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NMSA asks federations to appoint student reps
The Northern Marianas Sports Association is asking all member federations to appoint one student representative to give the youth athletes a voice in the CNMI sports’ governing body.
Northern Marianas Islands Volleyball Association official Toni Yamada said they would create a student commission with the main task of overseeing the affairs of young athletes in the CNMI.
Full time students in high school, college or trade school ages 17 to 28, or those who graduated a year after are qualified to join the student commission.
The student commission will be tasked, under the guidance of the NMSA board, to select student-athletes that will represent the CNMI in tournaments organized by the International University Sports Federation.
NMSA is planning to send two athletes—one each in athletics and swimming—to the 28th Gwangju Universiade in South Korea next year. The two athletes will be joined by their respective coaches and NMSA vice president and former Northern Marianas Athletics head Kurt Barnes, who will act as the chef de mission.
The student commission will follow FISU’s eligibility rules. Under FISU’s eligibility rules, student-athletes who are “currently and officially enrolled for a degree at the university or college recognized by the appropriate authority of their country” are qualified to join the biennial World University Games. Postgraduate students, either taking their masters or doctorate degrees, are also qualified based on terms of the concerned university rules.
Student-athletes should also be nationals of the respective countries they are representing.
FISU, founded in 1949, is the world governing body for competitions involving student-athletes and currently has a membership of 167 national sports federations. FISU’s governing body is the General Assembly, which elects members of the executive committee for a period of four years. Its current president is Frenchman Claude-Louis Gallien.
