CNMI triathlon team named this week

The planning for the 2006 Micronesian Games has been met with tireless attention from some of the local sporting scene’s most fervent supporters, and the march of progress has continued everyday since Gov. Benigno R. Fitial announced that the CNMI will host the quadrennial event on home turf this summer.

While the participating countries have until Wednesday, March 15, to submit their list of athletes, coaches, and staff for the Games, it has been widely speculated that somewhere between 1,200-1,500 competitors and their families will descend on Saipan later this summer.

The heads of local athletic associations are making preparations to organize their individual sports, and according to Northern Mariana Islands Triathlon Federation president Dirk Sharer, the multi-sport portion of the Games is on the verge of releasing its roster.

While the names are not being given to the public, the results of the past couple of qualifying races speak for themselves. Sharer said that before he announces the fiercesome foursome that will take to the waters of Pau Pau Lagoon the morning June 27, he will have to contact at least two more of the hopefuls.

“Absolutely I’ll be able to release [the names of the] team this week. I just want to put together the remaining pieces of the puzzle before making a statement,” he said.

Sharer said that he plans on discussing the level of commitment necessary to bring the CNMI to the medal round for its fourth consecutive international event since the 2001 Norfolk Islands Mini-Games.

“It’s a long road now from here to June and I want to make sure that they are willing to go prepare through all of that,” he said.

The NMITF head said that he believes that if the CNMI can medal in triathlon this summer, the team will become the only squad on island that has reached the medal stand in the past five years.

Sharer said that the CNMI will most likely be joined by endurance aficionados from Guam and Palau and that he expects to host no more than 18 participants during the Games.

While there are still a few months before any of the triathletes take to the water for the start of the three stage races, Sharer has already begun the search for volunteers.

While the course has not been made official, NMITF planners have tentatively set the course with two 750-meter laps in the Pau Pau Lagoon followed by two laps on the bike that will take riders out to Bird Island Lookout, Grotto, Banzai, and back to La Fiesta before returning to Pau Pau for the final transition to the 10-kilometer run out past the Last Command Post and back.

With all of the action limited to Marpi, Sharer said that the best case scenario would be for Chalan Pale Arnold to be closed north of Pau Pau Beach during the race to maintain the safety of the racers with the minimum support of the Department of Public Safety and volunteers.

“It would be great if we could get the road closed off. It sure would be nice if it did,” he said.