Marianas Outrigger Club coach Dino Manning is hoping their sweep in last month’s Micro Cup 2016 in Palau would further generate more interest in the sport. MOC paddlers made history in Palau after winning the 500 and 1,500-meter sprints and the 12-mile long distance event at the Meyuns Seaplane Ramp in Koror.
It was the first time that a team from the CNMI or a team competing in the Micro Cup, for that matter, had swept all three events. “We’ve been told that no men’s team swept all the events. It is the first time that a men’s team had done it in the 18-year history of the Micro Cup,” said Manning.
MOC paddlers clocked 2:08.56 in the 500, 7:31.85 in the 1,500, and 1:28:16 in the grueling and lung-busting long distance race to beat three other CNMI squads and teams from Guam, Palau, and Hong Kong. Napu Outrigger Canoe Club, Marianas Pacific Paddlers, and Saipan Paddling Club are the other CNMI teams.
“A lot were surprised with our performance. That’s why we are hoping that our feat could further catapult the sport,” said Manning after joining his other club members in meeting Gov. Ralph DLG Torres where the CNMI’s chief executive gave all four canoe clubs from the Commonwealth $5,000 each.
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