About 2000 athletes and officials from all corners of Micronesia are expected to participate in the 2024 Micronesian Games in the Marshall Islands. The opening ceremony will kickoff this Saturday June 15 at the massive, newly constructed track and field facility in Jenrok village. Special performances include visiting reggae band from Hawaii, RMI flag dancers, and a special authorized performance of Jobwa dancers.
The first batch of athletes arrived in Majuro over the weekend on Sunday with 29 athletes and officials from Yap in the Federated States of Micronesia and a sole weightlifter from Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia. Majority of the participants are expected to arrive throughout the week.
The opening ceremony can be streamed live from the Majuro Track & Field:
Friday June 14 7:00pm Hawaii/ 10:00pm Pacific/ 11:00pm Mountain/ Saturday June 15 12:00am Central/ 1:00am Eastern/ 2:00pm Palau/ 3:00pm Yap, CNMI, Guam, Chuuk/ 4:00pm Kosrae, Pohnpei/ 5:00pm Marshall Islands, Kiribati.
An Olympic Village has been built inside the Marshall Islands High School for local and visiting athletes. Constructions have been ongoing at the largest high school to accommodate participants. Athletes and officials who wish to live outside the village have made months-long reservations at various hotels and private AirBnB residences. Chef Jose Gana and a dedicated kitchen staff have been commissioned to provide 14,000 daily meals. The meals cover athletes and support groups around the
Olympic Village.
This year’s games are more competitive than ever. Teams from Guam, Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands, Republic of Palau, Federated States of Micronesia Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosrae, Kiribati Islands and Nauru pledged to go home with Gold. Coaches from the RMI are confident that medals in Wrestling and Weightlifting will go to the RMI.
Many Marshallese athletes competing for the RMI are traveling in from the U.S. as has been done in previous competitions. A large group of athletes have again been recruited from various US states to solidify RMI teams. This advantage has always placed RMI on higher grounds in previous Micro Games competitions. This year, however, the Federated States of Micronesia passed legislation that allows its teams to recruit outside of the four FSM states. The amended legislation is expected to reinforce FSM teams.
The most popular and watched sport in Micronesia — Basketball — is forecasted to create the biggest hype given the inclusion of outside talents in Team Chuuk’s basketball teams. The Chuuk’s men team is a combination of local and US-based athletes that are best in the game. A match-up between RMI and Chuuk is anticipated to be a game of the year. Team RMI has been recruiting the best ballers to level out the titan of basketball in the region: Guam.
Swimming will take place at the US Army Garrison in Kwajalein. It is the only competition that will take place outside of Majuro. Competitors and officials in the swimming category will reside on neighboring Ebeye Island and will travel daily on the ferry to the Army base, where the swim venue is located. After the games were cancelled in 2020 due to the worldwide covid pandemic, these games are extra exciting.
Riit ilo Kajin Majōl: MicroGames etal Juun15-24