CNMI gets Olympic assessment

Representatives from Tucker and Associates completed their feasibility study to determine the possibility of the CNMI and Guam serving as a United States Olympic Committee processing center and training site for Olympic athletes prior to the 2008 Beijing Olympic games, last week, and delivered its findings to the Division of Community and Cultural Affairs.

According to DCCA site coordinator Tony Rogolifoi, the USOC is interested in utilizing Saipan because it is both closer to Beijing and the climate of the CNMI more closely matches that of the host city. He continued to say that before any of the Olympians were to make the trip to the Marianas that some improvements need to be made.

“First we have to return our site improvement strategy to Tucker and Associates before we start to make any of the upgrades that they deemed necessary, and then we’ll wait to hear from them.”

Tucker and Associates, a firm that specializes in consulting on matters of international trade, strategic marketing, government affairs and public relations, assessed the sporting facilities, at the Northern Marianas College campus, the state-of-the art track and field facility, soccer, baseball and softball fields in Oleai, and various sites across the island for basketball, volleyball, weight training, boxing, wrestling, tennis, swimming, housing possibilities, and medical facilities

Overall, Saipan scored a favorable evaluation, but there would need to be a few modifications to the island facilities if the island lands the hosting privileges, and Rogolifoi replied to the firm with the proposed solutions for any of the shortcomings to the local venues.

The Tucker and Assoc. assessment listed a number of major events hosted by Saipan, including the 1990 Micronesian Games, the Saipan XTERRA Championships in 2002, 2003, and 2004—in which they noted that Saipan is considered “one of the best in the circuit”, the Tagaman Triathlon, 2003 Outrigger Canoe Racing, ITF Junior Tennis events, the Mobil Baseball Games, numerous Little League baseball tournaments, and the schedule hosting of the Micronesian Cup later this year.

The report also mentioned the use of local facilities for the Irish National Soccer team prior to the 2002 World Cup Championships in Korea and Japan, and the University baseball teams from Korea and Japan that availed of the facilities in Oleai for spring training.

The start of the Beijing games is three and a half years away, and with the arrival date of any would-be athletes still undetermined, Rogolifoi said that he thinks it would be at least a month before the Beijing games when athletes could come trickling in and acclimate themselves to the Beijing-like conditions on the islands.

While the local government would have to open up its coffers in order to undertake the improvements, ranging from cosmetic repairs to the laying of a grass infield for the Francisco M. Palacios Baseball Field, Rogolifoi believes that securing the USOC’s approval would open up the doors to bring future major sporting events to the Marianas.

“With all of the upgrades, we would be able to bring the Micro Games back to the CNMI for the first time since their inception in 1990.”

In the meantime, the CNMI will have to wait and see if the proposed improvements will be sufficient to Tucker and Associates and the USOC, and wait to take the next step on the road to hosting the Olympians.