Showers greet CNMI delegation in Palau

KOROR, Palau—The bulk of the 129-strong CNMI delegation to the 2005 South Pacific Mini Games arrived in Palau late Friday night, beginning their two-week campaign where they will compete with the best in the region in various sports.

Led by chef de mission and Northern Marianas Amateur Sports Association president Michael White, the athletes touched down at the Palau International Airport almost an hour later than scheduled—9:05pm Palau time, 10:05pm Saipan time—due to mechanical difficulties experienced by their aircraft, as well as a medical concern for one of the women’s fast pitch softball players, who felt ill shortly before take off from Guam.

During an interview Saturday, though, White stated the player was doing fine and was scheduled to arrive on Palau Saturday.

“She’s supposedly alright and she’ll be on [last night’s] plane, so we’ll be picking her up at the airport,” he said.

Despite the turbulence and delays, the delegation remained in good spirits, boarding school buses provided by the host country. The team finally crossed the bridge connecting Airai and Koror under Mother Nature’s showers and soon reached the Palau Community College, their home for the next two weeks.

True team spirit was featured as members from various sports assisted one another in locating luggage, bags, and equipment, which was unloaded at the PCC.

“We got in here and things went pretty well,” White said. “We got into our dorms and settled in before midnight and everyone got a goodnight sleep, I hope.”

The members all had smiles on their faces, entering rooms that were equipped with air conditioners.

“I think this is probably the best accommodations we’ve ever had in the Games,” said tennis coach Jeff Race. “This is my ninth Games—Micro Games, Mini Games, South Pacific Games—and we’ve never had a room with aircon before. That’s pretty comfortable and that keeps the insects down as well and it’s not too crowded and we have the shower and toilet facilities right here near our rooms.”

White also commended the organizers on Palau for the “wonderful” accommodations.

“Everything is wonderful,” he said. “Palau really seems to have its act together and the things that I have to deal with I know are really going smoothly and things are working fine at the cafeteria, and everybody seems to be happy. The only thing we can improve is the weather a little bit,” he said jokingly.

Players representing seven sports awoke early Saturday morning and showed just how focused they were. Shortly after breakfast, the women’s softball team was busy doing early morning workouts at the parking lot due to the drenched field. The swimmers made their way to the Palau National Swimming Pool in Meyuns; the netters hit the tennis courts after using up some time to dry up the area; the baseball squad joined the workout at the parking lot; beach volleyball players were not able workout on the sand pits due to final touches being done to the facility, but still took time to hit the track and field area to work on some bumps and sets; swimmers and netters put up another session in the afternoon; and the athletics crew did their work in the late afternoon.

The NMI will also be represented in outrigger canoeing, wrestling, table tennis, and triathlon, whose athletes have yet to arrive.

Meanwhile, White met with the organizing committee at 2pm Saturday, paying what was owed for premium. During the meeting, White received all credentials for the delegation, which he said he would be pass out during a delegation coaches meeting later that evening.

“At 7pm [Saturday night], I’m going to have a meeting with all our coaches, which we’ll do every night at 7pm just to pass information back and forth. There’s a lot of stuff that comes down from the organizing committee and the coaches need to know to get our team ready for competition,” he said.

Technical committee meetings were scheduled Sunday. During the meeting, each sport representative from each country will be reminded of all the rules and informed of competition draws.

The Games officially got underway with an opening ceremony yesterday at 5pm at the track and field facility.

The CNMI flag bearer was not known as of press time. White said it would be decided during the coaches meeting Saturday night.

All was well, and prior to touching down in Palau, majority of the athletes made good use of their layover on Guam, mingling and getting to know fellow ambassadors. While several were making good use of their deck of cards, others were waiting at the gate watching a movie through a laptop computer. Others were sharing experiences, concerns, and goals, some were touring the DFS Galleria, some took naps, and some even exited the airport and visited malls, among others.

Several members, including those of the men’s and women’s softball teams, left Saipan as early as 4:30am Friday morning. The group waited for the next CNMI group, which departed at 2:05pm and arrived in Guam some 30 minutes later.

The two groups then waited for their 6:50pm departure time to Palau before the delay occurred.

“It was all right, but I didn’t really enjoy it because the plane was kind a shaky,” baseball player Jonathan Tenorio said of the flight. “I really wanted to come to Palau and get some rest. I’m looking forward to the competition and we’re ready.”