va'a Federation, flagship race the Hawaiki Nui Va'a
• Olympic Committee of French Polynesia for the Pacific Games
• Surfing: the Teahupo'o wave, Olympic venue in 2024
• Time zone: UTC-10, no daylight saving time
• Local currency: CFP franc (XPF)

Common mistakes when reading sports news

• Confusing kick-off time in Papeete with Paris time: with an eleven or twelve hour gap, a Saturday evening match ends on Sunday in Europe.
• Treating a score posted live on Facebook as final, when an appeal or a disciplinary committee decision can still change it.
• Assuming an old report on the 2013 Confederations Cup, reshared on social media, describes the Tahitian team's current situation.
• Using pirate streaming sites to watch a surf event or a match: poor quality, malware risks and illegal content.
• Forgetting that some TNTV or Polynésie la 1ère live streams may be geo-blocked outside Polynesia for rights reasons.

Your questions about sport in Tahiti