By Roselyn B. Monroyo
Variety News Staff

NORTHERN Marianas Athletics secretary general Robin Sapong was elected Micronesian Representative to the Oceania Athletics Association Council during the 2007 OAA Congress at Sofitel Broadbeach in Queensland, Gold Coast, Australia.
Sapong joined seven other officials elected to the new Council, whose terms will run from 2007 to 2011. Elected Council president was Nortfolk Island’s Geoff Gardner.
Others elected were Danny Corcoran (Australia Representative), Trevor Spittle (New Zealand), Fiji’s Vuli Waqa (Melanesia), Frehc Polynesia’s Titaua Maurin (Polynesia), Samoa’s Willie Fong (Fourth Island) and IAAF Representative Bill Bailey of Australia.
The election was held last Friday with IAAF President Lamine Diack in attendance.
Sapong left Saipan last Thursday evening to attend the congress, which ran from Feb. 16 to 19.
He was with NMA developmental coach Elias Rangamar, who was to present the association’s plans for the Oceania Athletics Association Area Championships, which the NMI will be hosting in 2008.
Aside from attending the OAA Congress, Sapong and Rangamar were also in Australia to attend a workshop. Sapong was among the resource speakers in the clinic and wasto discuss sponsorships of tournaments.
Meanwhile, OAA during the congress named two officials as lifetime members.
Awarded Lifetime Membership in OAA were retiring council members Geoff Annear of New Zealand and the Cook Island’s Anne Tierney. Tierney was OAA’s outgoing president with Annear her vice president.
Tierney was appointed president of Athletics Cook Islands in 1996 and remains the head of the association until now. In 1991, she was elected Polynesian Area Representative and in 1999 became president of the OAA Council. During her term as president of the Council, she was elected a member of IAAF, Regional Development Centre and the IAF High Performance Training Centre.
Tierney was on Saipan when the NMI hosted the Micronesian Athletics Championships in 2005.
In 1997, she was awarded the IAAF Veterans Pin for her service to the sport
Annear was national technical official of New Zealand National Championships, South Pacific Games, Oceania Championships and Commonwealth Games for many years.
He was also a recipient of the IAAF Veterans Pin in 2001 and the Athletics New Zealand Merit in 2003.