Northern Marianas Islands Amateur Sports Association president Michael White said he will look into submitting a bid for the 2018 Micronesian Games.
“We will also look at whether we should submit a bid for the 2021 Pacific Mini
Games,” he noted in an email.
Prior to Vanuatu, the quadrennial Mini Games is scheduled for Wallis and Futuna on 2013. It was held in Rarotonga, Cook Islands in 2009 and Koror, Palau in 2005.
At a much larger scale, White considers bidding to host the World University Games in at least two sports.
The WUG is sanctioned by the International University Sports Federation (FISU) and is held every two years. Unlike its counterparts – the Summer and Winter University Games – the WUG is held in even-numbered years and involves 5,800 participants from 97 countries.
“We intend to remain as active as possible in the international sporting community and to continue to promote the CNMI as an attractive place to host sporting competitions,” said White.
Along with Gov. Benigno R. Fitial, White also confirmed that the CNMI’s loss in its bid was due to economics.
“Even though we offered a per diem which was much lower than what Vanuatu offered ($30 vs. $50), it would still be cheaper for most countries to get to Vanuatu than to get to the CNMI.
“We are disappointed that we lost, because on every basis other than cost, we clearly had the best bid package. We hoped that the other countries represented on the Council would respect the principles that the Games should be shared among all the regions of Oceania, and that preference should be given to countries which have not yet had the opportunity to host. Unfortunately, those principles were not honored.”
In the Pacific Games Councils’ General Assembly at New Caledonia last Sunday, the CNMI and Vanuatu tied 8-8 in the first round of voting. Nauru was eliminated with six votes. Vanuatu won in the second round, 13-9.
“We would like to thank Gov. Fitial for his strong support for our bid. The governor deserves credit for recognizing how much the CNMI stood to benefit from hosting the 2017 Pacific Mini Games, and for doing as much as he did to back our effort,” said White.
