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]
 Zita Martel in 2011. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | 15 July 1961[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country |  Samoa | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Archery | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Biography edit
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 edit
In 2013 Martel was made an officer of the French National Order of Merit.[8][16]
References edit
- ^ "Archery > Full FITA compound individual > Medals ceremony : Full FITA compound". NC 2011. Archived from the original on 21 September 2012.
- ^ a b "Eight To Be Recognized as 2013 Stars of Oceania". University of Hawaii News. Retrieved 2017-11-08.
- ^ "Vaimasenuu Zita Sefo-Martel (vaega 1)". Samoa Times (in Samoan). 2010-07-10. Retrieved 2017-11-08.
- ^ Adel Freuan (31 December 2020). "SPORTS PEOPLE OF 2020: Vaimasenu'u Zita Martel". Samoa Observer. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
- ^ "Consulate of France in Apia, Samoa". Embassy Pages. Retrieved 2017-11-08.
- ^ Sinclair, Shirley (10 March 2012). "Zita's Simply '~oarsome'". News Mail. Retrieved 8 November 2017 – via LexisNexis.
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ a b c "Zita Martel". Pacific Community. 2017-09-26. Retrieved 2017-11-08.
- ^ "Sport: Sole female captain wins long boat race". RNZ. 5 June 2012. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
- ^ "Historical Victory for All-Female Longboat Crew at Apia Harbour". Samoa Global News. 7 November 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
- ^ "PM wins silver, as teams tested for depth". XIII South Pacific Games. Archived from the original on 23 November 2007.
- ^ "SPG archery ends with gold and friendship". XIII South Pacific Games. Archived from the original on 23 November 2007.
- ^ "Team Samoa Medal Winners - New Caledonia 2011". SASNOC. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
- ^ "Oceania Archery". GameDay. Archived from the original on 26 June 2017.
- ^ "Walk Away from Abuse – Message of Love from Fautasi o Toa". Samoa Global News. 10 December 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
- ^ "Samoa's only woman long boat skipper gets top French president award". RNZ. 30 May 2013. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
External links edit
- Tatau: Marks of Polynesia - Zita Martel (2016 video)
- Samoa 50th Independence ad with Zita Martel (2012 video)
- Zita Martel, First Woman to Captain a Winning Fautasi (2012 video)