Bridge Capital LLC is investing in the 22nd Annual HANMI Charity Classic Golf Tournament with a $750 cash donation made last Friday, July 26, by Bridge Capital LLC vice president and general manager Bartley Jackson.

“We’d like to welcome back Bridge Capital as a Superior Package sponsor for our golf tournament again this year,” said tournament chair Das Krishnan. “Their continued support shows their commitment—in good times and less good—to our community and especially, our tournament.”

Registration is now open for the tournament, to be held on Aug. 24, 2024, at Coral Ocean Resort Saipan. Registration forms are available at COR clubhouse, Crowne Plaza Resort Saipan front desk, and at www.saipanhotels.org.

The early bird tournament fee is $110 for CNMI residents and includes an awards banquet at Crowne Plaza Resort Saipan’s Ataari Dinner Show. Optional play is $30. The fee increases to $130 after the early bird deadline on Aug. 10, 2024. Registration fee for non-CNMI residents is $180 (also includes green fee and awards banquet). Optional play will include Accurate Drive (hole No. 16), Circle (No. 6), Longest Drive (No. 18) and four chances for Nearest to the Pin (holes No. 3, 7, 12, and 14). Showtime is 6am and the tournament will start at 7am.

Early hole-in-one prizes include $5,000 cash from Island Training Solutions. The tournament will be open to the first 144 paid registrants. The tournament follows a blackjack double Peoria format.

For more information, contact tournament chair Das Krishnan at (670) 483-6405 or das.krishnan@ihg.com. (PR)

For over a decade, Bridge Capital LLC has been one of the CNMI’s biggest supporters of the arts; and it once again showed its dedication to the community of local artists with an over $10,000 donation to the CNMI delegation heading to the Festival of Pacific Arts and Culture in Hawaii next month.

The turnover ceremony was held at Bridge Capital’s headquarters in Garapan last Wednesday.

The company picked the highest tier of sponsorship, the Ma’gas Galaide Sponsor, and donated $8,000 in cash and an estimated $8,000 in-kind sponsorship exceeding the tier’s amount of $8,000-$10,000.

On behalf of the FESTPAC delegation, planning committee chair Mary Margaret “Maggie” Sablan shared her gratitude for the donation, noting that the funds go a long way.

Bridge Capital’s Julie Ann Duenas spoke on behalf of the company and said, “Bridge Capital’s donation and participation in the FESTPAC 2024 is definitely an extension of our continued commitment and support of the arts be it visual arts, performing arts, or literary arts. It’s always an honor for Bridge Capital to support the local culture and the arts, especially the artists.”

With the company recently holding their 11th Annual Art Competition during the Flame Tree Art Festival last April, Duenas shared that the competition alone cost an estimated $30,000, showing the company’s dedication to artists in the CNMI.

“Basically, we want to give back to the community and our artists that always showcase the talent that we have here in the CNMI,” she said.

Duenas also added that the in-kind donation made to the FestPAC delegation was sending two Bridge Capital support staff.

Commonwealth Council for Arts and Culture director Sepe Gloriana Teuira, who will also serve as the 2024 CNMI FestPAC delegation’s state art representative, shared that the help from Bridge Capital was much appreciated, especially as they are currently short-staffed.

“We’re short-staffed as it is considering the venues where the groups are going to be, especially the performing artists, this is why we need the support staff.”

Teuira shared her gratitude to Bridge Capital as well.

“This is our biggest sponsor. We’re really appreciative of Bridge Capital and regardless of what events come out, you will always see their name on the banners, logos, and shirts—even if they tell us that times are tough, they still come out and give anyways.”

The CNMI will be hosting an ITF J30 tournament anew from May 27 to June 2 at the Pacific Islands Club Saipan tennis courts.

Northern Mariana Islands Tennis Association president Jeff Race, who will serve as tourney director, said up-and-coming junior netters should take advantage of Saipan hosting an ITF J30 again.

“It’s great for our kids that we’ll be resuming our ITF world ranking event. Getting one’s first ITF points can be very tough and this is the best opportunity that they have to do that.”

The CNMI Sports Hall of Fame inductee and many time NMSA Coach of the Year said he’s expecting at least 50 players from off-island to take part in the ITF J30 tourney on Saipan. Off-island entries will come mainly from Korea and Japan with some tennis players from Australia, Thailand, Vietnam, and other Asian countries.

The last time an ITF J30 event was held on Saipan was in 2019. The local ITF J30 event is open for tennis players 18-and-under but not younger than 13 years old.

Race said since no junior netter from the CNMI currently has an ITF world ranking, local entries will have to take their chances via a wildcard entry. To this end, he’s encouraging those interested to sign up in the ITF website at tennis.com and register in the IPIN, which is the ITF’s online service that allows players competing to enter and withdraw from ITF tournaments.

“As the ITF J30 tournament director I will have a very limited number of main draw wildcard entry places. There are more wildcard entry places in the qualifying draw. Direct acceptance into this tournament is based on the player’s ITF world ranking. Currently there are no NMI players with a ranking so the only NMI players who get into the main draw may be by wildcard, but it helps to sign up early. So, if you want to participate then please complete the courses, get your IPIN and enter the tournament as soon as possible,” he said.

Race said players who do not meet the age eligibility requirements or are not in the tournament will participate as ball kids. “We will have some training sessions prior to the tournament,” he said.

An ITF J30 event is a junior event with 30 world ranking points for the winner. It is the entry level event for emerging tennis players who are trying to acquire world ranking points to be accepted on the professional tour or win a scholarship to a U.S. college.