The MPP — led by team captain Eric Macduff — will be comprised of a six-man squad and will join the 500-meter, 1,500m and 11-mile long distance events.
“We were on and off for about two years. We picked it up for the past three months because we decided that we were going to Guam,” Macduff told Variety in an interview.
Both he and teammate David Barnhouse had earlier won bronze medals in last year’s Micronesian Games in Palau. Barnhouse is currently the MPP’s only returning athlete to the Micro Cup.
The rest of the team includes Peter Pangelinan, Leo Apello, Derek Litulumar, and Saipan Southern High School sophomore and boys varsity paddler James Roberto.
“We’re actually set up for a 500-meter crew but we’re also up for the long distance,” said Macduff, who held the group’s final practice session at Kilili Beach yesterday morning.
The team will be heading to Guam today.
The Micro Cup is an international event and is joined by 50 teams from Guam, the CNMI, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, and Palau.
Heats under the long distance event will be held on Saturday. Both the 500m and 1,500m events will commence on Sunday.
This will be the MPP’s first time to compete in the Micro Cup as a group, said Macduff.
The CNMI will also be represented by 10 female paddlers from local canoe club Hoe Lokahi.
The group, coached by Ed Johnson, will include Mindy Park, Melia Johnson, Rachel Zuercher, Liz Church, Dana Okano, Lisa Eller, Semona Igama, Mina Yu, Myla Capilitan, and Leilani Nielson.
Within the women’s category, the Micro Cup will be holding 500m, 1,500m, and a shorter four-mile long distance event.
Park — who has been practicing with Hoe Lokahi since August — will be paddling in her very first Micro Cup.
“We build stamina and endurance during practice and we’re hoping to do our best,” she said.
