SSA disappointed with loss of Micro Games

Word of the govern-ment’s decision to scrap the hosting of the 2006 Micronesian Games has traveled fast around Saipan, and while athletes and organizers are still learning about the recent developments, some still believe that there is a chance for the CNMI to welcome the roughly 1,500 competitors from the Pacific.

Conversations at the Oleai Sports Complex during the 4th Annual Crime Stoppers Slow-Pitch Softball Tournament were dominated with talk that the government’s decision was influenced with misinformation and that the local sports associations plan to fight the cancellation.

While no details seemed to have been discussed, the disappointment of Saipan’s softball community was crystal clear.

Saipan Softball Association president Ray Palacios was present at the tournament and said that he was not happy with the government’s decision to do away with the hosting because of all the hard work that the local players have put in on the field.

“It’s a bummer. It’s very sad that we don’t get to host it. Our women were really getting ready for it and that’s why so many of them signed up for it in the first place. The bottom line is that it’s sad. I was really hoping the government would be ready for it and I was really excited for it,” he said.

Palacios said that the main concern now it how the individual organizations will be able to flip the bill to send their athletes to either of the proposed replacement locations in Guam or Palau. Last year, the CNMI government allotted $100,000 to send the local delegation to the South Pacific Mini Games in Palau. With the government’s reluctance to spend a similar amount to host the Games and the estimated $2 million they will pump into the local economy, the same funding may not be made available to send the athletes to compete.

Palacios said there isn’t enough time for the associations to fund raise for either trip, and that will limit the number of athletes who will be able to put their training to work for the latte stone, star, and mwarmwar.

“If only we got this information since last year, but now we’re looking at four months. It’s possible, but just imagine how many sports will be fund raising at the same time,” he said.

One source of assistance with the fund raising efforts is the local business community, but Palacios said that they may not be as anxious to lend a hand because they will no longer have the prospect of nearly 2,000 visitors spending two weeks on Saipan to help them recoup the costs.

“The only thing I’m hoping for is that our business community will come together to help send the athletes out. They are willing to help out knowing that business was coming in, and now it’s a big question mark.”