Tagaman founders recognized

Marianas Visitors Authority managing director Perry Tenorio, right, delivers a message to the Tagaman Triathlon founders, from left, Bill Sakovich, J.M. Guerrero, and Wolf Mojica during a brief awards ceremony early this month at the Pacific Islands Club Saipan. Also in the photo is MVA Community Projects manager Martin Duenas. (ROSELYN B. MONROYO)

The men behind Tagaman Triathlon were honored just in time when one of the oldest triathlon events in the region has reached a milestone.
Tagaman founders—J.M. Guerrero, Wolf Mojica, and Bill Sakovich—were handed with plaques of appreciation during the awards ceremony for the silver anniversary of Tagaman Triathlon on April 12 at the Pacific Islands Club Saipan. Former PDI president Yoichi Matsumura is also a co-founder, but is now in Japan and could not attend the ceremony. Marianas Visitors Authority managing director Perry Tenorio handed the plaques and thanked the founders for their contribution to the promotion of sports tourism in the CNMI.

Guerrero and company started Tagaman in 1988 with the group going to Okinawa, Japan, to watch the Miyakojima Triathlon and see how the same event could be held on Saipan. The rest was history, as they say, with Tagaman attracting hundreds of off-islands athletes and producing local talents.

“It’s a great event. J.M., who was then the head of the former Marianas Visitors Bureau, looked for an activity that could bring in people to the CNMI and after several meetings and our trip to Miyakojima, the idea of holding a similar triathlon event came up,” said Sakovich, who is now based in Hawaii, but keeps coming back to Saipan every year for Tagaman and XTERRA Saipan.

“It’s worth coming here every year. Even if I am away for more than 10 years now, I still know my assignment for the event. I love working here with the very supportive community,” Sakovich said after receiving the plaque of appreciation.

Wojica echoed Sakovich’s sentiments, saying that it is through the active involvement of the community that Tagaman still exists.

“The volunteers, the private and public sectors, they all come together for Tagaman. Events in other countries would have to pay for logistics and personnel to get things done, but here on Saipan, you have volunteers and other concerned groups doing things for free. The secret to Tagaman’s 25 years of existence is definitely the community,” said Wojica in an earlier interview with Saipan Tribune one day before he left the island for good.

“I will definitely miss the people I work with in making sure we host a good tournament. I just wish that people who will take over the event will continue to gain valuable support from the community,” Mojica said.

While Mojica hopes for the backing of the community, Guerrero, during the awards ceremony, wishes for more participants in the coming races to boost tourism. Tagaman had its biggest turnout in 1992 when 361 individuals joined the road race, while this year’s event drew 128 participants with half of them hailing from off-island.