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NMSA to pay for $750 airfare, plus per diem
The Northern Marianas Sports Association has provided a substantial financial assistance to the CNMI’s delegates to the 2019 Pacific Games in Apia, Samoa this summer.
The association has approved $750 for the airfare of each participant plus the per diem ($35 per day) for the quadrennial competition that will run from July 7 to 20. Checks for the airfare assistance have been released to some local sports federations sending athletes and officials last week, while NMSA will directly pay the per diem to the organizers in Samoa.
Team CNMI will be represented in the Pacific Games by more than 40 athletes and officials and the cost to participate in the competition is estimated at a little over $3,000 with more than half of it to be spent for the airfare. The financial assistance was higher that the initial plan of $500, as some federations backed out from the Games due to funding problems. The money that NMSA is using to help send CNMI athletes and officials to Samoa and other off-island tournaments comes from its earnings from lottery/scratchies.
The Commonwealth will be fielding athletes/teams in seven sports in this year’s Pacific Games: athletics, beach volleyball, swimming, tennis, badminton, canoe (V1), and golf.
