Micronesian Games open in Majuro

The Micronesian Games kicked off in Majuro Saturday night with a gala celebration that featured sports delegations from the 10 islands in the sub-region parading in uniform with flags and banners along a newly opened track field.

Participants also saw rarely performed traditional stick dance of the Marshall Islands, a Marshall Islands flag dance, and numerous local and off-island bands performing. It ended with a fireworks display.

The holding of the Micronesian Games in the Marshall Islands capital, Majuro demonstrates the "resilience" of the country that faced Covid-19 and severe power generation problems in the lead-up to Saturday's opening, said Games Organizing Committee Chairman Tony Muller.

Two hours before the evening started, black clouds rolled over Majuro, deluging the capital with rain and flooding roads. But 30 minutes before the start, the skies cleared and the rain held off for the rest of the night, allowing the program to move forward unimpeded by weather. The rain blessing was noted by speakers at the opening.

Several thousand residents packed the track field to see the opening program for the biggest event in the history of the Marshall Islands.

Over 1,000 athletes from other islands together with over 200 from the Marshall Islands will compete in 13 sporting events over the course of 10 days.

Three-on-three basketball and beach volleyball competitions had started earlier in the day Saturday in order for all sports events to be completed in the June 15-24 time frame of this 10th edition of the Micronesian Games. As expected, team Guam dominated both events.

Muller, who is also a Cabinet minister, was joined by President Hilda Heine, and Member of Parliament Wilber Heine on stage Saturday night to officially launch the Games.

The Marshall Islands' most-medalled athlete, wrestling coach Waylon Muller, performed the honour of lighting the Micronesian Games flame as part of the opening.

Many of the delegations featured athletes dressed in traditional island outfits for the opening ceremony. Islands participating include Palau, Yap, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Chuuk, Pohnpei, Kosrae, Nauru, Kiribati, and the host Marshall Islands.

The Games were originally scheduled for 2022, in keeping with the every-four-year schedule of this regional competition. But that plan was scuttled by Covid border entry restrictions, which were still in effect in most Pacific islands, preventing travel to Majuro.

The Games were bumped to July-August last year, but even coming out of Covid it was quickly determined early in 2023 that the two big sports facilities - the expansive new track and field and baseball facility and the national gymnasium - would not be complete in time for competition last year. So, this 10th edition of the Games was bumped yet again to June 15-24, 2024.

Muller said that despite the challenges facing the Marshall Islands to put on the Micronesian Games - such as Covid, climate change, and power generation problems - "we are proving to the world that we are resilient."

The organizers are live-streaming many of the competitions through a webpage established for the Micronesian Games, as well as posting results.