20 Turtle Association members coming for SAIWAI event

Twenty members of Japan’s Turtle Association will join Saipan Walking Association Inc. in its celebration of 2006 World Walking Day on May 14 along the Saipan Beach Pathway.

SAIWAI spokesperson Mario Espeleta said 20 members of the walking club from Japan have already confirmed their participation in the 5- and 10- kilometer walking events.

He said members of the Turtle Association have been taking part in the annual event on Saipan the past five years. Espeleta said this year will also see the return of their 85-year-old member, which doesn’t have any trouble at all completing the 10-km jaunt.

Espeleta said Turtle Association members will join the event in a fitting gesture of “World Embrace in the spirit of fun, fitness, and friendship.”

SAIWAI’s two courses for the 2006 World Walking Day Walk will start from the Chamolinian Cultural Village in Garapan.

Participants will walk north toward Hyatt Regency Saipan and through the Micro Beach pathway to the 5-km turning point located at the junction of the Boating Safety Office at Smiling Cove Marina.

Participants of the 5-km distance will then return to the village at this point, while 10-km participants will continue walking by turning left and follow the outline of the Outer Cove and back to the junction and continue walking northwards to the end of the pathway at the former Puerto Rico dump.

The dumpsite also serves as 10-km turning point and from that point, participants will return to the village taking the same course backwards.

Registration for the 2006 World Walking Day on Saipan Walk will begin at 4pm at the village and costs $6, which includes an event T-shirt and refreshments.

Local-style dinner awaits all the participants at the village after the walk. Saipan World Walking Day certificate of participation will also be issued to all participants.

For more information about the 2006 World Walking Day on Saipan Walk, contact Mario at 322-8876, Hiroko at 322-8781, or Bea at 285-1694.

Like all SAIWAI activities, IVV members will receive credit for joining the event. The IVV has member walking clubs in the U.S., Canada, Brazil, Japan, South Korea, Turkey, Nepal, Australia, New Zealand, the CNMI, and 29 other European countries, including Germany.

SAIWAI was incorporated as a non-profit corporation on July 27, 2001 and was established to promote public health through non-competitive walking.