San Jose, Tinian youths won overall championship for 3 straight years
By Julie Ann Loong, for the North Star
With over 200 youth and dozens of chaperones in attendance, calling the 2019 Diocese of Chalan Kanoa Sportsfest a success is an understatement.
8AM is an early time for teenagers to be up on a summer day, but that was no problem for the many who met at that time inside the Marianas High School cafeteria on Friday, July 19 to attend the concelebration of the Holy Body and Blood of Christ led by His Excellency, Bishop Ryan P. Jimenez along with a handful of our diocese’s priests and deacons. This was a new and beautiful way to begin an event that brought together the youth of our church.
Beginning every day by listening to the Word of God, this year’s Sportsfest had focused more on spiritual wellness than every previous one. The youth were parishioners from every church on island, and within the large group, there also included were 21 young men and women with their 4 chaperones from San Jose Parish, Tinian.
“Let the games begin!” exclaimed Bishop Ryan inside the MHS gym after saying his blessing over the participants. After a round of applause and cheers filled the gymnasium, Friday’s events unfolded. The day served as Exhibition Day with volleyball and basketball matches between the parishes being the main events. Ultimate Frisbee was the only sport that had to be played outdoors on a field, so it had to be postponed to the final day of the event due to the rainy weather, but everyone enjoyed the day of friendly competition as they all warmed up for the two remaining days.
At the end of the first day, Father Anthony Aguason gave a spiritual talk to the youth regarding the importance of the cardinal virtues.
“Virtues are the means for happiness. The goal of a virtuous life is to become like God. Prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance are the four cardinal virtues. After we finish our lives here on earth, we can go back to our heavenly home by being virtuous. The prudent man looks where he is going. The primary purpose of man is to thank the Lord. This is justice to our God. Our mission is not to please other people, but to do good, since we cannot go to heaven alone. Like out theme for the Sportsfest, let us say that we have kept the faith whether we win or lose. We remain virtuous, good, and happy.”
Day 2
Saturday’s Opening Liturgy at 8AM was presided by Deacon Stan Benavente. The morning’s reading was taken from 2Ti 4, and it contained the 2019 Sportsfest’s main theme: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” Deacon Stan shared his reflection on the reading.
“To win or succeed in anything is good. By building and perfecting the gifts from God is praising and glorifying Him. To excel in the person God has called us to be in this life is pleasing to Him who gave us life. And the message from Saint Paul to us today is that we should also run the race of our spiritual lives with the same discipline, with the same focus, with as much enthusiasm and vigour as the race that we run in our daily lives. The crowns for the races in our daily lives are perishable. The crown of our spiritual race is one which will last for all eternity. It is a crown that will never wither or tarnish. It also requires we have discipline that we take time to be with God in prayer, reading scripture, going to the sacraments as much as we can, and to unconditionally love our neighbours as ourselves.”
Since Saturday was the beginning of the elimination rounds, all the participants gave their best efforts in representing their parishes. Parents, siblings, members of the clergy, basically everyone was there to cheer for their teams.
Saturday was also a day that the beginning of something new took place. The Diocesan Health Commission held a health fair simultaneously with the Sportsfest. While the two events went on, the youth and their supporters were able to transfer between them. The mission of the Health Commission had been achieved as hundreds received awareness on health and wellness while actively staying fit by playing sports.
Day 3
The final day of the Sportsfest was saved for the championship and Ultimate Frisbee matches and mini games. There was a military-grade obstacle course that exercised the physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional wellness of the participants, and a group of young men from San Jose, Tinian set a record for the fastest time completed. A participant from San Vicente dominated the eating competition, and 4 men from Saint Jude won the Tug-of-War Competition. The busy day went by in full swing, and at the end, the winners were awarded for their accomplishments:
Saint Jude’s team defeated Mt. Carmel and took home the basketball trophy.
Sam Santos, the Youth Commission representative from Saint Jude, explained, “This is the second time we’ve won the basketball for the second time. The last time was in 2017. The youth commission was able to sit together, make compromise, see what was fair, and create a learning experience that sets a standard for next year. This sportsfest has got to be my favourite since we initiated this event three years ago because we have this wonderful facility that was made available to us thanks to Marianas High School. I saw that the parishes were much more involved. They came in uniforms and balloons. It shows that this initiative is becoming something that the youth are looking forward to. We tried to get as many active youths from within our parishes, but it’s nice to see others who are willing to play. It is a window to evangelization. They see that this is a program started by the Catholic Church, and even if they are far from their faith, this is a teaching moment. This is a wonderful thing we are doing.”
Jayrald Mercene, the Youth Commission representative from Mt. Carmel, said, “Our basketball players tried their very best. We made it to the championships but fell just short. Congratulations to Saint Jude for putting up a good fight. We hope to be there again to compete for the championship again next year.”
San Jose, Tinian had once again taken home both the ultimate frisbee and volleyball trophies.
Finally, after calculating the points earned from winning matches and mini games, it was the Crusaders who brought home the Perpetual Trophy for their third year in a row.
Tyler Santos from San Jose, Tinian, titled the star player by his peers, shared his thoughts on the weekend. “We were proud to represent our parishes and do our best in playing the sports. We arrived here on Thursday and we leave tomorrow, and there was tough competition here, but overall, the Sportsfest this year went by great.”
As part of the Diocesan Youth Commission and a coach and chaperone for the Crusaders, Dawn Sarmiento also had some things to say. “The process of recruiting and practicing to get here took about a month a half because with the situation on Tinian with the rebuilding and recovering from Super Typhoon Yutu. Even to the very last week, we weren’t sure if we were going to make it out here. After doing what we could and getting help from our parish, we were able to raise enough to come out here and enjoy. It still feels unreal. We had tough competition, and I can’t believe we’ve won again. We are very grateful. Thanks be to God for giving us the ability and talents for making it work for our kids, for our players who gave their time, believed in our programs, and were obedient, for their parents, for Edward, the entire Youth Commission, and the Diocese for putting together this really awesome event.”
The Health Ministry, Youth Commission, and the entire Diocese had spent many months in preparation for the event, and Edward Dela Cruz, the head of the Youth Commission, expressed his thanks to all who gave their support.
“Our Sportsfest was successful. I would personally like to thank the students who came out here to make this event happen. I express my sincere thanks to the clergy, especially His Excellency Bishop Ryan. I thank every Youth Commission Representative. I would really like to thank Marianas High School for providing us the chance to play on their turf. Everything at this Sportsfest was for the kids. None of this would happen without the contribution of all the people who helped us with this event.”
The Diocesan Youth Commission would like to share our gratitude to the following:
Marianas High School
Ms. Shawn Marshall and the Saipan Volleyball Club
Mr. Elias Rangamar and the Northern Marianas Sports Association,
Mr. Derek Cutting and Latte Built
Barney’s Pizza
Topnotch
The CNMI PSS Food and Nutrition Services Program
And to every unnamed individual who gave their help in making the 2019 Sportsfest the best one yet.
The Health Ministry also wanted to thank the different health agencies who partnered with the Diocese in hosting its first ever health fair: CHCC Immunization, CHC, Community Guidance Center, Marianas Health Clinic, Commonwealth Cancer Association and Kagman Community Health Center.
The next event will be a Youth Field Day in November, so keep your ears open for any news on another exciting event that the Lord has in store for us.
