
By Patrick Lujan
“If you built it, they will come.”
Made famous by the 1989 Field of Dreams movie and overused since then, it isn’t furthest from the truth when it comes to American Ninja Warrior veteran Deren Perez.
Competing in the unique athletic competition since 2015, Perez has always dreamed of bringing the event to Guam.
Now that the active duty Coast Guard member is stationed back home, Perez is literally building his dreams in his own back yard in Dededo.
“I absolutely love this sport and what the community is all about, and that’s helping each other rise to the challenge of overcoming obstacles. So I want to bring that camaraderie to the Pacific islands.”
The dream of bringing the sport to Guam started over two years ago when Perez was still stationed in the states. He said he’s visited over a dozen gyms to get ideas on what rig he wanted to build. He’s worked with the CEO of the Ultimate Ninja Athletic Association, became a member and is now preparing for Guam’s very first sanctioned event.
“Now that I’m here on island and the dream is slowly becoming a reality, I feel a heightened sense of pride. I’ve poured a lot of my own time, money and months of intense manual labor to bring Guam it’s very first Ninja Warrior competition. I would love for the sport to get big enough to host inner island competitions and eventually a Southeast Asia Pacific games.”
JUNE 25 IS GAME TIME
So used to preparing to compete, Perez is grinding to produce the challenging competition.
“The logistics for hosting a competition was definitely a learning curve. Being an athlete, training and knowing yourself is one thing. But working through all the different rules that come with hosting or being associated with a league was definitely a challenge. But at the end of the day it’s just another obstacle that I had to overcome to see my vision come to fruition.
“Ninja is still very new to the island. I feel this year’s competition to will be more of an eye-opener for those looking for an alternative style of sports/workouts.”
His main goal is to bring awareness to the sport, allow like-minded individuals the same opportunities to compete in Ninja Warrior style competitions and ultimately lead team from Guam to the world championships each year.
“The upcoming competition is not solely for the highly competitive individuals but this is also a chance for people to simply try out the course, to try out this style of competition and to basically provide people with a fun event while getting fit.”
If you are interested in trying your hand on the competition, you can register at https://ninjamasterapp.com/events/3494-guam-ninja-championship or contact Perez at
[email protected]
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GPS Sports Calendar
June 2022
- SU
- MO
- TU
- WE
- TH
- FR
- SA
Events for May
31st
Events for June
2nd
Events for June
4th
35th Most Beautiful Run 5-Miler
Youth Football League
Events for June
5th
Youth Football League
GUAM MAJOR LEAGUE
Events for June
5th
Events for June
9th
FIBA MICRONESIAN CUP 2022
GUAM MAJOR LEAGUE
Events for June
10th
FIBA MICRONESIAN CUP 2022
GLORIFIED SPARRING 9
Events for June
11th
FUNCTIONAL FITNESS LEAGUE: Round 1
APL RACE FIESTA
Youth Football League
FIBA MICRONESIAN CUP 2022 FINALS
Events for June
12th
APL RACE FIESTA
Youth Football League
GUAM MAJOR LEAGUE
GSPN HIGH SCHOOL BOYS VOLLEYBALL ALL-STAR GAME
Events for June
14th
Events for June
17th
PACIFIC MINI GAMES
GUAM MAJOR LEAGUE
Events for June
18th
PACIFIC MINI GAMES
Youth Football League
Events for June
19th
PACIFIC MINI GAMES
Youth Football League
GUAM MAJOR LEAGUE
Events for June
20th
PACIFIC MINI GAMES
GUAM MAJOR LEAGUE
Events for June
21st
PACIFIC MINI GAMES
GUAM MAJOR LEAGUE
Events for June
23rd
PACIFIC MINI GAMES
GUAM MAJOR LEAGUE
Events for June
24th
PACIFIC MINI GAMES
FD Alumni Basketball Tournament
GUAM MAJOR LEAGUE
Events for June
25th
PACIFIC MINI GAMES
GUAM NINJA COMPETITION
YOUTH FOOTBALL LEAGUE
FD Alumni Basketball Tournament
GUAM MAJOR LEAGUE
Events for June
26th
YOUTH FOOTBALL LEAGUE
FD Alumni Basketball Tournament
GUAM MAJOR LEAGUE
Events for June
27th
FD Alumni Basketball Tournament
GUAM MAJOR LEAGUE
Events for June
28th
FD Alumni Basketball Tournament
GUAM MAJOR LEAGUE
Events for June
30th
FD Alumni Basketball Tournament
GUAM MAJOR LEAGUE

Bowling
JUNE KING & PRINCE OF THE LANES

Basketball
FD ALMUNI HOOPS TOURNEY IN FULL SWING

Baseball
CNMI WINS ANOTHER BASEBALL CLASSIC

Football
ANGELS LAY CLAIM AS BEST IN MATUA

Baseball
BASEBALL: GUAM TAKES DOWN PALAU
Foody’s Fun Facts
Foody’s Fun Facts with Arren Yatar
UOG Tritons Pitcher Arren Yatar shares some of his fun facts and tells us about his favorite YouTube channel!
Foody’s Fun Facts
Foody’s Fun Facts with Arren Yatar
UOG Tritons Pitcher Arren Yatar shares some of his fun facts and tells us about his favorite YouTube channel!
COMING SOON …
- Asia Pacific Little League
- National Triathlon Championships
- GML Makeup Games
- FD Alumni Basketball Tournament (ongoing)