Micronesian Championships heads to Saipan

Members of the CNMI National Team and coach Preston Basa, standing left, pose for a photo after the opening ceremony for the 2017 Oceania Area Championships held yesterday at the ANZ Stadium in Suva, Fiji. (Contributed Photo)

The CNMI will be hosting a regional tournament next year, as the Oceania Athletics Association selected the Commonwealth as the venue for the 2018 Micronesian Championships.

The CNMI, through Northern Marianas Athletics, submitted a bid to host the biennial meet with the backing of Northern Marianas Sports Association and other supporters of the sport, and presentations were made during the OAA Congress and Administration last week in Fiji.

“The Micronesian Championships will head to the beautiful island of Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands where we have previously seen editions of the Oceania Area Championships and Micronesian Games,” OAA said in a statement released at the group’s official website.

“On behalf of the board of directors of the NMA, I am honored to inform you that the CNMI will host the 2018 Micronesian Area Championships in Athletics. We extend our most sincere appreciation to our stakeholders and sponsors for their support. We are looking forward to your continued commitment to our sport, most especially to our athletes,” NMA secretary general Robin Sapong said.

The Micronesian Championships will be held from June 14 to 16, while two other regions will have their own competitions. The 2018 Melanesian Championships will be held in Port Villa, Vanuatu from May 17 to 19, while Apia, Samoa will host the 2018 Polynesian Championships that will take place from Sept. 6 to 8.

In the Micronesian Championships, the CNMI will be joined by athletes from Guam, the Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Palau, and Nauru. The Polynesian Championships will feature American Samoa, Cook Islands, Niue, New Zealand, Tahiti, Tonga, and Tuvali, while Australia is entered in the Melanesian Championships along with Fiji, New Caledonia, Norfolk Island, Solomon Islands, and Wallis and Futuna.

Meanwhile, all three regions are competing in the 2017 Oceania Area Championship, which kicked off yesterday at the ANZ Stadium in Suva.

Annalei Santos and Beo Ngirchongor saw action for the CNMI in Day 1 of the tournament with the former competing in the shot put throw and the latter racing in the qualifier for the 400m run. Santos posted 19.86m in the women’s U18 shot put and missed the podium. Australia’s Stephanie Scigala won the gold medal with her 40.39m. In the 400m run, Ngirchongor joined Heat No. 3 and timed in at 57.46 seconds, which did not make the grade and was slower than his personal best of 52.74 seconds.

Five other CNMI athletes are competing in Fiji and Zarinae Sapong, Traven Quitugua, Riella Ann Billy Ichiou, Jamie Pangelinan, and Leani Acosta will have their events today and tomorrow.