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Saipan to host Oceania athletics meeting in October
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Posted on Jul 07 2005
Saipan will host a meeting of the Oceania Athletics Association Council in October, according to Northern Mariana Islands Track and Field Federation president Kurt Barnes.
The 2004 NMASA Hall of Fame inductee disclosed yesterday that the Council will hold one of its four yearly meetings on the island later this year, marking the first time the CNMI was given the honor of hosting a meeting of the regional sports body for athletics.
“It is not very often that Oceania members venture north of the equator, but they really want to visit Saipan and see all the hard work that has been done with the new track facility,” said Barnes.
The Council, comprised of representatives from Polynesia, Melanesia, and Micronesia plus New Zealand and Australia, will arrive early morning of Oct. 21. The first meeting session will be held that afternoon.
The group also includes Council executive director Yvonne Mullins of Australia, Oceania representative to the IAAF Bill Bailey, and Oceania development officer Bill Bailey.
Another meeting will be held all day on Oct. 22 and another will be held the next day only if the Council finds it necessary.
Members of the Council will then travel to Guam for a brief meeting with athletics officials before traveling to Cairns, Australia.
Barnes said that the meeting is perfectly timed especially since the 2005 Micronesian Cup will be held on Saipan this December.
“They want to see Saipan and the new all-weather track,” he said. “Since the Micro Cup will be held on Saipan in December, they want to verify the facility.”
Barnes also said that although the NMITFF is not part of the meeting, it would ensure that the Council’s stay on Saipan “is as smooth as possible.”
“We want them to receive true island hospitality,” he said.
He explained that hosting the Council could only result on positive outcomes, as they will see first hand what the needs are in NMI athletics.
“The most important to come out of hosting the Council is that the members will see what our needs are, we can get more Level I coaching courses and the necessary equipment to finish the track, such as an electronic timing system,” he said.
