Colin Ramsey, left, hits the ball, while teammate June Yu looks on during training Thursday at the National Tennis Center in Honiara, the Solomon Islands.
NMI swimmers practice at the National Aquatics Center on Thursday in Honiara to prepare for the swimming competition of the 2023 Pacific Games.
HONIARA (Northern Marianas Sports Association) — The Team Marianas delegates have settled in at the Athletes Village with several teams taking time on Thursday to check their match venues and train for their respective events in the 2023 Pacific Games.
“With 95% of team NMI on-island, I am happy to report that we are ready to kick off the games tomorrow with our men’s tennis team,” Chef De Mission Nick Gross said.
“Team NMI successfully arrived in Honiara via our charter flight with Solomon Air on Wednesday around 4:30 p.m. What an incredible experience, knowing that typical commercial flights take 50+ hours of flying to get here. After a few bumps and changes in the initial plan, Team Marianas was able to get comfortably situated in our village and got a decent night of rest. Day 1 on-island proved to be a busy one as we split-up to investigate their venues, training areas, and overall understanding of the venues,” Gross added.
“Overall, the [organizing committee] and their volunteers have done a fantastic job of making us comfortable and taking care of our needs. Over the next week or so, we’ll be joined by the remaining members of Team Marianas and nearly all of our 10 sports will begin seeing action. We’re continuing with training and look forward to showcase our abilities with the best of the Pacific. Thanks again, for all that supported the cause and cheer loud and proud for Team Marianas,” Gross said.
The men’s tennis players will be the first NMI team to compete today, Friday.
“We are in a tough pool. We are with Tahiti and Vanuatu,” said player/coach Colin Ramsey, who will be joined in the team event by Moris Villanueva, June Yu, and Nasson Wessel.
Ramsey and company were able to practice at the event’s venue Thursday and will have their first game at 9 a.m. (8 a.m. Saipan time) against Vanuatu, which finished second to the NMI in the men’s team event in last year’s Pacific Mini Games. NMI and Vanuatu will start with the men’s singles 2, followed by singles 1, and then the doubles. Villanueva will suit up for the NMI in the first men’s singles, while Ramsey will take the other singles schedule in the opener. The two adult players are also expected to team up in the doubles event against Vanuatu, which has Fintan Molbaleh, Andre Pierre, Zachary Sands, and Roberto Wong on its roster.
Besides Tahiti and Vanuatu, other teams competing in tennis are the Cook Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Guam, Nauru, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, and the Solomon Islands.
Also getting a chance to practice Thursday were the NMI Men’s National Football and National Swim teams.
For football, the NMI players managed to practice at Training Site 2 at the SINU Kukum grounds, while NMI Men’s National head coach Michiteru Mita inspected the game pitch at the newly built Solomon Islands Football Federation facility. The NMI Men’s National Football Team was also able to take a look at its first opponent, Fiji, which will be led by pro players Roy Khrishna and Akuila Mataisuva.
For their part, NMI swimmers were able to train during their first two days in Solomons and will be the third group of NMI athletes to see action in the 2023 Pacific Games when they compete in the pool on Monday.
Weightlifting competitions will also kick off Monday. Team Marianas’ representatives in golf, beach volleyball, triathlon, va’a, and athletics will not see action until late next week.
Team Marianas’ participation in the 2023 Pacific Games is made possible by the support of the Joeten Daidai Foundation, Triple J, Crowne Plaza Resort, IT&E, IP&E, Tan Siu Lin Foundation, Mobil, Tan Holdings, and McDonald’s.
