Ningbo to hold second ultimate tournament in April
Tuesday, 9th March 2010 ~ Chris ~ Link ~ Comments (5)
by Dan Siekman
The second annual Ningbo Hat ultimate tournament will be held on the weekend of April 3-4 at the University of Nottingham Ningbo.
Ultimate, aka ultimate Frisbee, is a fast-paced and limited-contact sport that came out of the US in the 1970s and is growing in popularity worldwide. Only requiring a flying disc and an open field, the sport is beginning to take a hold in new parts of China.
Ningbo is one of three Chinese cities with two year old tournaments, the others being Kunming and Shenzhen. In China's more international cities of Shanghai, Hong Kong, Beijing and Tianjin, some ultimate clubs have been in existence since the late 1990s.
"Frisbee" is the original brand name of the plastic flying disc that is thrown between players in the sport. Most players now use discs that are manufactured by its competitor Discraft and in an attempt to cleanse their sport's name of the trademarked Frisbee name, they have taken to calling their sport "ultimate" and saying "disc" instead of Frisbee.
The object of the sport is to move the disc downfield by passing from teammate to teammate. The player in possession of the disc must pass within a ten-count. While in possession of the disc, the player cannot walk but is allowed to pivot on one foot. A point is scored when a player catches a pass in his/her opponent's end zone.
The word "hat" refers to a style of tournament in which players enter as individuals rather than teams and rank their own ability levels. Organizers then attempt to create a set of equally matched mixed gender teams that vie for the championship.
The term derives from formulating teams by choosing players' names at random out of a hat.
As is traditional for ultimate tournaments, the Ningbo tournament will have a themed party on Saturday night, with plenty of complimentary beer included in the tournament registration fee: the theme this year is "Star Wars." Players of both sexes and all ability levels are welcome to join.
For more information email: liyanguan (dot) forrest ( a t ) gmail (dot) com.
Image: Ningbo Ultimate
Tags: Beijing, Hong Kong, Ningbo, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Tianjin, ultimate, ultimate frisbee
Sheffield United, Chengdu Blades cosponsoring Hong Kong FA Cup
Monday, 27th April 2009 ~ Chris ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
Chengdu Blades chairman Tony Xu was in London last week to join Kevin McCabe, chairman of the Blades' parent club Sheffield United to announce a sponsorship deal for the 2008/9 Hong Kong FA Cup, which will now be known as the 'Sheffield United FA Cup'.
The Blades' reserve team - playing in Hong Kong under the name of Sheffield United Hong Kong - will face Sham Shui Po in the tournament's opening fixture on May 12. The Cup's final will be held at Hong Kong Stadium on May 31.
"It is a great honour for Sheffield United and Chengdu Blades to be invited to sponsor the Hong Kong FA Cup," Sheffield United's McCabe told reporters. "It demonstrates our commitment to supporting the growth of football in China and Hong Kong, whilst we continue to make the 'Blades' a global football proposition."
Sheffield United became the first foreign owners of a Chinese football club when it purchased the Chengdu Blades in January 2006.
The Hong Kong FA Cup was first held in 1975, when it was known as the Golden Jubilee Cup. The current cupholders are Citizen, who beat Woofoo Tai Po 2:0 in the HKFA Cup final, which raised funds for the Wenchuan earthquake, which had taken place six days earlier.
Tags: Chengdu, Chengdu Blades, football, Hong Kong, Kevin McCabe, London, Sheffield United, Sheffield United Hong Kong, soccer, sports, Tony Xu, Wenchuan earthquake
Hong Kong prepares for its Olympic moment
Tuesday, 24th June 2008 ~ Chris ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
Another day at the office
The 2008 Olympics have already focused global attention on Beijing, but other cities will also host selected competitions. Regatta events will take place in Qingdao and soccer/football matches will be held in Shenyang, Qinhuangdao, Tianjin and Shanghai. Even Hong Kong – technically an 'international' flight from mainland China – will host the Olympic equestrian competition this year.
