NMIVA women return to the sand

The race between the top individuals qualifying for the 2005 South Pacific Mini Games in Palau this July is heating up, and the Northern Mariana Islands Volleyball Association is continuing the string of tournaments to decide this year’s sand court delegation.

It’s the women’s turn at the beach this weekend, as teams of two will compete for the precious NMIVA qualification points at the Pacific Islands Club this Sunday, Feb. 13, at 9am.

Organizers are hoping to have a better turnout than they did two weeks ago when four teams made their way to the PIC and while anyone intending on playing in the Mini Games should be entered, the NMIVA tournaments are open to anyone interested in partaking in the beachside events.

That being said, their officers were extremely pleased with the enthusiasm displayed by the participants, and gusty performance by tournament champions Milli Saiki and Melissa Hallaby.

“Although there were only four teams, there was plenty of great volleyball played. It’ll be exciting to see some of these teams in a rematch this weekend” said NMIVA secretary Steve Nguyen.

As a reminder of future action that lies ahead, there are still two remaining qualification tournaments left. The courts at the Hyatt Regency Saipan will roar back to action the next weekend, as there will be a two-day event on Saturday, Feb. 19, and Sunday, Feb. 20. The two-day affair gets underway at noon and serves as the final outing before the biggest event of the local scene—the 2005 Marianas Cup on Feb. 25-27.

“We want as many people as possible to come participate in these events,” said Nguyen.

While the prices for all of the qualifiers are $7 for NMIVA members and $12 for non-members, all of the money collected from these games will help pay for part of the cost for sending a men’s and women’s team to compete in Palau this July and August.

Players must team up together by March 1, and the combination of their individual points will determine whether or not they will be the CNMI representatives at the Mini Games this summer.

The aim of NMIVA is to have the players find their prospective teammates as soon as possible and compete together in the qualifying events. At the very least, they hope to have the top players come together after the qualifiers and join up for the biggest two-person beach volleyball event of the year—Marianas Cup.

In addition to the new association putting a new spin in the local volleyball scene, NMIVA needs help designing a logo. Anyone interested in designing a logo for the fledgling association can notify Nguyen via email at soundsticks@qmail.com or by calling 234-0522.