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Fundraisers boost v-ball team’s confidence
The fundraising events served as a confidence booster to the CNMI Girls U19 National Team as the nine-member squad prepares to compete in the U19 Girls High School Championships set from Oct. 30 to Nov. 1 in Guam.
Sabrina Pangelinan, left, and two other members of the CNMI Girls U19 National Volleyball Team dry one of the cars that they finished washing in last Saturday’s car wash fundraiser at Shell Puerto Rico. (Jon Perez)
Coach Kathy Winkfield said the fundraising events, including last Saturday’s car wash at Shell Puerto Rico, taught the girls the value of hard work as they try to achieve their goal of competing in Guam.
“The fundraisers were a big boost to their confidence and motivation because it really showed how much effort they were putting in to make this happen. The girls have been training and working hard to get to Guam,” said Winkfield.
She added that even the serving rally, a separate fundraising event organized by the Northern Mariana Islands Volleyball Association last Oct. 11, also helped them to improve their skills.
“The success of the serving rally really made them focus not just on fundraising, but also on improving their skills to support their funds,” Winkfield added.
The serving rally was the idea of coach Codie Sayles where two players try to serve as many balls in a five-minute time limit.
The team collected close to $3,000 in both fundraising events.
“The car wash fared very well with the girls washing and drying nonstop for the two hours they were there. We raised above our goal for the serving rally ($2,347), which was $547 above what we targeted and $613 with the car wash,” added Winkfield.
Meanwhile, Winkfield said they have been practicing on sand and concrete courts due to the lack of indoor courts as the Gilbert C. Ada and Marianas High School gymnasiums remain closed after being damaged by Typhoon Soudelor.
“We’ve been practicing five days a week both on the sand and concrete courts due to lack of indoor courts, but we’re hoping that it will come to our advantage,” she added.
The team leaves this Friday in an 8:40am flight to Guam. Danica Canedo, Marcy Ann Ermitanio, Knohlynn Gechig, Adele Hudkins, Julia Ishikawa, Emily Jones, Sabrina Pangelinan, Zarinae Sapong, and Jennifer Tan are the members of the squad.