The decision to hold equestrian events in Hong Kong is tacit acknowledgment that the equestrian facilities and traditions in the former British colony are superior to its mainland counterparts. Despite the existing world-class facilities, organizers of the equestrian events in Hong Kong are addressing even seemingly minute details.
A prime example of this attention to detail is the hiring of Kunming-based arboricultural consultancy Asia Tree Preservation (ATP) to ensure that tree shade at the Hong Kong Golf Club complements equestrian events rather than interferes with the events and their broadcast.
ATP was established in Kunming last year by the father-son team of Don and Jon Picker plus longtime friend Jeff Legue, all certified arborists and Kunming residents. Don Picker has 25 years of experience as an arborist, a profession he says the average person has some difficulty understanding.
"Usually I'll tell people we're 'tree doctors'," said Picker, adding that despite the lack of general knowledge of arboriculture in Asia, the profession is quickly taking a foothold in this part of the world due to the training work done in Singapore by Dr Bill Fountain of the University of Kentucky.
"In Singapore, there's been about two or three hundred arborists certified in the last six years," Picker said. "Malaysia and Hong Kong have become increasingly interested in arboriculture in recent years too."
What is arboriculture? In a nutshell, it is the selection, management and removal of shrubs and trees with the aim of reducing hazards and promoting harmony with an area's needs. Arboriculture has been recognized as a profession for about 40 years.
In the remaining weeks leading up to Olympic competition, ATP will be helping the 122-year-old Hong Kong Golf Club with the management of its banyan trees and eucalypts, some of which are as high as 30 meters and require climbing and pruning by trained professionals. ATP was initially hired to help the golf club prepare for the Hong Kong Open golf tournament, after which they were asked to assist with the maintenance of the grounds for the Olympic events this summer.
Despite acceptance in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia, arboriculture has yet to catch on in mainland China, said Don Picker, who is Chairman of the International Safety Committee of the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA). Picker is also an ISA-certified arborist. Last year he helped with the translation of the organization's Tree Climber's Guide into traditional Chinese – he said he hopes to help with a simplified Chinese version for the mainland soon.
According to both father and son, China could use the advice of a professional arborist, particularly with regard to the practices of 'topping' trees (cutting off the tree tops to encourage horizontal growth) and painting the lower portions of trees white.
"We'd like to see the elimination of 'topping' in China," Jon Picker said. "Topping exposes the trunk of the tree to rain, which leads to core rot, and the branches that grow after topping are susceptible to breaking in the future, which creates a hazard."
Chinese cities have a penchant for 'topping' trees
Strolling virtually anywhere in Kunming or other large cities in China one is able to see trees that have been topped. Most trees have also had their lower portions painted white, a practice that the Pickers cite as a major peeve in tree maintenance on the mainland.
"Historically, a lime base paint was used to repel insects and there has also been an illumination element to the white paint on trees," Don Picker explained, "But now it seems that the practice exists primarily because people think it looks beautiful."
After finishing their work in Hong Kong, ATP hopes to focus on cooperation with local universities in Kunming. However, as Don Picker acknowledges, few people appreciate the work of arborists as the aim of their work is generally subtle and unobtrusive.
"The challenge in our industry is that the average person doesn't really look at trees until something grabs their attention, which usually happens after some kind of environmental damage occurs or a tree has been pruned," the elder Picker said. "Arboriculture is both a science and an art - we prune in a way that doesn't alter the tree's appearance."
Tags: arboriculture, Asia Tree Preservation, Don Picker, Hong Kong, Hong Kong Golf Club, Olympics
Hong Kong Rugby Sevens This Weekend
Friday, 28th March 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
Here are the Friday and Saturday fixtures for China, Hong Kong and Chinese Taipei:
Friday, March 28
4:30 Australia v Hong Kong
4:52 Kenya v China
6:20 New Zealand v Chinese Taipei
Saturday, March 29
10:30 Tonga v Hong Kong
10:52 Scotland v China
12:20 USA v Chinese Taipei
2:54 France v Hong Kong
3:16 Portugal v China
4:44 Tunisia v Chinese Taipei
(Sunday's match-ups depend on the first two days' results)
Tags: Hong Kong, rugby, Sevens