BANGOR – It was a long first night in the United States for the Latin American champion Maracaibo, Venezuela, team.

The team is one of 10 competing in the Senior League World Series, which open Sunday.

Scheduled to arrive in Maine at 11:30 p.m. Thursday, Maracaibo’s plane was 31/2 hours late and didn’t arrive until about 3 a.m. Friday.

Making matters worse, no one in the Venezuelan party speaks English, which further complicated the team’s arrival.

SLWS officials are now seeking volunteer interpreters fluent in Spanish to translate for the team during its week in Bangor.

“We’ve been able to get a couple of interpreters,” said SLWS tournament director Mike Brooker. “If anybody else is willing to help out we’d really appreciate it. If anyone could give us a day at some point during the week, that would lessen some of the strain on the interpreters we’ve had volunteer so far.”

Anyone interested in helping out can call Brooker at 992-2286.