{"id":236632,"date":"2016-09-16T06:00:20","date_gmt":"2016-09-15T20:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=236632"},"modified":"2016-09-16T06:00:20","modified_gmt":"2016-09-15T20:00:20","slug":"spc-send-3-squads-palau-micro-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/spc-send-3-squads-palau-micro-cup\/","title":{"rendered":"SPC to send 3 squads to Palau for Micro Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"
Saipan Paddling Club\u2019s junior members work their way to the finish line of the 500m race in the All CNMI Juniors Outrigger Regatta 2016 held in May in the waters off Kilili Beach. Roselyn B. Monroyo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Saipan Paddling Club will be fielding three teams in the Micro Cup, which will be held next month in the waters off Meyuns Ramp in Koror, Palau.<\/p>\n

SPC head coach Justin Andrew said the club will have its junior girls team and men\u2019s and women\u2019s squads competing in the 500m and 1,500m sprint races and the three long distance events\u20146, 10, and 12-mile courses.<\/p>\n

A total of 26 paddlers will represent SPC in the regional tournament with the group\u2019s women\u2019s team composed of Danica Calvo, Elaine Cabrera, Gerlyn Libunao, Krista Falig, Laarni Zapanta, Losanna Santos, Maria Valentina Haberman, Rica Concepcion, Sylvia Taggart, and Jean Ballesteros. Justine Andrews leads SPC\u2019s men\u2019s squad and he will be teaming up with his son Joshua, John Mario, Scottie Litulumar, Glenn Muna, and Daniel Kaipat. The club\u2019s junior girls team, on the other hand, has Mika Ythemar, Jaslyn William, Dominique Calvo, Leanna Roligat, Josephine Aguon, Deanna Kapileo, Juannie Tenorio, and Catherine Reyes as members.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the largest paddling group the club has ever sent to a competition. I think this will also the biggest that CNMI will ever send to compete in this kind of tournament. Although SPC has sent its paddlers off island to compete in the Micro Cup in the past, majority of SPC\u2019s 2016 Micro Cup team members are new. That said, we will do our best and hope for any of the top spots in the events,\u201d said Justine, who is also the president of the club.<\/p>\n

SPC\u2019s paddlers have been training since early this year to prepare for the Micro Cup, which will run from Oct. 21 to 23.<\/p>\n

\u201cSPC teams have been working and training for the past seven months, three times a week for a total of about eight hours per week. We will continue to train until the second week of October when our teams will begin departing for Palau,\u201d the SPC head said.<\/p>\n

\u201cTraining consists of short sprints, turning techniques, and distance runs. Other trainings the teams are also doing are cardio and muscle endurance workouts on and off the canoes. In addition, locally sponsored races that have been held over the past months were used as training grounds for our local teams,\u201d Justine added.<\/p>\n

SPC will be battling squads from Palau, Guam, FSM, and Justine picked the host team as the favorites in next month\u2019s competition.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe never dismiss the power of the \u2018home-court advantage\u2019 therefore we know Palau will be tough to beat. This is not to mention that visiting teams from the region are not going to be tough to beat, they have all put in time and efforts to be unbeaten\u2014we look forward to the camaraderie and the rich paddling experience our SPC paddlers will learn from this competition,\u201d Justine said.<\/p>\n

The club is still holding fundraising events and accepting donations for their participation in this year\u2019s Micro Cup.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to thank the Napu Outrigger Canoe Club and the Saipan Outrigger Canoe Club for their support and for allowing our teams to train on their outrigger canoes. I also want to thank the parents and the families of all our SPC junior paddlers for their continued and untiring support. We would also like to thank the business and the local communities for their generous in-kind and monetary support for our fundraising events. Without all these supports, our SPC teams would not be able to train and represent our Commonwealth and the club in this upcoming event in Palau,\u201d the SPC president said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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