Bridge Capital donates $500 for Taga Kids

From left, Bridge Capital LLC property manager Don Hallmark, Triathlon Association of the CNMI representatives Andy Estepa and Floro Derexes, Bridge Capital office manager Julie Duenas, TRAC volunteer Marco Paulo Castro, and TRAC secretary general Ricky Castro hold the giant $500 mockup check that represents the company’s donation to the triathlon club. (Contributed photo)

Bridge Capital LLC has donated $500 to the Triathlon Association of the CNMI’s staging of the Taga Kids Triathlon tomorrow, Aug. 21, in Marpi.

TRAC secretary general Ricky Castro couldn’t thank the company enough for its monetary donation. “Bridge Capital is always there to support Taga Kids and the Triathlon Association of the CNMI in general and we are thankful for their support even in these challenging times just to have an event for kids to ‘tri,’” he said.

A total of 29 children and two relay teams have signed up for the Taga Kids Triathlon that will have two divisions—5-8 years old (50m swim/1 loops bike/1 loop run) and 9-12 years old (100m swim/2 loops bike/2 loops run). Castro earlier said the entire Taga Kids course will be confined at the Paupau Beach complex.

TRAC president Manny Sitchon also thanked Bridge Capital LLC for their donation and added that he’s just glad that his club can finally again hold the Taga Kids Triathlon.

“It’s been long overdue. Even during the last Tagaman in 2019 we already had plans to stage the Taga Kids but unfortunately it didn’t push through. Triathletes who are also parents from Japan, Korea, and even from here have been clamoring for its return for a long time. So, we decided to hold the Taga Kids in conjunction with the Mini Games tryouts this weekend,” he said.

As already alluded to by Sitchon, TRAC will not only conduct the Taga Kids Triathlon tomorrow but will also hold the first of a series of tryouts for the CNMI National Triathlon Team that will represent the Commonwealth in the 2022 Northern Marianas Pacific Mini Games.

The sprint triathlon will start at 6am at Paupau Beach in San Roque and will consist of a 750m swim, a 20-kilometer bike (Paupau/Seafix/Banzai/Paupau), and 5km run (Paupau/Ayuyu Drive/Paupau).

A total of 20 have signed up for the tryouts, namely Pamela Walsh, Kerri Bauer, Lindsay Nash, Robyn Spaeth, Janet King, Shawna Brennfleck, Ayano Braxton, Tania Tan, Kathy Ruszala, Lily Muldoon, Heather Brook, Jester Baldonado, Danny Calvo, Florence Antonio, Travis Spaeth, Jacoby Winkfield, Eric David Li, Christian Villacrusis, Isaiah Aleksenko, and Sitchon himself.

As per the Pacific Games Council manual, TRAC earlier said that to be eligible for the Mini Games an athlete must be a U.S. passport-holder and must have resided in the CNMI for five years.

The 2022 Mini Games will be held in the CNMI from June 17 to 25. Triathlon, one of nine sports that will be offered in the Mini Games, will have 53 participants and will be held in the southernmost island of the CNMI on Rota.

Aside from Bridge Capital LLC, Brabu Pharmacy & Wellness Center is also sponsoring tomorrow’s Taga Kids Triathlon and Mini Games tryouts.

Registration for both the Mini Games tryout and Taga Kids closed last Aug. 15, 2021. TRAC also emphasized that there absolutely will be no extension on the registration deadline and no-race day registration.

For more information and updates on the twin events hosted by TRAC, check https://www.facebook.com/groups/610323035687262.