Kazan reporting from the 2015 FINA World Swimming Championships – Kazan<br />

Pacific Voices: Reporting the 14th Oceania Aquatic Championships

The 14th Oceania Aquatic Championships took place in Suva, Fiji, from 8–13 May 2026, bringing together 163 swimmers from 18 Oceania nations for six days of competition. For The Reporters’ Academy, the event marked the latest chapter in a partnership with Oceania Aquatics that stretches back to the London 2012 training camps, and which has since taken our team to major swimming events across the world, from World Championships to the Pacific Mini Games.

At these Championships, our role went beyond reporting. Working alongside Oceania Aquatics’ federations, The Reporters’ Academy combined daily media coverage with a structured training programme for young Pacific Islanders, several of them swimmers themselves, giving them hands-on experience in interviewing, photography and journalism.

What we delivered

Across the six days of competition, The Reporters’ Academy:

  • Trained 7 young Pacific Islanders in interviewing, photography and videography
  • Conducted 125 athlete interviews in the mixed zone
  • Produced daily reports and end-of-Championship country round-ups for every competing federation
  • Distributed content to 150+ media outlets across the Pacific region

Building local capacity

A central aim of the project was skills transfer. Young reporters including Andi, Louise, Jacob and Charlina stepped into media roles for the first time, supported on the ground by Fiji Olympian Cheyenne Rova, who helped recruit and encourage the group. All were swimmers or had direct ties to the sport, giving their interviews an insight and authenticity that comes from genuinely understanding the athletes’ experience.

Federations reported strong satisfaction with the personalised, on-the-ground support, citing increased media exposure for smaller nations, athlete stories that reached new audiences, and content they could use locally and into the future. The Reporters’ Academy also gifted recording equipment to Fiji Swimming to help sustain youth reporting beyond the Championships.

A long-term partnership

This work sits within a broader, multi-year relationship between The Reporters’ Academy and Oceania Aquatics, where The Reporters’ Academy operates as Oceania Aquatics’ communications team across major events: writing press releases, coordinating media, capturing content and promoting athletes’ journeys. Building on over a decade of collaboration, the partnership has evolved to combine that ongoing media role with structured youth development, ensuring skills and knowledge are passed on to the next generation of Pacific reporters.

The relationship continues to grow. The Reporters’ Academy is planning further support for Oceania Aquatics at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in July 2026, and the World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25m) in Beijing in December 2026, with plans to bring young Fijian reporters trained during the Oceania Championships into future events.

The Reporters’ Academy — Where Youth Produce.

Reports and information on the Oceania Aquatics Championship; https://oceaniaaquatics.org

Thank you to Oceania Aquatics and World Aquatics continental support funding a new generation of Pacific Island reporters during these Championships, with eight trainees from Fiji and Samoa swimming federations working alongside The Reporters’ Academy to develop their skills, capture athlete stories, and share the voices of Pacific swimmers with a global audience. Photo credit to Andrea Schuster and Adi Nacole.