The Sports Leigh-Out May 2-8, 2026

Hafa Adai and Tirow sports fans, this is Leigh Gases with this week’s Sports Leigh-Out brought to you by Joeten Motors!

As the islands continue to recover, here’s the latest in the sports community.

Swim team in Fiji for Oceania Champs

After a two-night mini training camp in Japan, the CNMI national swimming team headed to Fiji on Wednesday, May 6, for the 2026 Oceania Swimming Championships from May 8-13, one of the top swimming meets in the Oceania region.

Major swimming nations, including Australia, New Zealand, and Hawaii, are all competing in the meet.

The CNMI men’s team is made up of Juhn Tenorio, Isaiah Aleksenko, Kouki Watanabe, Justin Ma, Michael Miller, Moshe Sikkel, Richard Zhao, and Matthew Szefler.

The women’s team is made up of Maria Batallones, Nagisa Litulumar, Piper Raho, Nagi Tenorio, Sari Barman, Mia Camacho, and Maria Guerrero.

Heading into the championships, the team’s coach, Hiroyuki Kimura, said the goal is to advance to as many finals as possible while also seeing every swimmer achieve personal bests and break multiple CNMI records.

Despite the difficult timing as the islands continue recovering from Super Typhoon Sinlaku, the team is thankful for the chance to compete against some of the region’s top swimmers. Kimura said, “I believe we can show the world the high level of NMI swimming.”

The team also hopes their performances can bring encouragement back home in the midst of recovery, with Kimura saying, “We hope that the efforts of NMI swimmers will give courage to the people of the NMI.”

Youth badminton program hits off at TSL complex

With many children spending weeks at home after the recent typhoon, the Northern Marianas Badminton Association launched its first-ever youth development program at the Tan Siu Lin Sports Complex on Thursday, May 7, to help get kids active again through sports. It is also to gauge interest and scout for new talent and the next generation of the Junior badminton program.

Stay tuned for the full story and check out these photos by Leigh Gases.

Darwin-bound athletics team runs for more than just medals

With the NMI still dealing with the aftermath of Super Typhoon Sinlaku, the national athletics team is set to compete in the 2026 Oceania Athletics Championships in Darwin, Australia, from May 18-23.

The team is made up of seasoned athletes, along with two new additions to the national squad. Multi-medal-winning national record holder Tania Tan leads the group in the 5,000m, joined by fellow national record holder Maria Quitugua. Collegiate athletes Theodore Rodgers will compete in the 200m, while Simon Tang will run the 400m hurdles. Siblings Landen and Addalee Taflinger, making their debut, will compete in the U18 and U20 events.

Only three athletes—Quitugua and the Taflingers—are currently on Saipan, with Tan, Rodgers, and Tang flying in. The group is managed by Lia Rangamar.

The team heads into the meet not just to compete, but carrying what’s happening back home with them.

On what it means to represent the NMI during this time, Rangamar said, “It’s always an honor to represent the NMI, but there’s precious meaning when we don our colors this time around. The state of our islands and community after the storm, along with news of the suspension of the search for the Mariana crew, weighs heavy on our hearts. We hope that we can represent well for our home and for our people who are hurt but enduring, despite the long road to recovery.”

“We have Tania Tan leading a great team comprised of three other senior athletes, and two athletes who will be making a first-time appearance on the regional stage,” said Rangamar. “Nevertheless, they’re all competitors with high expectations of themselves. I’m confident they’ll lay it all out there and come out doing well.”

As for how different it is to compete at a time like this, Rangamar said, “Although we’ve weathered storms before and have an idea of what the next few weeks will look like, it still takes a toll on everyone, especially with how close our competition dates are.”

With training spaces on Saipan affected by the storm, Rangamar said, “As hard of a challenge as it has become, our athletes are eager to take advantage of the opportunity to compete.”

The 2026 Oceania Athletics Championships is the top track and field meet in the Pacific, bringing together countries under Oceania Athletics, including Australia, New Zealand, and smaller island teams like the CNMI.

