CNMI seeking East Asian Games membership

The CNMI is seeking membership in the East Asian Games which would provide Commonwealth athletes opportunities to compete off-island at a lower cost.

Michael A. White, president of the Northern Marianas Amateur Sports Association, at the NMASA meeting last Thursday said he had already sent a letter to East Asian Games Association officials asking how can the CNMI become a member of the group, and he is still waiting for a response.

EAGA has nine members, including the CNMI’s neighbor Guam.

White said during the NMASA meeting that CNMI sports supporter Jerry Tan informed him of Guam’s membership in EAGA and inquired if CNMI can do the same.

Tan said he learned of the East Asian Games when he went to Hong Kong and saw banners and billboards promoting the event which the former British colony will be hosting next year.

“Guam is listed as one of the participating countries,” Tan said.

He added that the cost of traveling to Hong Kong and other East Asian countries is a lot lower than South Pacific countries, so if the CNMI becomes a part of the East Asian Games, this will provide more opportunities for our athletes to compete.

Other members of the East Asian Games are China, Japan, North and South Korea, Macau, Mongolia, and Chinese-Taipei.

Kazakhstan used to be a member of EAGA, but since it became a European Olympic Committee member, it does not take part in these Games anymore. Kazakhstan is now a member of Olympic Council of Asia and joins the Central Asian Games.

The East Asian Games like the Olympics and the Asian Games are held every four years. Its inaugural competition was held in 1993 in Shanghai, China with the host claiming the overall championship. Busan, South Korea hosted it in 1997 and Osaka, Japan in 2001.

The 2005 edition of the East Asian Games was held in Macau, while Tianjin, China will host the event in 2013.

Currently, 20 sports are included in the calendar of events in the East Asian Games. The list include athletics, aquatics, badminton, basketball, bowling, dancesport, dragon boat racing, field hockey, football, gymnastics, handball, judo, karatedo, rowing, shooting, soft tennis, taekwondo, lawn tennis, weightlifting, and wushu.

Soft tennis differs from regular tennis in that it uses soft rubber balls instead of hard yellow balls. It is played primarily in Asia, especially in Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, and the Philippines.