CNMI champions headed for NFL Guam invitational

The Commonwealth has placed a sure bet on its local batch of eloquent students who have been chosen to represent the Northern Marianas in the National Forensic League Guam Invitational competition next month.

After braving the highly-competitive Second Annual Regional Forensic Championships, first place winners in the three-division competition are off to the May 5 Guam tournament to be held at the Agueda Johnson Middle School.

Nine senior high school students with their coaches have also qualified for the NFL Championships slated in University of Oklahoma at Norman in June to compete for scholarships and nationwide recognition, according to NFL Western Pacific Region Coordinator Stephen B. Smith.

“The CNMI is fielding a particularly strong team in this year’s competition and expectations are justifiably high,” said the coordinator.

The NFL, NJFL, and PGFC championships finale over the weekend yielded towering support and participation from community leaders, professionals, and students across public and private schools.

The event coordinator noted a total of 358 entries in the competition with over a thousand people in attendance, to include Governor Pedro P. Tenorio, Deputy Commissioner of Education Rita Sablan, Rep. William S. Torres, and gubernatorial hopeful and former Lt. Governor Jesse Borja.

Judges for the series of competitions drew no less than the CNMI’s leading professionals and dignitaries hailing from all sectors of society such as the Atty. General’s Office, the local Judiciary, Commonwealth Health Center, Commonwealth Utilities Corporation, Verizon Pacifica, federal officials, and members of the business sector.

“The willingness of these professionals to spare their very valuable time to assist our young people, and be in fact role models for our youth cannot but be very much appreciated by the people of the CNMI,” said Mr. Smith.

The NFL organization also extended gratitude to the office of Rep. Thomas B. Pangelinan, who provided the trophies, medals, and ribbons for the contest winners.

Students competed in the impromptu speech, prose reading, poetry reading, duo interpretation, dramatic interpretation, humorous interpretation, CX Debate, and L/D Debate events. (Marian A. Maraya)