By James Sablan
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Variety News Staff
IN the wake of the immense devastation left behind by Super Typhoon Sinlaku, the spirit of community was on full display Saturday morning as members of the Rotary Club of Saipan gathered at the Capital Hill pickleball courts for the annual New Generations Day Pickleball Tournament.
Sponsored by the Rotary Club of Saipan, New Generations Day is an annual tradition highlighting the club’s youth-oriented branches — the high-school-based Interact Club and the young-adult-focused Rotaract Club.
Described by Rotaract of Saipan President Richard Balearas as a celebration of the next generation of future Rotarians, the day usually focuses on community service. This year, however, the youth traded their volunteer gear for paddles and whiffle balls, participating in a lively pickleball tournament hosted by the Pickleball Federation of the Northern Mariana Islands.
For Balearas, the event was a full-circle moment. As a veteran of the youth program who first joined Interact at Saipan Southern High School in 2017, he noted how meaningful it was to have the tournament organized alongside local pickleball pioneers Dr. Nelson Krum and wife Donna Krum.
“It’s very poetic,” Balearas shared, recalling the first time he heard about the sport. “I remember the first time I heard about pickleball, it was actually at a Rotary meeting, and I was sitting at the same table as the Krums.”
Balearas praised their visible passion for the sport, which has grown dynamically across Saipan.
“To see them grow the game from the parking lot of Paradise Dental to having multiple courts around the island is just amazing to see, and it is so beautiful,” Balearas said.
The sport’s footprint is not just local either. Balearas noted seeing pickleball courts inside commercial malls during a medical trip to the Philippines, underscoring the sport’s global explosion.
Saturday also marked his very first time playing the game himself.
While New Generations Day typically draws a massive delegation of youth from across the island, this year’s attendance was slightly smaller. The school year had been deeply disrupted, and the uncertainties presented by Super Typhoon Sinlaku left many families picking up the pieces.
Despite these hurdles, close to 20 participants showed up to play. The roster included Interactors from Saipan Southern High School, Saipan Community School, and Saipan International School.
The tournament itself was actually a delayed triumph. Originally scheduled for the exact week Super Typhoon Sinlaku struck the island, the youth fellowship had to be canceled so members could focus on personal recovery. Returning to the courts nearly a month later provided a much-needed mental health break for the youth.
“Today is just a really nice break from being in constant recovery mode — survival mode, as I like to call it,” Balearas remarked. “It’s a way for us to see faces that we probably have not seen in over a month, a way to check up on one another, and to try to gain some sense of normalcy that we have not felt since before the typhoon.”
While Balearas stressed that the core foundation of the Interact and Rotaract clubs will always be community service, he emphasized the importance of giving youth a dedicated day to simply be kids and young adults.
“We always do good for the community, but I think we should also have the opportunity to just relax amongst each other,” Balearas said. “The service is always non-negotiable, but we also need to learn how to enjoy ourselves and have some fun.”
As the tournament wrapped up, Balearas extended a massive thank you to current Rotary Club of Saipan President Greg Borja, who has worked with local youth programs for nearly a decade. He also credited the Krums and the resilient youth players who woke up early on a hot Saturday morning to choose joy and fellowship over the exhausting daily grind of post-typhoon recovery.
The winners of the pickleball tournament were Aaron Ignacio and Stephen Basa, who bested Matthew Huang and Victor Santos in the finals.
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.
