Kanoa Resort to host Tagaman anew

Kanoa Resort director of operations Glenn Policare poses with Triathlon Association of the CNMI secretary general Ricky Castro, president Florence Antonio, and adviser Paul Plunkett and Kiyokazu Fitness Club’s Kiyokazu Onishi and Kazue Hiwatashi at the Susupe hotel lobby yesterday. (Mark Rabago)

For a third straight year Kanoa Resort will serve as the host hotel for the Tagaman Triathlon—the longest running sporting event in western Pacific and named after the ancient Chamorro chief Taga.

Triathlon Association of the CNMI and Kanoa Resort formalized the latter’s hosting duties anew yesterday at the Susupe hotel and the hotel’s director of operations, Glenn Policare, couldn’t be happier with the development.

“Once again Kanoa Resort will be the host hotel to the 31st running of the Tagaman Triathlon. This event is close to my heart since I’ve been involved in it since the late ’90s. And since it went to Kanoa Resort the race has kind of followed me. I’m so happy to see that TRAC has taken over the responsibility of the organization with partners like Kiyokazu Fitness Club. We couldn’t have done this without them,” he said in an interview with Saipan Tribune.

Policare added that with the entry of Skymark Airlines Inc., the CNMI’s tourism sector is hoping for an increased number of Japanese tourists and the same is true with athletes taking part in this year’s staging of the Tagaman Triathlosportn.

“We’re looking at more triathletes from Japan joining the Tagaman because of the availability of direct flights from Japan via Skymark. With our Korean market also rising, we really hope to see a huge rise in international athletes to this event.”

The Kanoa Resort official said his company is donating $40,000 worth of rooms to the Tagaman Triathlon and it’s the third straight year Kanoa Resort is serving as the host hotel.

“Triathletes are not paid a lot by their sponsors so for TRAC to be able to arrange transportation is a big deal. We also give them a little bit of a break on hotel rooms, as some of the athletes would stay for free and we do offer discounts for family and friends of the athletes. We want to make it easy for everyone who wants to be a part of it in one level or another…March is also typically our sports month so we have a lot of things going on and Kanoa Resort will be at the finish line to help this event along,” said Policare.

In all, Kanoa Resort serving as host hotel for the 31st Tagaman Triathlon is not only a boon to organizers and triathletes, but also allows the hotel to promote itself to its key markets of Korea and Japan.

“This is shaping up to be one of our signature events. The packet pick up is here, the banquet is here. This event is really becoming synonymous with Kanoa Resort. We’re super happy. It creates a buzz. It’s a great time of the year and we’re so happy to be part of the event again this year.”

TRAC secretary general Ricky Castro said he’s ecstatic that Kanoa Resort is onboard again as a sponsor for the 2020 Tagaman Triathlon.

“We’ve got a real good partnership with Kanoa Resort so we’ve really happy that they once again agreed to serve as our hotel host this year. The rooms they’re donating really goes a long way in helping us organize the event. In behalf of the TRAC board and its officers, we’d like to thank Kanoa Resort general manager Martin Jambor and, of course, Glenn for signing off on this year’s sponsorship deal,” he said.

The 2-kilometer swim, 60-km bike, and 15-km run Tagaman Triathlon is set for March 21. The starting point and swim leg will be at Minachom Atdao. Bikers will transition at Kilili Pavilion parking lot in Susupe, head south to Airport Road, north to Banzai Cliff, and back south to Minachom Atdao Pavilion in Susupe for the finish line.

Cash prizes await the Top 3 finishers in the women’s and men’s open categories: $1,000 for first place, $700 for second place, and $500 for third place. Medals and T-shirts will be awarded to all finishers.

The Tagaman Triathlon is an annual signature event of the Marianas Visitors Authority, aimed at attracting visiting athletes and media to the tropical shores of the Northern Marianas. The event is co-organized by MVA and TRAC.

Early sponsors for the 31st Tagaman Triathlon are Kanoa Resort as the official hotel, Neo Timing System, KFC Triathlon Club of Japan, TSL Foundation, Bridge Capital LLC, Triple J, MARPAC, and Skymark Airlines Inc.

The Tagaman Triathlon was established by the then Marianas Visitors Board managing director J.M. Guerrero, to promote tourism, and with the help of Kinki Nippon Tours and a trip to Miyakojima for their major triathlon, a small island south of Japan, the seed was planted.

Registration for the 31st Tagaman Triathlon is available online at www.saipantriathlon.com or www.webscorer.com by searching the event name or Race ID 198830.