NMITA: Happy for Micro Games postponement

Northern Mariana Islands Tennis Association president and CNMI Sports Hall of Famer Jeff Race said while it was doable to send a tennis team to Majuro, he fully supports the postponement of the 2022 Micronesian Games in the Marshall Islands to 2023.

“I think it was going to be difficult to do two major sports competitions this summer within a month of each other. But we were prepared to do it and we’re going to send teams to both competitions. I think it would’ve been nice but I’m OK to postponing the Micro Games to next year,” he said.

Last November, the Marshall Islands, based on recommendations from the National Olympic Committee and the Games Organizing Committee, approved postponing the Micro Games to 2023. It was originally set from July 25 to Aug. 5, 2022. No dates have been set for the 2023 quadrennial event.

The original date before it was moved to December 2022—before ultimately pushed back to a year later—comes only a month after the Northern Marianas Pacific Mini Games 2022 was supposed to close in the CNMI.

While he 100% agrees with the Micro Games postponement, Race is now asking does that mean the 2023 Pacific Games in Honiara, Solomon Islands will have to be pushed back a year as well.

“The only problem the Pacific Games has been postponed a year also in the Solomon Islands? So, will have Games this year, next year, and the next, next year. I think that’s fine as having two Games in one year is probably a lot to fundraise for and a lot to prepare for so I think it’s better to spread them out,” he said.

Race earlier named the core of the 2019 Apia, Samoa Pacific Mini Games to the CNMI National Tennis Team for this year’s Northern Marianas Pacific Mini Games 2022.

Leading the charge with automatic slots are 2019 Mini Games gold medalists Colin Sinclair, Robbie Schorr, and Carol Lee and Samoa veteran Isabel Herras.

Six other players will compete for the two remaining slots in the men’s team and they are Ken Song, Tony Atalig, Colin Ramsey, Bobby Cruz, Luther Lizama, and Morris Villanueva.

Five players, meanwhile, will duke it out for the last two slots in the women’s team and they are Asia Raulerson, Tania Tan, Malika Miyawaki, Hye Jin Elliot, and Serin Chung.

A total of 116 players from 16 countries are expected to take part in the tennis competition of this year’s Mini Games that will be hosted at the American Memorial Park tennis courts in Garapan and the Pacific Islands Club Saipan tennis courts in San Antonio.

The 15 countries that have signed up are the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Guam, Kiribati, Nauru, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tahiti, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Wallis & Futuna, and the CNMI.