Visitors brighten up sports community

The CNMI sports community was greeted by bad news at the start of the week, but the succeeding days brought good fortunes for the Commonwealth with the arrival of off-island athletes and sports officials.

Michael White, president of the Northern Marianas Amateur Sports Association, returned to Saipan after attending a meeting in Rarotonga, Cook Islands and delivered the bad news: The Pacific Games Council decided to uphold the eligibility rules implemented in the 2007 South Pacific Games in Apia, Samoa allowing only U.S. citizens or citizens of the islands/nations they are representing to compete in the 2009 South Pacific Mini Games in Rarotonga, Cook Islands.

Following White’s announcement, CNMI tennis coach Jeff Race said they will be skipping next year’s Mini Games, as two of their players are affected by the eligibility rules.

Badminton is not included in the calendar of events in next year’s Mini Games, but Oceania Badminton Confederation regional development manager Tony Mordaunt is hoping that once the sport makes the list, the CNMI will have qualified coaches and athletes for the event.

Mordaunt conducted a series of coaching clinic last week and toured various schools on Saipan to teach the basics of the sport.

He held an introductory course for coaches at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium and awarded certificates to 12 qualified ones at the conclusion of the seminar last Saturday.

FIBA Oceania officials Steve and Judy Smith was also on island to conduct a seminar.

Steve is FIBA Oceania’s secretary general, while Judy is the zone’s administrative officer.

The two officials taught BANMI volunteers how to use the FIBA Organizer, FIBA Live Stats Program and the FIBA Oceania Website, which the CNMI will be needing when it hosts the 2009 Oceania Tournament in June.

The Smiths also met with officials from both the private and public schools on Saipan to reiterate the importance of the development of basketball in the interscholastic level.

They also inspected venues and hotels which will be used for the Oceania tournament next year.

CNMI’s next visitor was Asian Football Confederation instructor Jose Ariston Padre Caslib of the Philippines.

Caslib started an eight-day introductory coaching course last Thursday at NMIFA Office located at the third floor of the TSL Plaza in Garapan. The coaching course will conclude on Oct. 16 and will cover theoretical and practical sessions.

The theoretical sessions will discuss planning a coaching session, coaching method and learning process through video skills training, age group training 1 and 2, nutrition and hydration, laws of the game, and course review.

The practical part will have coaches learning about warming up and cooling down exercises, coordination/ball feeling/dribbling, passing 1 and 2, ball control, shooting, defending play, attacking play, and basic goalkeeping.

The course will help local coaches/teachers for the upcoming interscholastic and youth leagues.

Next on the list were the Japanese ping-pong players.

Asian Games gold medalist and World Championship bronze medal winner Hiroyuki Abe, along with 10 other Japanese ping-pong players, arrived in the CNMI Thursday to take part in the Large Ball Ping-Pong Tournament on Tinian.

While visiting athletes, officials, and coaches shared their expertise to local talents, our athletes continued to show their wares in various tournaments.

Team Brotherhood won their first ever pennant by beating Man Amigos, 9-1, in the 2008 Belau Amateur Softball Association Slow-pitch League.

Acme Roofing continued to lead the 2008 Miller Lite Four-Person Beach Volleyball League as it is unbeaten in five games at the Pacific Islands Club sand court.

The San Antonio Sixers and the CNMI Junior Nationals are also undefeated in the Rotary caging and will be battling for the pennant this week.

Grace Christian Academy is unbeaten no more after Whispering Palms handed the Eagles their first loss in 10 games in the middle school division of the 2008 Coalition of Private Schools Sports Association Volleyball League.