Record 35 teams compete in Labor Day softball tourney

LAS VEGAS, Nevada—Over a thousand people showed up at the opening of the 19th Annual CNMI Labor Day Softball Tournament, in which 35 total teams in three divisions participated in a friendly competition held at the Sunset Park on Sunset Road in Las Vegas, Nevada last Friday.

After the 5pm opening ceremony, games immediately started in the three fields located in the park. As of press time yesterday, games were still ongoing. The championship games, awarding, and banquet will be held at the park today, Sunday (Las Vegas time).

Rota Mayor Aubry Manglona Hocog, John Oliver Reyes “Bolis” Gonzales, former representative Marco Peter, and Northern Mariana Islands Basketball Federation president James Lee were among those who watched the opening of the three-day tournament.

James Sablan, who chairs the 2024 19th CNMI Labor Day Softball Tournament, said there are 27 teams in the men’s division, five in the masters’ division, and three in women’s for a total of 35 teams.

Sablan said the last time Las Vegas hosted the tournament there were 32 teams, so this year they have surpassed that record.

“The 19th CNMI Labor Day Softball Tournament is the biggest one here in Las Vegas. I’m definitely happy with the turnout,” he said.

Sablan said they have teams from all over the West Coast and even a team from back home in the CNMI made it.

Washington has been selected to host the big tournament next year.

John Schwarz, of the host ISAO 6-7-Old 2 team, said this is an annual event that brings together the CNMI people that are in the U.S. mainland and also teams from back home on Saipan.

Schwarz said it’s a way of getting everyone together or reunion with families and friends.

“We travel from state to state yearly, Washington, Oregon, Las Vegas, California, and Arizona. This is a beautiful turnout as you can see there’s probably a thousand people here or more and we’re just happy to host and have a good time and great weekend,” he said.

Winners will get trophies and bragging rights.

Former lawmaker Marco Peter, who just flew in to Las Vegas to join the tournament, was a member of one of six teams that started the tournament in 2005 in Salem, Oregon.

“It started in 2005 with just a group of friends,” said Peter, who played with the Island Boys in the inaugural tournament in Oregon.

He said chairman Sablan and Schwarz, who are running this year’s event, played too in the first tournament.

Peter, who is playing for the Taya Gua in the Masters Division, said watching the men’s open league, where they started, is great.

“It’s amazing seeing all these kids and young adults,” he said.

Lee said in this annual event, everyone from the CNMI who are residing all over the United States, just come over here so it’s a great moment to catch up with old friends and meeting people as well from Saipan or the CNMI in general.

“My son is going to school at UNLV [University of Nevada Las Vegas] going on his second year. Another excuse for me to come down too,” Lee said.

Hocog said it’s just such a great event here in the U.S. mainland where people from the islands home gather and enjoy the sports of softball.

Hocog said it’s amazing to see people visit their families and friends and just reconnect to the people who have left home.

“There’s a lot of teams. I’m rooting for everybody. May the best teams win. But I think what’s most important is the collaboration and you know the teamwork and the sportsmanship all the teams exemplify here,” she said.

The mayor said she believes for many of them it’s not really the competition, but about more so the gathering of friends and families.

“It’s just a friendly, healthy competitive sports,” Hocog said.

Gonzales said this is his second or third trip to “meet the diaspora” of residents from Rota, Saipan, Tinian, and the Northern Islands living around the states.

He said every year they have this exciting gathering of diaspora of CNMI residents living abroad to celebrate Labor Day through the love of softball, baseball.

“It gets bigger and bigger every year and this year Vegas is hosting it. And it only behooves us to come and visit and say hi again on top of the fact that I’m also running for U.S. Congress as an independent. It’s great way to reconnect to the family first and foremost, and families too from Guam actually are here and so I’m so excited,” Gonzales said.

Gonzales is among the six candidates running for CNMI delegate in the Nov. 5 general elections.