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All set for 2008 Oceania Championships
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Posted on Jun 08 2008
Preparations are in full swing for the 2008 Oceania Championships set here on Saipan at the end of the month.
According to Rep. Ramon Tebuteb, chairman of the local organizing committee, over 300 athletes from the 21 member federations of Oceania Athletics Association will descend to the CNMI for the event that will be from June 25 to 28.
The 2008 Oceania Championship will start with cross country competition set for June 25, 6am at the sprawling Laolao Bay Golf Resort in Kagman.
The opening ceremony will be held in the afternoon from 5:30pm to 7:30pm at the American Memorial Park, where athletes will march from the Carolinian Affairs Office to the federal park.
Tebuteb said no less than Gov. Benigno R. Fitial will deliver the welcome remarks during the opening ceremony. OAA representative to IAAF Bill Bailey, OAA president Geoff Gardner, and Tebuteb himself will also speak during the event.
Island cultural welcoming presentations and an invitation-only dinner reception will then follow.
Official competition in the track and field events will commence the next three days, June 26, 27, and 28, at the Oleai Track and Field.
Two days before the start of the 2008 Oceania Championships, the island will also play host to the 2008 Oceania Grand Prix.
According to the OAA website, the Oceania Grand Prix squad of 41 athletes representing 12 member federations of Oceania Athletes will go against athletes from all of the 21 federations who will this year be competing at the Oceania Under 18 and Open Area Championships.
The management team for this year’s Grand Prix are made up of Peter Wilson (Grand Prix director), Siniva Marsters (Grand Prix team manager), and Tierata Taukaban (Grand Prix coach).
Marsters is a previous Grand Prix team member, while Taukaban is an Oceania Athletic development officer based in Kiribati.
