Dalhausser and company to visit 3 schools today

Professional beach volleyball players who just arrived on Saipan for the 17th Marianas Cup Beach Volleyball Festival are visiting three schools today to talk to students and share their knowledge and experiences about the sport.

Led by Olympic gold medalist Phil Dalhausser, the pros will begin their tour at the Saipan International School from 8:30am to 9:30am.

From SIS, they will proceed to Ladera International School from 10am to 11am then visit Saipan Community School from 1pm to 2pm.

The pros will motivate students about teamwork and the benefits kids get if they take part in sports activities.

On Thursday morning, they will appear on the Harry Blalock radio program to invite children to join the free kids’ clinic at the Pacific Islands Club, which is set from 3pm to 5pm that very day.

The pros from the U.S., Korea, and Japan will conduct drills and offer advice to the islands’ aspiring volleyball players.

Northern Mariana Islands Volleyball Association said this year’s event, slated from March 7 to 8 at the PIC sand courts, will be the largest ever.

Dalhausser will be playing for the fourth time, while three other U.S. pros will also showcase their talents, including Paul Baxter, Jennifer Snyder, and Jenelle Koester.

For the first time in the history of the annual event, four pros each from Japan and Korea will also be competing. The Japanese players are Shimpei Aoki, Yasuo Nakaya, Shinako Tanaka, and Hiromi Suzuki.

Korean Ji Youn Jun joined the event last year but this time she brought with her three other pros namely Kyung Su Shin, Su Min Jun, and Mi Hwa Shin.

After the exhibition matches tomorrow, there will be a pro-raffle where amateur teams will be able to purchase raffle tickets at $10 a piece for a chance to recruit pros as their partners.

The pro-am format allows regular volleyball enthusiasts to potentially play with a U.S. gold Olympian. Last year’s lucky winner was KSPN’s own Chris Nelson who was teamed up with Dalhausser.

The actual tournament begins on Saturday morning at 9am at PIC and ends with the awards banquet on Sunday night. Interested teams must sign up by 5pm Friday. Entry forms ($60 per team) for the Marianas Cup is available at PIC front desk.

NMIVA thanks all the sponsors for contributing to this worthwhile, international event. Sponsors include Aon Insurance, Aqua Resort Club, Chong’s Corporation, Delta Management Corporation, Glooay Mai Thai Spa, Gregg Elliott Artworks, Elite Printing, Hertz, Hyatt Regency Saipan, Island Apparel, IT&E, KSPN2, LISS, Marianas Eye Institute, Marianas Medical Center, Mariana Resort & Spa, Marianas Trekking, Marianas Visitors Authroity, Microl Corp., Miller Lite, Monster, No Ka Oi, Northwest Airlines, Pacific Development, Inc., Pacific Eagle Enterprises, Pepsi/Gatorade, PIC Guam, PIC Saipan, Saipan Grand Hotel, Seafix Inc., Shell Marianas, Star Sands Plaza, Stars & Stripes, Law Offices of Stephen J. Nutting, Tinian Dynasty Hotel & Casino, Topnotch, Traders Insurance, Triple J Wholesale, and WDI Saipan (Tony Roma’s & Capricciosa’s).