On Thursday, approximately 120 athletes are already on the island, mostly from Guam, Republic of Marshall Islands (RMI), Saipan and Chuuk. Three hundred more are expected to arrive on Thursday night via three chartered flights from Pohnpei, Kosrae and more from Saipan.
According to Vice President of CRE, and appointed Vice Mayor of the village, Thomas Taro in an interview, “The bulk of the athletes are expected to arrive on Thursday night and Saturday.”
Taro assigns the rooms to the athletes once they arrive. “I direct them to their living quarters and help them with whatever they need.”
The 32-assigned rooms for the athletes are now fully equipped with sleeping mattresses. Fifteen to 20 athletes will be sharing one room, depending on the size of the classrooms. Each classroom is equipped with toilets, but PCC has constructed 17 additional new showers in the carpentry shop. All in all, there will be 52 restrooms and 20 showers on campus.
“Athletes from Chuuk are the first ones to arrive,” Taro said. “Some delegations from Guam are still staying at motels and hotels around Koror.” Taro added that the athletes who are now on the island are enjoying exploring Koror in between practices.
“The Chuukish wrestlers are practicing, doing their routine. The basketball team from Saipan is using the gym for practice,” Taro added.
Basically, majority of the athletes will be staying in the PCC village. The spillover will be housed in the two extra buildings in Palau High School.
Taro said, they used to expect more than 1,000 athletes, but the number was cut down to 900. “Some athletes could not make it,” Taro said.
