Micronesia is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of approximately 2,000 small islands in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: Maritime Southeast Asia to the west, Polynesia to the east, and Melanesia to the south—as well as with the wider community of Austronesian peoples.
The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), is an unincorporated territory and commonwealth of the United States consisting of 14 islands in the northwestern Pacific Ocean. The CNMI includes the 14 northernmost islands in the Mariana Archipelago; the southernmost island, Guam is a U.S. territory. The Northern Mariana Islands were listed by the United Nations as a non-self-governing territory until 1990.
Typhoon Pongsona was the last typhoon of the 2002 Pacific typhoon season, and was the second costliest United States disaster in 2002, only behind Hurricane Lili. The name "Pongsona" was contributed by North Korea for the Pacific tropical cyclone list and is the Korean name for the garden balsam. Pongsona developed out of an area of disturbed weather on December 2, and steadily intensified to reach typhoon status on December 5. On December 8 it passed through Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands while at peak intensity, with 10-minute sustained winds of 175 km/h (110 mph). It ultimately turned to the northeast, weakened, and became extratropical on December 11.
The Northern Mariana Islands national football team represents the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in international men's football. The team is controlled by the governing body for football in the Northern Mariana Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands Football Association, which is a member of the East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) and since December 2020 a full member of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The association is not a member of the world governing body FIFA, although it had applied for membership, and so while the national team is eligible to enter AFC and EAFF-run competitions, they are currently ineligible for global competitions such as the FIFA World Cup. As such, they do not have an official FIFA ranking. However, the team have been consistently ranked as one of the worst teams in the world on the Elo ratings and were in fact, in July 2016 rated as the worst men's senior international team in the world in a ratings system that also includes a number of other non-FIFA teams.
The 7th Micronesian Games was held August 1–10 in Palau.
The Micronesian Games are a quadrennial international multi-sport event within the Micronesian region. The Games were first held in 1969 in Saipan. The 2010 Micronesian Games were initially due to be held in Majuro, until the hosts withdrew. The 2010 Games were hosted by Palau. The Federated States of Micronesia won the bidding to host the 2014 Micronesian Games in Pohnpei State, and later won again against CNMI for the 2018 Micronesian Games, held in Yap State.
Micronesian Americans are Americans who are descended from people of the Federated States of Micronesia, although the term may also include people descended from the US unincorporated territory of the Northern Mariana Islands. According to the 2020 US Census, a total of 21,596 residents self-identified as having origins in the country, which consists of four states. More than half of these residents identified their origin as Chuuk State (12,464) with the rest as follows: 4,918 people from Pohnpei, 2,066 from Yap, and 2,148 people from Kosrae.
The 14th Pacific Games, also known as NC 2011 or Nouméa 2011, took place in Nouméa, New Caledonia, from August 27 to September 10, 2011. Nouméa was the 14th host of the Pacific Games. Upon closure of the registration for entries, "some 4,300 athletes" had registered from the twenty-two competing nations, although it was expected that not all would attend.
Rugby union in Palau is a minor but growing sport.
The 2009 Pacific Mini Games was held in the Cook Islands from 21 September to 2 October. It was the 8th edition of the Pacific Mini Games.
The VII South Pacific Mini Games were held July 25-August 4, 2005 in Palau.
The 2013 Pacific Mini Games was the ninth edition of these Mini Games. They were held in Mata Utu in Wallis and Futuna from 2 to 12 September 2013. It was the first time the games had been held in Wallis and Futuna.
The 8th Micronesian Games were held from July 20 to July 30, 2014, in Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia (FSM).
The 5th South Pacific Games, also known as Guam 1975, held in Tamuning and Hagåtña, Guam from 1 to 10 August 1975, was the fifth edition of the South Pacific Games. A total of 1,205 athletes participated in a rain-affected games which had only one clear day out of the ten scheduled.
The 11th South Pacific Games, also known as Guam 1999, held in Santa Rita and Hagåtña, Guam from 29 May to 12 June 1999, was the eleventh edition of the South Pacific Games.
The 2022 Pacific Mini Games was held in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands. It was the eleventh edition of the Pacific Mini Games and the first to be hosted by the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands. This event was originally going to be held in 2021, but was postponed to 2022 due to COVID-19 pandemic.
The 9th Micronesian Games were held from July 15 to July 27, 2018, in Yap, Federated States of Micronesia. The venues included the Matson Sports Complex in Abay, and several locations around Colonia.
The 10th Micronesian Games were held in Majuro, Marshall Islands. After initially being scheduled for July 25 to August 5, 2022, the competition was originally delayed a year because of challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, including finishing construction of the New Marshall Islands Stadium. The games were held June 15-24, 2024.
Spearfishing competitions have been held at the quadrennial Micronesian Games since the 1994 Micronesian Games, with modern spearfishing replacing traditional spearfishing at the 2006 Micronesian Games.
Felix T. Sasamoto Jr. is a Northern Mariana Islands spearfisher.
Northern Mariana Islands 
