Thousands of ducks floated in ‘Race for Cancer’

The ducks that came in first in the Pacific Islands Club Duck Race for Cancer last Friday night, from right, Rocelle Tenorio’s duck, followed by Jasmin Ngirmekur’s duck, then Ha’ani Diaz’s duck for third place, and Alex Domingo’s duck in fourth place. (LEIGH GASES)

The return of the Pacific Islands Club Saipan Duck Race for Cancer saw over 2,300 plastic ducks racing to the end of the Lazy River last Friday evening, with Rocelle Tenorio winning $2,023 after her rubber duck raced to first place, followed by Jasmin Ngirmekur’s duck for second place and $500; third place for $200 was Ha’ani Diaz’s duck; and fourth place was Alex Domingo’s duck for $50.

Along with the duck race, there was also a two-man Swim Relay in which teams had to swim in duck gear such as a duck hat and fins.

Marianas High School students and Saipan Swim Club teammates Jakey Deleon Guerrero and Taiyo Akimaru swam to the finish line first—complete with their duck gear and won a PIC Explorer Membership worth around $1,000.

Second place was the tandem of Piper Raho and Nagi Tenorio for a PIC Waterpark Membership worth around $800.

PIC Animations and Events manager Reymark Castro said after the event that they are happy with the turnout. “We’re super happy and stoked with everyone who participated. Everything went well. We are glad that the community still supports our fight against cancer and the [Commonwealth Cancer Association] as well,” he said. “We plan to do this every year and we don’t plan to stop.”

For next year, Castro said they want to shoot for over 5,000 ducks in the river as he said that has happened before.

The mechanics of the fundraiser involve selling as many of the rubber ducks as possible, which are then floated around PIC’s Lazy River. The first to get to the finish line without any outside interference wins.

Proceeds of the event will go toward CCA’s effort for programs, outreach, advocacy, screening for oral cancer in the CNMI.

Newly appointed CCA board member Monique Boyer Sablan thanked the PIC and E-Land group for “being able to kick off all of our endeavors post-pandemic. It’s really nice to see everyone in the community willing to support the CCA and its mission. Everyone is affected somehow by cancer in the CNMI and so it’s awesome to be able to see the community come together again for such an amazing event.”

She also thanked the community for their support and purchasing tickets to the event.

She said that the CCA board has a lot in store for this year, with the Marianas March Against Cancer in the works for a comeback after a three-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.