NFL

From Harold Easton--NFL:

Prose - Top 200 - 3
Impromptu - Top 200 - 2
Poetry - Top 170 - 3
Expository - Top 100 - 1
Story Telling - Top 75 - 2

Ryan Ortizo - Quarterfinals - Story Telling
Ryan Ortizo - Qualified for National Qualifier Events 4 years in a Row, 1 of only 23 to do so.

Over all data - Students at Nationals are competing with the Top 1% in the Nation.


Report from Midori Nishida:

"I attend Calvary Christian Academy as a sophomore. This NFL trip was my first time to compete in Nationals, as well as my first trip to the USA. Before this, the longest trip I ever had was a three hour flight to Japan. You could say that the twenty hour flight to Kansas City, Missouri was a LONG one! Luckily, this long flight gave us an opportunity to get close to each other.

The NFL CNMI team consisted of ten girls and four boys from five schools. At first, I felt a bit out of place since everybody else sort of knew each other either from past NFL/NJFL competitions or from school. But I soon found myself getting very close to them, to the point that we could tell each other anything.

When we heard that Nationals were being held in Missouri, we weren't so keen on it. We thought--boring, flat, and cornfields. But let me tell you, some of the places we visited were amazing--especially this dainty little town, which we able to tour while riding on a horse carriage. Probably the only thing we didn't really enjoy was the unpredictable weather. One minute, it would be super sunny and the next, it would be raining cats and dogs.

Since we stayed there longer than previous competitions, we were able to go places such as Worlds of Fun (an amusement park), shopping malls, and restaurants. We were able to get in some fun before the competition started, as well as practice in the motel.

As far as the competition goes, it was TOUGH. Everybody there is the real deal. This was my first time, so I was a bit nervous to compete in Expository. But everybody was so supportive of each other that a lot of us broke to the next round.

Competing in Nationals gave us valuable tools to succeed in NFL Regionals. We met interesting people in the Nationals. We even got to do community service by packing food for Haiti.

This NFL trip was one of the best experiences I've had. I was able to meet great people and get close to them. Probably the best thing about this trip was being around each other. I love everyone on the CNMI team. We had so many laughs! If you're thinking of joining NFL I definitely encourage you. It's a great program that provides plenty of opportunities. I miss everything about the trip, except maybe for the jet lag...and sales tax."

And some photos (courtesy of Heather and Asia).






Sightseeing on a carriage ride









At the competition





Packing food for Haiti relief


CNMI and Guam teams