Frank “The Crank” Camacho mobilizes aid for Saipan, Tinian

Frank “The Crank” Camacho has always had a fighting spirit, and as a professional fighter from the Marianas, he knows the community carries that same spirit. But he couldn’t sit idle. Right after Super Typhoon Sinlaku tore through the islands, he tapped into his network to gather donations, which were mobilized and distributed to Tinian and Saipan over the past week.

He started looking for a way to help Saipan and Tinian, knowing he couldn’t be out fixing every home himself.

“I’m just a local island boy that loves his islands just trying to figure a way out to contribute and help,” he said. He used what he had—his connections, his platform—and got people moving. He shared that this wasn’t the first time he’s helped mobilize aid for the Marianas, as he also did it after Typhoon Soudelor and Super Typhoon Yutu hit.

He linked up with Steven Gatewood at Matson, who helped secure two 40-foot containers. Jenn Camacho and the Cars Plus Guam team opened up space to collect donations. The support came from everywhere. Big companies dropped off pallets of water, diapers, and other supplies, while others came through with what they could—sometimes just a couple of gallons of water.

One container was sent to Tinian for Mayor Edwin Aldan and his office to distribute, which Camacho saw firsthand. He said the mayor’s office staff moved quickly to get the supplies out to people who needed them. The other container went to Saipan for Mayor Ramon “RB” Camacho and his office for distribution.

When he made his way to the CNMI on Thursday, Apr. 30, he said he saw the devastation from the air—everything was brown, he saw houses he had never seen before, tin everywhere, and it looked like a war zone. He said being back home after the typhoon hit different.

“You can see everything online that all these places are badly hit, but ‘til you get here and you feel it in the air and you see the trees that are down, you see the people lining up for bags of ice, it’s so surreal, and it’s so real,” he said. “I just ask that we continue to be the help that we can be. And it’s okay to be the neighbor checking up on neighbors—that’s really what makes us a community.”

When asked how his family on Saipan was doing, he said he was grateful they were safe.

As for his message to the community still reeling from the devastation and recovering, he said there are three things people can control every day: “A good attitude, work hard at getting back to normal, and just be thankful for the little things—for family, for the island, for the community. One step at a time, I think we can get better together.”

He then gave huge thanks to Jenn Camacho and the Cars Plus crew, Steven Gatewood and the Matson team, Mike Limtiaco with Pacific Trucking/Pacific Unlimited Guam, Cara Flores of Nihi Indigenous Media/Duk Duk Goose, Inc., Our Common Wealth 670, Marianas Press, Mayor Ramon “RB” Camacho and the Saipan Mayor’s Office, Mayor Edwin Aldan and the Tinian Mayor’s Office, staff from both mayor’s offices working directly with families, Henry Cruz and Sakman, Saipan Shipping, and CTSI Logistics Saipan.

NMIVA donates volleyballs to shelters

With families still in shelters following Super Typhoon Sinlaku, the NMI Volleyball Association spread joy and kept shelter residents active in the midst of recovery by donating 12 volleyballs on Saipan.

NMIVA, led by secretary Kathy Winkfield and her family, donated two volleyballs to each shelter at Marianas High School, Koblerville Elementary School, Garapan Elementary School, Kagman High School, Oleai Elementary School, and Dan Dan Head Start.

Winkfield said the group decided to donate as a way to help the community. “Because we had a lot of balls left over from the Mini Games that were used for training, donating them to the shelters was a way to keep people active. One of the American Red Cross site managers mentioned she had been searching all over the island for a ball for the kids to play with and was so thankful that we came and donated them.”

She then shared their message to the shelters: “We are donating these volleyballs to give children something to play with, stay active, and ‘keep the ball flying,’ which is NMIVA’s motto.”

As for the rest of NMIVA’s upcoming events, she said, “At the moment, all events are suspended due to recovery efforts. We recently visited the Crowne Plaza beach volleyball courts, and the nets were damaged, though we’re hopeful they can be repaired.”

With sports facilities sustaining damage, she said the postponement of the Marianas Games in June “has been a great relief for board members, athletes, volunteers, and coaches to be with their families and the community during this difficult time. In the meantime, the volleyball donations are one way to keep the ball flying and provide some relief for those who have lost so much.”