Youthful Va'a Team Hopes to Finish Strong

The NMI National Va'a Team has been churning up the waters off the shores of Saipan to face the Pacific's top paddlers in the upcoming 2025 Palau Pacific Mini Games from June 29-July 9, bringing together a mix of fresh high school talent and seasoned veteran athletes.

Sweat and seawater mix as hard work meets the elements—capturing the essence of the paddlers' daily, rigorous training sessions in the waters that surround us. With each stroke, they hope to hold their own against va'a powerhouses Tahiti, Fiji, and Wallis and Futuna.

During their 15-mile long-distance practice on Sunday, June 15, Marianas Press followed the team from Kilili Beach as they paddled north to Sugar Dock and back—enduring the intense Marianas sun in pursuit of peak performance.

Before their session, paddlers Emma Chong and Caleb Sablan were interviewed, along with coaches Joseph Weaver and Justin Andrew.

Chong, a 19-year-old steerer who brings experience from her high school years and the 2024 Micronesian Canoe Cup, said their practices have been going pretty well. “We see a lot of progress. It's been a pretty heavy load—we see each other almost every day except for Fridays, but it's come to the point where this is my family,” she said.

With less than two weeks before competition, their mentality is clear. “We're going to podium. No matter what—even if that's not the case, we're going to podium. In my head, we're going to succeed because we put in the work and we've bonded, we blend, and we're going to do this no matter what.”

For Weaver, he said, “We know that Tahiti, Fiji, and Wallis and Futuna are powerhouses, but our youth are pretty strong. We hope they'll be within the top five at least and we have a lot of confidence in them—they show a lot of progress.”

The interesting part of the games, he said, is the junior component. “We have a strong junior component in this team who have been paddling for at least four years. We have seven students from Saipan Southern High School, one alumni from Southern, two Marianas High School students, and the rest are adults. They're looking good and really coming along.”

It's crunch time, so the team is now practicing eight times a week according to Weaver. They have been practicing since January, and now, they're just tying up a couple more loose ends in their training.

Andrew, for his part said, “We want to use this peak week to just clean up—bring the team together tighter, and little things here and there to pull the things together like team chemistry. We have this peak week to bring all of that together and hopefully it will all come together in time for Palau.”

On how the team is looking overall now, he said, “they're looking good. They've been putting in a lot of time to come and train. The formula is just to get on the canoe and train together as a team. Do that more often, and the team will come together.”

Andrew, whose family is from Palau, has three sons—Lyle (athletics), Tyler (va'a), and Jaden (weightlifting), competing for the CNMI in the games. He said about going down to see family and competing against them, “that's the whole idea behind these games—networking, making new friends, meeting up with old friends—so I'm excited about it and look forward to it.”

He then thanked the community for their support of the team. “It's not cheap to send 160 athletes to Palau—especially the airfare, it's a hefty amount of money. So, we really appreciate all the help here and there—that goes a long way.”

For one of the younger paddlers, 16-year-old Caleb Sablan, who competed in the 2024 Micronesian Canoe Cup, he said, “I'm pretty nervous. I've watched other countries and they're really fast, but I believe that if we work hard, we'll get there… but I'm nervous because the Mini Games is a much bigger step—better competition, and it's against the elite paddlers.”

The team includes Alana Hayes, Alaysha Fejeran, Ashley Pangelinan, Ava Benavente, Ayessa Tereyama, Dayna Macaranas, Eva Weaver, Guillerma Chong, Jenisha Dubrall, Mai Peters, Victoria Aldan, Caleb Sablan, Carter Calma, Daniel Taitano, Darian Salas, Jommel Shular, Michael Peters, Matthew Peters, Noah Macaranas, Tyler Andrew, and Yu Ling Chai.

Coaching the team are Joseph Weaver and Justin Andrew, with Elaine Cabrera serving as team manager.

The team is flying out on Friday, June 27.

The 161-delegation Team Marianas is supported by the Office of the Governor, Saipan & Northern Islands Legislative Delegation, Joeten Daidai Foundation, ASC Trust, Triple J, Tan Holdings, Altanx, Quality Distributors, IT&E, Mobil, McDonald's, IT&E, Chinese Association on Saipan, GPPC, Marianas Press, Matson's, LaoLao Bay Golf & Resort, Dial-Rent-To-Own, NMI Local Peace Corps Reunion Committee, Y.K. Corporation, Shell/AFE Marianas, LLC, Wushin, I Love Saipan, BC Corporation, and Artman.