By James Sablan
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Variety News Staff
THE local pickleball community served up strong competition, transforming the Paddles for the World Stage pickleball tournament — a three-day fundraising event aimed at sending a 28-player contingent to the upcoming World Cup in Da Nang, Vietnam — into a rallying effort to support the Pickleball Federation of the Northern Mariana Islands’ dream to compete on the international stage.
“In April, we were invited for the first time to attend the World Cup,” PFNMI President Dr. Nelson Krum said during the tournament held June 26 to 28 at the American Memorial Park and Capital Hill pickleball courts.
“It’s by invitation only. They’re expecting 80 countries and about 4,000 players. We’ve been playing here just a little over six years, and this is the first time we’ve had a chance to attend an international event from the CNMI,” he said.
While 28 players are making the trip to Vietnam, Krum said the CNMI training squad includes nearly 50 players, with travel conflicts and competitive cuts determining the final traveling roster.
The tournament opened Friday night with intense singles competition across multiple skill levels, followed by doubles matches on Saturday and concluding with an action-packed mixed doubles division.
Local standouts dominated the podiums.
In singles, Noel Lloren (3.0), Eduard Armia (3.5), and Levi Omampo (4.0) captured top honors in their respective divisions.
In doubles, the pairs of John Yu and Jian Chun (3.0), Eduard Armia and Cris Hilario (3.5), Richard Asuncion and Dong Lacbayo (4.0), and the tandem of Cha Florendo and Fatima Pascual (women’s 3.0), Clarissa Palumar and Jocelyn (3.5), and Marivic Dunlop and Joan Henzon (4.0) delivered gold-medal performances.
In mixed doubles, Mikayla Lopez and Richard Asuncion captured the 4.0 title, while Pebbles Sablan and Eduard Armia won the 3.5 division. Erlwin Aguirre and Clarissa Palumar claimed the 3.0 crown.
The 3.0 mixed doubles division was the largest bracket of the weekend, drawing 13 teams.
When asked about the competition level in Vietnam, Krum offered a candid assessment with a touch of humor.
“We’re going to get spanked big time,” he said with a laugh.
However, international tournament rules limit teams to just one professional player rated 6.0 or higher per squad.
“Well, we don’t have any pros here,” Krum said. “A pro is a 6.0 or better player. Our top local players, like Chelsea Henzon and Mikayla Lopez, are around the 4.0 to 4.5 level.”
He said the absence of hyper-elite professionals could work in CNMI’s favor, with team chemistry potentially becoming a key advantage on the world stage.
The fundraising effort comes as the islands continue recovering from a recent typhoon, with infrastructure challenges impacting tournament scheduling.
“As you can see, the lights are gone,” Krum said, pointing to the courts. “It used to be you could play here until 10 o’clock at night — best lights on the island. Now we have to wrap things up by 7 p.m. We’re somewhat limited in how many games we can play, and we can’t work through midday because it’s too hot.”
Despite shortened playing windows, the event raised approximately $1,500 over the three-day tournament.
Looking ahead, PFNMI also aims to grow sports tourism. “There are 1.9 billion Asians playing pickleball,” Krum said. “If we can attract some of them to our island for sports tourism, we’re hopeful we can turn a lot of Asia on to our little island.”
With a fundraising goal of $30,000 to $50,000 to support travel and accommodation for the national team, PFNMI expressed gratitude to corporate sponsors, including a $2,000 donation from the Northern Mariana Sports Association, as well as $1,000 contributions from Latte Built Gym and Da Bao Auto Parts.
The federation has scheduled one final fundraising tournament for the first weekend of August to help secure remaining funds before the team departs for the World Cup, which runs from August 30 to September 6.
James Sablan has been a sports reporter for Variety since 2013. He was a liberal arts student of Northern Marianas College and covers all local sports.
