CNMI tennis opts out of Samoa

Despite a successful showing during the 6th Micronesian Games on Saipan earlier in the year, the CNMI will not be sending a delegation to the 2007 Pacific Games in Samoa next summer.

According to CNMI national team coach Jeff Race, the local “racqueteers” will not be running the lines in the quadrennial games for a number of reasons from funding to scheduling.

“We’re not sending a team. We were never really committed to go and now Kana (Aikawa) can’t play and she’s our No. 1,” he said.

Race said that there are other events in the region that will be better suited to our athletes around the same time and that he weighed the differences and opted to hold the local talent out of Samoa.

“The problem is from Aug. 13-25 our kids will be in Fiji but they will be playing in the Pacific Oceania Junior Championships and that will cost them two and a half to three weeks off of school. For them to tale another two weeks off would just be impossible. They can’t take more than a month off of school,” he said.

Race said that the CNMI has other options but the players waiting in line won’t be ready for the top players in the Pacific Games and would be better off facing competitors near their same level of play.

“If we were to send say Mayuko (Arriola), Lila (Mailman), or Vivian (Lee) to the SPG they would probably, well, that’s some pretty tough competition and they wouldn’t get the quality matches. If they go to Fiji they will get heaps of matches against more even competition that will be better in terms of their development,” he said.

Race said that the problems translate to the men’s program as well. Where there used to be seven strong players on Saipan who were eligible to play, that has dwindled down to him being the top player on island.

“As far as the men’s side, Tim Quan would love to play but we just talked about the timing. Ji Hoon Heo is out; he can never play unless he gets a U.S. passport. He is playing well. He just changed from a two-handed backhand to a one-handed backhand which is a big change. He just did that in the beginning of September and he’s cracking his backhand as good as mine in just two months,” he said.

Despite keeping the kids out of the Pacific Games, Race said that the local youngster will have more opportunities to develop overseas in the near future.

“We’ll regroup and we will be sending our young athletes to more off-island competition in 2007. We’ll be sending them to competitions in the Philippines and maybe Japan, Korea, Taiwan, or Hong Kong. We have some sponsorship money now to send them and that’s what they need to get to the next level and to stay motivated,” he said.

According to NMASA chairman Michael White, there has been no new information received regarding airfare rates and the approximate cost per athlete remains the same at $3,200.

The tennis players are just the most recent athletes to opt out of the Samoa games as local basketball and swimming will not be going either. The local baseball teams is currently working on raising the funds for transportation and per diem, as is the fledgling badminton federation, but White said that nobody has heard from softball organizers.

That news almost eliminates the possibility of fast pitch players making the trip as White said that the “drop dead” date to inform NMASA of a sport’s intention of making the trip is Saturday, Dec. 2, when he plans to pass the final tally to Samoan officials.