Push for Micro Games gains momentum

A day after Governor Juan N. Babauta announced his support for bringing the 2006 Micronesian Games to Saipan, local leaders echoed his sentiments, as Department of Community and Cultural Affairs secretary Juan L. Babauta said that he was excited about the prospect of hosting the international event in the CNMI.

“The last time we hosted the Micronesian Games or any other major event was in 1990 and that’s 15 years ago. And we’ve been going out to the Micronesian Games in Pohnpei, and Mini-SPG’s in Palau and some others and it would be a really nice thing for our people to have the Games here. I’m very excited about the entire arrangement and we are working very closely with the governor’s office and we’re trying to get the legislature to do a presentation [today] and see if we can get their support,” he said.

Secretary Babauta was one of the first people who made the push to bring the Games to Saipan and said that he was pleased when the Micronesian Games Council considered the CNMI as the venue for 2006.

“When it comes to athletes and sports, and ambassador things for our people, I think that we always open up our arms and offer any kind of help to bring sports back to the islands,” he said.

Babauta said that he believes that support for the project should be overwhelming but that events such as the Micronesian Games always come down to the bottom line. House Minority Bloc Leader Arnold I. Palacios confirmed that Babauta will make the presentation and said that he is equally excited to see the details of the plan to bring the Games to the local venues.

“The secretary of DCCA obviously is going to be the lead person on this and he has set up a meeting with us—some of the members of the House—[today]. I fully support it. We just got to quantify what it is that we need to do to make it happen. I think that the community has to get behind it, including the corporate community, the government, the legislature—everybody. We have to quantify what it is that we have to do—facilities wise, logistics—somebody has to take the lead in that. Perhaps we can set up a committee to do this. All in all, I think the legislature will fall behind his idea. This is also great exposure for the Commonwealth to the region and to the wider Asia-Pacific area,” he said.

Of the details that need to be addressed, the most important is the cost of the improvements necessary to get the local facilities ready for the first major event to be held on Saipan in quite some time. While they are certain to be pricey, Babauta sees value far beyond the Games.

“It will benefit us in the long term to give our sports facilities a facelift for the Games and I think that our people deserve first class facilities. I’ve always been impressed with other facilities when we go out and I think it’s high-time that we do something to improve the comfort and accessibility of our facilities to make sure our fans can be there to cheer the teams,” he said.

Babauta also mentioned that the improvements could lead to bigger and better things in the CNMI after the Games as well.

“In the long term, it really gives us a more of an opportunity to look into what we can offer for Beijing and the Olympics in the near future. I am sure we can do something. Our people have always been prepared when it comes to tournaments and so I’m really excited,” he said.

Babauta mentioned another benefit of hosting the Games is having the home field advantage in every event. The secretary recognized the achievements of the local teams that went to Palau and said that they could only improve if the Games are held in Saipan.

“When you’re home it’s always an advantage to the home team, so let’s see if we can win some more medals. And congratulations to our swimming team who just picked up many medals and will certainly add on to it with more medals next year,” said Babauta