NMITFF September Oceania qualifying trials approaching

Battles to earn the right to represent the Commonwealth in the upcoming Oceania Open and Under 18 Championships in athletics is nearing after the Northern Mariana Islands Track and Field Federation confirmed that its September qualifying trials will be held on Sept. 25.

According to the NMITFF, the track meet will be held at the Oleai Sports Complex track and field facility sometime in the afternoon. The time of start has yet to be confirmed and will be announced at a later date.

The event will feature the 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1,500m, and relays, as well as javelin, shot put, discuss, and long jump, among others.

Another qualifying trial will be held Oct. 23, while the finale trial is scheduled for Nov.20.

The Oceania championships is scheduled to take place in Townsville-Thuringowa, Australia from Dec.16-18, and will host hundreds of athletes from the all over the Pacific, including New Zealand, Australia, Fiji, American Samoa, Republic of Palau, Guam, and the NMI, among others.

The number of slots available for the NMI has yet to be determined.

Also, the NMITFF would like to remind all interested schools that its first All Schools Fall Island Relay would be held thus Saturday, Sept. 18.

Check-in for the event is 6am while the race kicks off at 6:30am.

The event is open to students from both public and private schools and would feature a course beginning at the Micro Beach and concluding at the Oleai Sports Complex track and field facility.

Four age categories have also been set for both boys and girls divisions, including nine-and-under, 11-and-under, 14-and-under, and 18-and-under.

According to the NMITFF, all schools are allowed one male and female team for each age category. Teams would comprise of five participants.

Participants running the second, third, fourth, and final legs would then need to be transported to their switch off stations before the start of the race.

The NMITFF will hold an important briefing for all coaches or school representatives this coming Thursday, Sept. 16 at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium conference room.

The briefing, scheduled to begin at 4pm, will also serve as deadline for all team rosters.

The event was originally scheduled to take place last Aug. 28 but was pushed back after NMITFF officials fund the need to allow schools more time to prepare for the event.

For more information, contact board members Kurt Barnes at 234-5498 ext. 1008 or Elias Rangamar at 664-2503.