Cook Islands at the 2008 Summer Olympics events (with the exception of weightlifting, where the first round was the only round) and did not go on to win medals. Pera was the nation's flag bearer at the ceremonies. The Cook Islands are a collection of fifteen islands lying in the South Pacific Ocean that are governed under a single parliamentary entity. Some 10,000 people live in the dependency. The country is in a free association with New Zealand, who handles the nation's external affairs. The Cook Islands became self-governing in 1965. 23 years later, the Cook Islands sent their first delegation to the Olympics at the 1988
Sport in the Cook Islands Rugby World Cup. The Cook Islands Rugby Union is the governing body for rugby union in the Cook Islands. It was founded in 1989, and became affiliated to the International Rugby Board in 1995. The Cook Islands Football Association is the governing body of football in the Cook Islands. The Cook Islands Round Cup is the top division in the Cook Islands, and the Cook Islands Cup is the top knock-out tournament. The following list includes players of various codes of football. These include: Cricket is played on Rarotonga, and some of the outer islands (where the rules are often