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NMASA waiting for Hall of Fame nominations
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Posted on Dec 29 2008
The Northern Marianas Amateur Sports Association is calling on various sports federations to submit their nominations for the CNMI Sports Hall of Fame.
Nominations should be put in writing with the list of achievements the nominees have accomplished in the sports community and other valuable information.
“It’s important for the CNMI sporting community to recognize those among us who have excelled in sports. As the ‘best of the best,’ members of the CNMI Sports Hall of Fame serve as examples to all who participate in sports, and as role models to our youth and to those who will come after them,” NMASA president Michael A. White said.
“We honor them for their outstanding achievements, not only because they were the greatest of their times, but because their achievements must not be forgotten,” he added.
Winners, maximum of three, will be enshrined to the CNMI Sports Hall of Fame next year during the NMASA Annual Banquet.
Nominees can be athletes, coaches, administrators, or officials who are U.S. citizens or have achieved distinction as a CNMI representative. He/she must also have resided in the Commonwealth for a minimum of 10 years and is in the 35-and-above age group. Coaches and administrators must have been active in their respective sports for 15 years or more.
The NMASA general membership will make selection of inductees.
“It is up to each voter to determine who is or is not worthy of election. I personally look for someone who has brought distinction to his or her sport and honor to the CNMI, both on and off the field of play,” White said.
The recent inductee to the CNMI Sports Hall of Fame the Commonwealth’s all-time winningest pitcher Tony Benavente.
Benavente had a 61-17 record after seeing action in the Saipan Major League for 18 years. He is also the SML’s lifetime career leader in strikeouts with 816.
Benavente claimed his first most valuable player award in 1982 after leading the Hafa Adai Express to the league’s first championship. He was the MVP, anew in 1986 and Finals MVP in 1993 and 1994. In 1995, he was the MVP of the Mobil Games for leading the CNMI to its first-ever regional baseball championship.
Nominations should be made on or before Jan. 8, 2009.
