Team Marianas athletes and officials pose for a photo with representatives of various organizations and private companies that supported the group’s participation to the 2023 Pacific Games in Honiara, the Solomon Islands. The delegation is back on island and is deeply grateful to Team Marianas sponsors.
(Northern Marianas Sports Association) — Team Marianas is back home and deeply grateful to the organizations and companies that made the participation of more than 100 NMI athletes and officials to the 2023 Pacific Games in Honiara, the Solomon Islands, possible.
The Joeten Daidai Foundation, Triple J, Crowne Plaza Resort, IT&E, IP&E, Tan Siu Lin Foundation, Mobil, Tan Holdings, and McDonald’s answered Team Marianas and the Northern Marianas Sports Association’s call for help, donating significant amount to cover significant portion of the costs of the charter flight to the Solomon Islands and back.
Christina Tudela, who brought home a gold medal from the bodybuilding competition, was among the NMI delegates that expressed their appreciation to the Team Marianas sponsors.
“I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to the Team Marianas sponsors for providing the financial support for the direct charter flight, uniforms, and other stuff for all of us. It truly saved us, athletes, from having to spend more and go through the difficulties of finding sufficient travel options on our own,” said Tudela, who debuted in the Pacific Games and topped the model physique category.
The cost per passenger for the charter flight (round-trip) was $1,600 — way below the regular fare via commercial flight, which is between $3,000 and $4,000. The charter flight, one-way, was just a little over four hours, while it would have taken NMI delegates more than 50 hours to travel via commercial with multiple layovers.
Tudela and company arrived in Solomon several days before the opening ceremonies, giving the team enough time to rest and prepare for their respective competitions. They then returned to Saipan last Sunday, bringing home five gold medals — the most by the NMI in the history of its participation in the Pacific Games — plus one silver and seven bronzes.
“I want to thank everyone in general who believed in us and had faith in us and our capacity to perform and represent our islands in this high-level competition. That was the most crucial thing because despite us facing many challenges over there — that faith they put in us is what kept us going and motivating us to deliver. I hope we made you all proud. Si Yu’us Ma’åse yan Ghilissou,” added Tudela, who personally thanked bodybuilding president Dee Clayton for her unwavering support and Latte Built for providing bodybuilders a facility to train in.
Golfer Franco Santos acknowledged Team Marianas’ sponsors for playing a critical role in their participation to the Pacific Games.
“We could not have performed the way we did without our sponsors, support from our families and friends here on the island, and ones from afar. The experience that we had was one to remember and will take that to Tahiti to bring home more medals. On behalf of Team Marianas, we greatly appreciate all the support from our community,” Santos said.
Northern Marianas National Paddle Sports Federation President Justin Andrew, who joined the NMI National Va’a Team in Solomons and served as co-manager with Joseph Weaver, also shared their appreciation to Team Marianas’ sponsors and support staff.
“Glad to be home and thank you to Team Marianas sponsors, the NMSA Board, and all support staff for getting us to Solomon Islands and back. Thank you, Chef De Mission Nick Gross for ensuring the smooth operations on the grounds, and thank you and congratulations to all our athletes/ambassadors for a job well done,” Andrew said.
NMSA President Jerry Tan noted the impact of the support of private organizations on the Team Marianas’ success in the Pacific Games.
“Through these organizations and companies’ financial assistance in securing a charter flight for Team Marianas, we were able to bring a big delegation to the 2023 Pacific Games and in return our team were motivated and represented the NMI well in Honiara,” Tan said.
“We are deeply grateful to the companies that provided assistance to the Team Marianas. They will inspire us to continuously sought more support from the government, the private sector, and other stakeholders, for the overall development of NMI sports, and to use sports as a platform to encourage our community to live a healthy lifestyle and help our athletes and officials reach milestones,” the NMSA president added.
