New Pacific Mini Games date still to be decided

A new date for the Pacific Mini Games in the Northern Marianas remains up in the air as Covid-19 continues to cause havoc with major sporting events.

The multi-sport event was originally scheduled to be held in Saipan in June 2021 but with the Olympic Games delayed until the following month the CNMI were asked to explore other options.

The Mini Games Oversight Committee indicated in April they intended to move the event to 2022 but Pacific Games Council CEO Andrew Minogue said no final decision had yet been made.

"They have basically closed their schools since March or April of this year...they're due to be reopening for the new school year very soon but whether they can do that or not I don't know," he said.

"In my discussions with them we need the schools for the Games. It's where we house the athletes and accommodate the delegations, so they're looking at making up time for their school system over the next year or two and that's a complicating factor in trying to find time to stage the Games in a way we can house all the athletes."

The CNMI government was grappling with a big budget fallout with the tourism industry at a standstill.

But the governor, Ralph Torres, had been in direct contact with the PGC and assured them the territory remained committed to hosting the Mini Games.

"That's a very encouraging thing because there are events around the world that are having to lose the support of their hosts because of this situation," Minogue said.

"It is a potential out for a host nation of an event to say we can't do it because of the problems of Covid-19, but right at the moment that's not our experience with Saipan."

The CNMI recorded two cases of Covid-19 through community transmission in the past week, raising the territory's total number of positive cases to 54.

Andrew Minogue said the Pacific Games Council and its member associations continued to be guided by government protocols around border and travel restrictions.

He said it's unlikely they would apply for a travel exemption in order to stage the Mini Games but if the Tokyo Olympics is given the green light it could open the door for other global sporting events.

"We're lucky...in the sense that our next major Games isn't due until 2023 and it would be, I think, conceivable to have the Mini Games postponed by six to 12 months - I think that is achievable," he said.

"We're lucky in the sense that we got through our main Games last year in Samoa before any of this happened and we've probably got a little bit of time before we have to consider some serious alternatives."

The ongoing travel restrictions have also forced the Pacific Games Council to postpone its Annual General Meeting in Saipan until next year, with the current executive board members to remain in place.