NMI wins bid to host 2008 Oceania Championships

The Northern Mariana Islands recently received great news from the Oceania Athletics Association Council with regards to the bidding for the 2008 Oceania Under 18/Open Track and Field Championships.

According to the Northern Marianas Athletics board, OAA endorsed the bid from the NMI to host the event.

Playing a big part in the decision was the NMI’s successful hosting of the 2005 Micronesia Athletics Championships in December last year, as well as the athletics competition of the recent 6th Micronesian Games.

“We have full confidence in the NMI hosting the Championships. They hosted a very successful 2005 Micronesian Sub-Regional Championships and this year they hosted the Micronesian Games,” said Oceania president Anne Tierney in a statement posted on the Oceania website.

The event will feature over 300 competitors from around the Oceania region, including Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, American Samoa, Western Samoa, New Caledonia, Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Vanuatu, the Cook Islands, and Tahiti.

No stranger to athletics in the NMI, OAA executive director Yvonne Mullins, who was on island during the MAC and Micro Games, commented on the endorsement.

“This is a great opportunity for Oceania Athletic Association to continue to grow the sport in Micronesia and to show the other two sub-regions just how far Athletics has progressed in Micronesia in the last five years,” Mullins said.

The website also indicated that “the facility on Saipan is perfect for the Championships and with an influx of athletes and officials since the laying of the synthetic track there is little doubt that the event will be a huge success.”

In an interview yesterday, NMA president Kurt Barnes said the association is excited and ready to work for another successful event.

“The Oceania Championships is the biggest [athletics] meet in the history of Micronesia,” he said. “There is nothing bigger. We’re expecting over 300 athletes, coaches, and officials and this will definitely raise the standards of competition.”

Barnes added that it will serve as a huge boost for athletics in the Commonwealth.

“All the local athletes can come and watch athletes train and compete,” he said. “This will be a big boost for the sport here in the CNMI, and will also boost the image of Saipan and the CNMI.”

Barnes explained that while communicating with several Oceania officials prior to the endorsement, he was told the Cook Islands had the best shot at winning the bid.

He, however, explained that his confidence was never shaken due to the successful hosting of the MAC and Micro Games, as well as the very positive relationships with several Oceania officials.

“Cook Islands has a grass track, and we have an all-weather track, so that was a big advantage,” he said. “Plus, we have people in Australia that were supporting the CNMI for this prestigious event because of the MAC and Micro Games.”

This year’s Oceania Championships will be held in Samoa next month. The CNMI will be sending a delegation, and CNMI track officials present at the event will accept the Oceania flag at the closing ceremony, signifying the CNMI’s hosting of the 2008 competition.