Marianas Outrigger Club hauled a lot of hardware during the three-day 23rd Annual Micronesia Cup Canoe Race held off the waters of Matapang Beach, Guam last weekend.
Unfamiliar waters did little to deter MOC’s paddlers as they rowed themselves and their canoes past other teams from Micronesia. For their time under the sun and salty water and air, MOC bagged four gold medals, three silver medals, and one bronze medal.
They won gold in the women’s 500m sprints with a time of 3:01; in the women’s 1,000m race with a time of 6:26; the men’s long distance 10-mile marathon race at 1:36:00; and the mixed 1,000m race with a time of 6:15.
Pipit Ball won a silver medal in the V1 500m sprints with a time of 2:55 and MOC finished second in the women’s long distance 10-mile marathon race with a time of 1:52:00 and in the mixed 500m sprints with a time of 3:03.
Their lone bronze medal was in the mixed long distance 8-mile race with a time of 1:42:00.
Ball, who competed with seven other V1 paddlers, said that it “created an exciting and competitive atmosphere. Everyone gave their best, adding more pressure and making it a bit intimidating in good ways.”
She said she felt “confident and great this year,” in her race as she was prepared and ready to compete with new faces in a different place again.
The conditions, she said, were “all different this time, but I wouldn’t call it a struggle. We practiced in different conditions in Saipan, so I see it as just another day of “paddling day all day.” Practice and training are always the hardest parts, the competition day is the time to prepare our mental readiness.”
Her strategy was to “listen to the coach, stay composed, focused, and calm. I did my best and enjoyed the glides in the beautiful turquoise water of the Marianas.”
She added that this is her second V1 race for the Micronesia Cup. Last year, it was held in Palau, and Ball said “I only had one practice with the V1 and didn’t place. But this year, in 2023, coach [Jason] Tarkong and I have been putting in more time practicing with the V1 after Palau. So, I want to thank him for his efforts, time, and patience in training me harder. The local competition has also been helping us work harder. Our hard work paid off this year in the Micronesian Cup 2023 in Guam… We are not going to stop here. We will continue to improve and perform better in every next race.”
She then thanked the Northern Marianas Nationals Paddling Sports Federation for supporting its members. “Thank you to coach Jason Tarkong for all his efforts, patience, guidance, discipline, and even the occasional frustration scream. Thank you to all the supportive members of the MOC men’s and women’s teams for always showing up to practice. We have all achieved this together and a big thank you for all the friendships and experiences with every paddler in Saipan and Guam, I am very proud to be part of the community.”
MOC president and paddler Tim Asaivao, for his part, said overall it was a great competition. “Everyone paddled hard for three days. There were a lot of strong clubs that made for action packed races with exciting finishes.”
The struggles were that they took some time to adjust to the water conditions and canoe type.
“Matapang Beach can run shallow sometimes and the wind and current run opposite directions so we made some adjustments to accommodate that,” he said.
The highlights of the competition, he said, was that it was the first time they competed in the mix crew category.
“We have not practiced as a mixed crew and just wanted to get our feet wet, and the crews went out there and won a gold in the 1000m, silver in the 500m, and bronze in the marathon. Also just seeing the camaraderie of the group—the way they cheered for one another, supported, and looked out for one another on and off the water. It’s a great group we have here and makes it that much easier going to battle when everyone cares for each other.”
He added that the women had a strong performance and swept the sprints then took a close second in the marathon. “The women and coach Tarkong should be very proud of their consistent and outstanding performances. The men’s team faced some adversity in the sprints but regrouped, refocused, and answered the call with a decisive gold victory in the marathon. Pip (Ball) showed off her hard year of V1 training with a silver in the 500m Sprint. As a team it was a great outing—they represented our club and the island of Saipan very well.”
MOC would like to thank their families for their support and understanding.
“Our community sponsors are Ace Hardware, Aloha Alkaline, Moylan’s Insurance, Pacifica Insurance, Joeten Motors, Joeten Superstore, Calvo Insurance Rota, Saipan Stevedore, All Star Sporting Goods, Boarderline, The Athletes Foot, Saipan Shipping Company, DFS Enterprises, Turnkey Solutions, The Shack Saipan, Tropical Instant Press, Saipan Apparel, Pena House Boutique, Seasoned with Hafa Adai, Pualani Crown, Saku Bloom, Spndylus, Hyatt, Stitched, Ginen Marianas, Marianas Pacific Distributors, Inc., Peskatackle, Island Tide, Fish & Tackle, O My Grill, Kiki’s, Taboo, JCT Enterprise, Latte Cafe, McDonald’s Guam and Saipan,and Beyer Woodworking,” said Asaivao.
He then congratulated all the Saipan teams for their own medal haul and great performances.
Results of NMNPSF’s other clubs—Saipan Paddling Club and Marianas Pacific Paddlers—races will be posted in the next editions of Saipan Tribune.