[1] It was much larger than previous editions, with an almost doubling of the number of medals awarded compared to the 1993 South Pacific Mini Games.

[2] The 1997 Games were criticized for poor preparation by local and international journalists,[3] with Matai Akauo in the Pacific Islands Monthly describing them as "the most disoganised ever in the history of the Pacific Islands Council".

[6] Nineteen Pacific nations participated in the Games:[1]* The 1997 South Pacific Mini Games hosted eleven sports:[7] Nauru topped the medal table due to gold medals won in weightlifting.

Fiji won the most overall medals:[1] ^* The official site provided web pages for each country with the number of athletes in each team: ^a Basketball was included in the 1997 Mini Games in lieu of the FIBA Oceania Tournament.

[8] ^b Golf: Adi Sai won bronze as a member of the Fijian women's team at the 1979, 1983 and 1987 SPG, and at the 1989, 1993, and 1997 SPMG.