NMASA president Michael White announced that the organization has already asked the Legislature’s help to try and revamp the NMASA statute.
President Michael White has already submitted a revision draft to Representative Ray Tebuteb last month suggesting the proposed takeover of the Oleai Sports Complex giving the organization lee way for flexibility within the complex.
A copy of the draft has not been released to the media yet as the organization would like to have lawmakers look at it first.
NMASA was established because of PL No. 4-66 approved by former Governor Pedro P. Tenorio during the 4th Legislature in 1984.
PL No. 4-66 says it has powers and duties in regulating the use, operation, and maintenance of sports facilities of the CNMI government, under a memorandum between the association and the departments of Community and Cultural Affairs, Natural Resources, Education, Public Works, and the Office of the Governor.
After the passing of this bill however, years later the Division of Sports and Recreation alone has been maintaining and operating the facilities in Susupe.
Injunction with this the 2011 Pacific Games are fast approaching and the CNMI team wishes to compete. Team CNMI has less than a year before the competition and the Northern Marianas Amateur Sports Association requests for financial help from the government for the team’s trip to Noumea, New Caledonia.
The Pacific Games are scheduled to blaze on from Aug. 27 to Sept. 10 with 28 sports lined up for the quadrennial event.
NMASA calculated the cost for the trip to add up to $1,800 per delegate. President Michael White sent a letter to the Legislature through Representative Ray Tebuteb asking for financial assistance for the Pacific Games and the NMASA organization awaits the reply of the government.
Unfortunately the NMASA does not receive annual funding of any kind from the government and relies on its members’ monthly fees and contributions from private sectors alone. White announced in the last NMASA monthly meeting the NMASA’s funds are nearly depleted after needing to pay for the previous sporting events it participated in.
The NMASA board of directors devised a plan to help its delegates meet the payments required by having each delegate make five payments before the quadrennial event.
The first payment of $360 is due next month December 1st, 2010
President White suggests that that interested sports federations could also host fundraisers and other events to help finance their respective trip to the Noumea.
There are still hats and shirts available for sale at $15 a piece from the past Micronesian games at the NMIFA office located in the TSL Plaza in Garapan across Wild Bills.
NMASA President Michael White is hoping that the CNMI will send more participants to the Pacific Games after the turn out in 2007, Pacific Games in Apia Samoa, where the CNMI only sent two sports federations to compete in the athletics and beach volleyball category.
Athletics and beach volleyball are two of the 12 sports and the others that complete the list are basketball, indoor volleyball, soccer, golf, weightlifting, swimming, rugby 7’s, tennis, table tennis, canoe racing, badminton, baseball, boxing, cricket, power lifting, handball, judo, karate, squash, surfing, taekwondo, shooting, archery, sailing, and triathlon.
