TakeCare provides uniform to school teams

Northern Marianas Mini Games Organizing Committee CEO Vicente “Ben” Babauta, third from left, poses with the rest of the MGOC staff led by chair Marco Peter, fourth from left, in this group shot with the complete MGOC staff.
(CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

The inaugural season of the TakeCare Interscholastic Badminton League kicked off last Saturday at the TSL Sports with students playing with their assigned uniforms donated by TakeCare Insurance Company, Inc.

The IBL started the season with games in the middle school division and before the matches, students from Hopwood Middle School 1 and 2 teams, Saipan International School, and Francisco M. Sablan Middle School were presented with their uniforms. TakeCare Insurance provided the uniforms to the four schools in support of the interscholastic program that Northern Marianas Badminton Association and the CNMI Public School System Athletic Department are organizing. TakeCare has also donated uniforms to other middle school teams, including Rota and Tinian, that have initially committed to compete in the IBL, as well as the high school squads that will participate in the league later this month.

“We are thankful and pleased with our partnership with the NMBA and for the support of TakeCare Insurance. It’s been a difficult year to expand the programs that we offer to our students at this time of the pandemic, but we are happy that we are moving forward with the interscholastic badminton competition. We’ve been discussing this for years and finally we are able to offer the program to our middle and high school students,” PSS Athletic Program director Nick Gross said.

Gross added that they acknowledged the concerns of the community on the resumption of interscholastic programs but there are mitigation protocols in place to make sure that these activities are conducted safely. He also pointed out the benefits of playing sports, such as the interscholastic competitions, to the well-being of students at these difficult times.

Meanwhile, TakeCare Insurance administrative assistant/sales coordinator Leilani Pangelinan said their company is honored to be part of the program that promotes health and wellness and school pride.

“We are excited to sponsor the Interscholastic Badminton League. Good luck to all the players and the schools. Have fun, enjoy the games, and we look forward to an exciting first season of interscholastic badminton season,” Pangelinan said.

NMBA president Merlie Tolentino thanked TakeCare, the CNMI PSS leadership, and Gross for making the inaugural season of interscholastic badminton league possible, as this is one crucial step that all stakeholders had to take to discover and develop young talents that would eventually help grow the sport in the NMI. (PR)