Company once again proud sponsoring Saipan Sportsfest

Once again, participants to Saipan’s major international sporting events—the XTERRA Saipan Championship and Tagaman Triathlon—were treated to snacks and beverages provided for by SUBWAY® Restaurants, Coca-Cola Beverage Co. (Micronesia), Inc., Foremost Foods.

The support came at a time when Coca-Cola Beverage Co. would be sponsoring this year’s Beijing 2008 Olympics, and reflected in Coca-Cola’s continuing commitment to promote sports events abroad and in the local community.

“Our group of companies, consisting of Coca-Cola Beverage (Micronesia) Co., Foremost Foods, SUBWAY® Restaurants, and Glimpses Advertising and Publications, have always held a commitment to supporting the communities we serve. Quality-of-life initiatives relating to health and education are a strong focus of our Group,” Johnnie Fong, managing director for Coca-Cola and Foremost Foods, said.

He said support was provided for by the group of companies to the event on different levels, from the participants to the spectators, to make it successful. “Our contribution helped defray the cost of holding such a large-scale event. The athletes appreciate the food, beverages, and services that our companies provide. We also assisted by encouraging off-island participants by promoting the event outside of the CNMI,” Fong said.

The XTERRA Saipan and Tagaman are “important to the marketing efforts of the CNMI because they are internationally recognized events that give our islands a positive image.

“Our Group is supported by that same island community so it is important for us to reinvest in them. The Tagaman and XTERRA Saipan events are in line with our companies’ promotion of a healthy lifestyle. Coca-Cola is an international supporter of the 2008 Beijing Olympics and SUBWAY® Restaurants are committed to being a vital part of an active lifestyle,” Fong said.

He added that the group of companies expects that the just concluded events would bring a lot of attention to the beauty and activities in the islands. “We hope that all the participants found this to be a first-class event that challenged their athletic abilities. Locally, we hope that the events have emphasized the importance of an active lifestyle and diet for healthy living,” Fong said.

For her part, Stella Fong, SUBWAY® Restaurants Investments Corp. vice president, said providing snacks for Xterra and Tagaman participants is the company’s way of giving back to the community in support of local and visiting athletes.

“It’s our own little way of helping our athletes, and giving them the encouragement to excel,” she said.

The 7th XTERRA Saipan Championship, which was held on March 8, had a total of 52 individual finishers and six teams, and over 100 volunteers. The 19th Tagaman Triathlon, held on March 15, had 42 individual participants and 19 teams. There were 17 participants in Tagakids. Tagaman had over 200 volunteers.

Andrew Noble of Australia topped both events. He finished Xterra’s grueling .72-mile swim, 18.7-mile bicycle race, and 7.2-mile run in just 2 hours, 46 minutes and 51 seconds. He finished the Tagaman race in two hours, 54 minutes and 25 seconds.

Renata Bucher of Switzerland, for her part, bagged her fourth XTERRA Saipan Championship title in the women’s division clocking in at three hours, 12 minutes and 46 seconds. She also won her first Tagaman race at three hours, 24 minutes and 34 seconds.

Organizers said they will be planning for a bigger Xterra and Tagaman next year, including clinics to involve visiting triathletes with the community. [B][I](PR)[/I][/B]