Zita_Martel

Zita Martel

Zita Martel

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Vaimasenu'u Zita Sefo-Martel (born 15 July 1961) is a Samoan women's rights activist, fautasi skipper,[2][3][4] and archer who has represented Samoa at the Pacific Games. She is also an honorary consul of France.[5]

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Biography

Martel attended Canterbury University, where she had been a rower.[6]

In 2000, her local church needed a skipper for their longboat, or fautasi.[7] At first she refused the request, but was eventually persuaded to give it a try.[7] When she became the skipper for her church, she also became the first woman to act as captain in the fautasi races in 2001.[2][8] Her boat won the race at Samoa's 50th independence celebrations in 2012.[9] In 2020 her crew won the Faleula to Apia fautasi race.[10]

She represented Samoa in archery at the 2007 Pacific Games in Apia, winning silver (alongside Prime Minister Tuila'epa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi and Eddie Chan Pao) in the mixed recurve matchplay[11] and in the individual compound.[12] At the 2011 Pacific Games in Nouméa she won gold in the compound matchplay[13] and bronze in the compound individual.[14]

Martel also speaks out against domestic violence in Samoa.[8][15]

Honours

In 2013 Martel was made an officer of the French National Order of Merit.[8][16]

References

  1. [1]
    "Archery > Full FITA compound individual > Medals ceremony : Full FITA compound". NC 2011. Archived from the original on 21 September 2012.
  2. [2]
    "Eight To Be Recognized as 2013 Stars of Oceania". University of Hawaii News. Retrieved 2017-11-08.
  3. [3]
    "Vaimasenuu Zita Sefo-Martel (vaega 1)". Samoa Times (in Samoan). 2010-07-10. Retrieved 2017-11-08.
  4. [4]
    Adel Freuan (31 December 2020). "SPORTS PEOPLE OF 2020: Vaimasenu'u Zita Martel". Samoa Observer. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  5. [5]
    "Consulate of France in Apia, Samoa". Embassy Pages. Retrieved 2017-11-08.
  6. [6]
    Sinclair, Shirley (10 March 2012). "Zita's Simply '~oarsome'". News Mail. Retrieved 8 November 2017 – via LexisNexis.
  7. [7]
    Phillips, Adrian (2013-04-27). "Fishing for compliments on the South Pacific outpost of Samoa". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-05-07. Retrieved 2017-11-08.
  8. [8]
    "Zita Martel". Pacific Community. 2017-09-26. Retrieved 2017-11-08.
  9. [9]
    "Sport: Sole female captain wins long boat race". RNZ. 5 June 2012. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  10. [10]
    "Historical Victory for All-Female Longboat Crew at Apia Harbour". Samoa Global News. 7 November 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  11. [11]
    "PM wins silver, as teams tested for depth". XIII South Pacific Games. Archived from the original on 23 November 2007.
  12. [12]
    "SPG archery ends with gold and friendship". XIII South Pacific Games. Archived from the original on 23 November 2007.
  13. [13]
    "Team Samoa Medal Winners - New Caledonia 2011". SASNOC. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
  14. [14]
    "Oceania Archery". GameDay. Archived from the original on 26 June 2017.
  15. [15]
    "Walk Away from Abuse – Message of Love from Fautasi o Toa". Samoa Global News. 10 December 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  16. [16]
    "Samoa's only woman long boat skipper gets top French president award". RNZ. 30 May 2013. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
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