Friday, June 24, 2022
This past week, the Marianas hosted the most historic event on island – the Northern Marianas Pacific Mini Games 2022 (NMPMG 2022). It has been a great pleasure to see the country officials, the more than 70 teams, and our community come together to enjoy this event. The love and support that our residents showed to our athletes and visitors as they cheered them on was truly world class.
If there’s one thing that I took from this experience, it’s that no matter what we go through, sports will always bring our community closer. When I stepped on the baseball mound to throw the ceremonial first pitch, I was overcome with emotion seeing our community come together to cheer on the athletes. The support we received from the volunteers, officials, coaches was overwhelming on Rota, Tinian, and Saipan.
It goes without saying that we are incredibly proud to have hosted these games for our brothers and sisters in the Pacific. We have experienced a collective loss during the COVID-19 pandemic, which is why we are celebrating this opportunity to come together in the spirit of competition. The NMPMG 2022 brought the nations of Oceania together to celebrate our perseverance and our determination to continue moving forward, in spite of our challenges. The games brought out the best of our human spirit. Athletes cheered each other on, aimed to be our best, and tested the limits of their abilities.
To the NMPMG 2022 Games Organizing Committee, Oversight Committee, staff and volunteers, the Marianas sincerely thanks you for putting together an incredible event! In less than a year, you poured all your energy into ensuring that the NMPMG 2022 was possible. Despite the challenges you faced, you have all shown true strength in overcoming challenges along the way.
To Team NMI, the Marianas is beyond proud of what you all have accomplished in the past year to prepare for the games. The dedication, spirit, and pride that you’ve shown throughout the Games were astonishing! Thank you all for putting on the greatest display of sportsmanship. We couldn’t have asked for better athletes to represent the CNMI.
To the athletes and officials from American Samoa, Australia, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Guam, Kiribati, Nauru, New Caledonia, Norfolk Island, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tahiti, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Wallis and Futuna, from the bottom of our hearts, the Marianas thanks you all so much for sharing this experience with us. We hope that you had a taste of our culture and felt our hospitality. We enjoyed being your hosts and hope you will return to visit us again.
I thank the Northern Marianas College, who livestreamed the NMPMG 2022 event on YouTube for those who were more comfortable watching from home or from around the world, cheering for their respective countries. I am thankful for the KSPN2 News and the KKMP Radio Station for dedicating a channel/station so that we could have another broadcasting stream. Thank you also to our media partners for capturing the best of the event and archiving the stories to live forevermore in the CNMI’s history.
As we continue to celebrate the spirit of the event, let us continue to show our warm hospitality as our guests prepare to return home. Join us this weekend at the Taste of the Marianas as we close out this successful event and celebrate one last time as brothers and sisters of the Pacific.
For more information about GCEA’s programs, visit cnmieconomy.com, engage with the council on Facebook and Instagram (@cnmigov.economy), or contact them at gceacnmi@gmail.com.
By Hon. Governor Ralph DLG Torres
The Honorable Ralph DLG. Torres is the 9th Governor of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and the co-chairman of the Governor’s Council of Economic Advisers.
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