Pacific Games qualifier this Sunday

The Northern Mariana Islands Volleyball Association has been training local players through skills clinics in an effort to take top honors next summer and is continuing with its Pacific Games Beach Volleyball Qualifier Tournament Schedule to find the local crème de la crème.

Men and women looking to represent the CNMI on the sands of Samoa next summer can start to make a name for themselves this weekend as NMIVA is holding the fourth of eight qualification tournaments at the Pacific Islands Club on Sunday, Nov. 19, at1pm.

The tournament not only serves as one of the determining factors for selecting the CNMI national team but also as one of the main fundraisers for the players to help take them across the ocean

There is another November tournament in San Antonio on Nov. 26 and the players hit the beach once more the following week on Dec. 3 at 1pm.

There are also two tournaments scheduled in January as the post-holiday action resumes on Jan. 7, 2007 and Jan. 21 before wrapping up the tournament slate on Feb. 4, 2007 at 1pm.

Points will be awarded based upon the team’s performance in the tournaments. First place squads earn 10 points for their efforts on the sand, runners-up bring home eight points, third place garners six points, fourth place finishers take four points, and fifth place counts as two points toward qualifying for the CNMI team.

The cost to participate in each of the tournaments is $5 per person for NMIVA members and $10 for non-members.

Qualifying tournaments are open to everyone but the results of the qualification series will count as 65 percent of the selection process. In addition to the qualifiers, NMIVA is offering a series of volleyball clinics at the Pacific Islands Club with veteran player Russ Quinn every Wednesday through Feb. 7, 2007.

All participants will be rewarded for their commitment as attendance at the clinics count for 20 percent of the qualification process. Each session counts as two points toward making the cut and those who miss out more than half of the clinics will lose their eligibility altogether.

The final 15 percent of the process comes at the discretion of coach Quinn, who will make his rankings based upon overall fitness and shape, attitude, cooperation, skill level, and technique (passing, setting, spiking, and service).