Ultimate frisbee tournament to return to Kunming
Wednesday, 27th January 2010 ~ Chris ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
By Dan Siekman at GoKunming
The second annual Kunming Hat ultimate frisbee tournament will be held on the weekend of March 6 and 7. Last year's tournament drew more than 80 players from around Kunming, China, and the world for a weekend of playing disc and having fun.
This year the Kunming Ultimate Frisbee Club will host a bigger and better event at new fields near Huangtupo (黄土坡).
In ultimate frisbee parlance, a hat tournament means that competitors enter as individuals rather than teams. When competitors sign up, they rank their abilities according to a number of criteria, helping organizers to create several mixed gender teams of similar ability for two days of tournament competition.
The organizers encourage any ultimate players or anybody who would like to learn the sport to come to Kunming for the tournament and for the Friday and Saturday night parties that are the usual accompaniment of ultimate tournaments.
More information about schedule, registration fee, accommodation, and parties can be found at the Kunming Ultimate website.
More information about the sport of ultimate frisbee can be found at whatisultimate.com or the Ultimate Players Association
Tags: Kunming, Kunming Hat, ultimate frisbee
World's largest recreational bicycle race to stop in Yunnan next month
Tuesday, 18th August 2009 ~ Chris ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
After two years in Jilin province's Changbai mountain, the Vätternrundan recreational bicycle race will be held in the small city of Yuxi in Yunnan province next month.
Vätternrundan China will start in downtown Yuxi – 90 kilometers south of Kunming – from where it will head toward Fuxian Lake. The race will circle Fuxian Lake and then return to Yuxi for a total of 175.5 kilometers.
Vätternrundan started in Sweden as a recreational ride around Lake Vättern in 1965 and has since become the largest recreational bicycle race in the world. It is brought to China by sporting event company Nordic Ways.
As it is not a competitive race, there is no official ranking of race finishers according to time. The ride, known in Swedish as a motionslopp "recreational ride", does keep official times of all riders. Results are posted in no particular order afterward.
Until recently, the ride around Fuxian Lake was difficult to complete due to poor road surface on the eastern portion of the loop. The completion of the road combined with next month's Vätternrundan are likely to raise Fuxian Lake's profile as an international sporting event destination ideal for cycling races as well as marathons and triathlons.
For more information on registering for the upcoming Vätternrundan China, check out the race's registration page. For other information about the race, contact Ellinor Axner Yin at ellinor.axner[at]nordicways[dot]com or call (010) 5203 6968 extension 121.
Fuxian Lake image: nordicways.com
Tags: bicycling, cycling, Fuxian Lake, Kunming, Nordic Ways, Vätternrundan, Yunnan, Yuxi
China to hold its first international minigolf tournament
Wednesday, 22nd April 2009 ~ Chris ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
The city of Kunming in southwest China's Yunnan province is known for being one of the top golf cities in China, but it is also soon to make a name for itself as the center of minigolf in China.
From May 8 to 10, the China Open minigolf tournament will be held in Kunming at the Haigeng Olympic training facility, which is also home to China's largest minigolf course, owned and operated by Hello! Minigolf. The company's Haigeng facility is also home of the Chinese national minigolf team.
The 2009 China Open tournament will feature top minigolfers from more than 20 countries including China, the United States, Germany, Thailand, France, Japan, Czech Republic, Vietnam, Turkey, Malaysia, Ireland, Singapore and more.
Competition will take place on May 9 and 10 on Hello! Haigeng's fun course and challenge course, with a total of 25,000 yuan in cash prizes up for grabs.
"We are very excited to be hosting the tournament here in Kunming," Mike Medcalf of Hello! Minigolf told GoKunming.
"Not only is Hello! Haigeng Minigolf the first place in China to really bring the complete experience of minigolf to the public, but also the venue of the first Minigolf China Open Tournament in history. The open is both international and local, and we are honored to be hosting."
The tournament will feature professional and amateur competitions, both of which will be divided into three age groups: 6 to 13 years, 13 to 59 years and 60 and older. Amateur competitors will be charged a 188 yuan entrance fee.
The registration deadline for the 2009 China Open is this Saturday, April 25. All interested parties can contact Marissa Yang at 15987153350 or contact Hello! Minigolf directly via their contact form.
Tags: China Open, Kunming, minigolf, Yunnan
China to launch amateur tennis league next month
Tuesday, 24th March 2009 ~ Chris ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
The words 'tennis powerhouse' are not generally associated with China, but the PRC has made great progress in recent years in terms of establishing itself as a rising star in the tennis world – witness Li Na coming in second at this month's Monterrey Open and Zheng Jie (pictured above) making it to the semifinals at Wimbledon last year.
In an effort to spur greater interest in tennis at the grassroots level, China's sports authorities announced the creation of a new national amateur tennis league – the China Open Rating Tour (CRT) – which will launch next month. As China Daily explains:
The CRT will be divided into three levels of proficiency to sharpen its competitive edge, similar to a boxing competition with different weight classes. It will feature singles, doubles and mixed doubles play. Winners of each competition level will battle for the national trophy during the newly promoted China Open tournament that runs from Oct 1-11.
The tournament will be divided into six regions, with seven cities hosting competition. The regions and cities include: North (Beijing), Northeast (Shenyang), Central (Wuhan), East (Shanghai), South (Guangzhou) and West (Kunming and Chengdu).
Amateurs and retired professionals of any age – or nationality – are invited to apply to compete in the CRT via the league's official website.
Zheng Jie image: ydl169.com
Tags: Beijing, Chengdu, China Open Rating Tour, CRT, Guangzhou, Kunming, Li Na, Shenyang, tennis, Wuhan, Zheng Jie
Kunming to host ultimate frisbee tournament
Wednesday, 21st January 2009 ~ Chris ~ Link ~ Comments (1)
For the last several months, a small but dedicated group of individuals has been meeting on Sunday and Wednesday afternoon on the football pitch behind Yunnan Minorities University to play ultimate Frisbee, a relatively unknown sport in this part of China.
On February 7 and 8, Kunming will host its first ultimate Frisbee tournament featuring men and women from Kunming, elsewhere in China and around the world in a 'hat tournament' in which individuals enter rather than teams.
Tournament co-organizer Jono Berry sent the following invitation to China Sports Today readers:
Greetings from Kunming Ultimate! What is Ultimate, you ask? Check out this link for info.
Here's the short version: it's a seven on seven team sport played on a 120m x 40m field with 25m endzones included in that length. You can't run with the disc and you advance down the field by completing passes to your teammates. If you catch it in the other endzone, you score. Most games are played to 13 or so but also have a time limit.
The reason we're bringing this all up is that we're having an Ultimate tournament right here in Kunming in just a couple of weeks! On the weekend of February 7-8, people from all over China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Ningbo, Chengdu, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong, will be traveling to Kunming to participate, but all ability levels are welcome. Don't have a team? Don't worry, this is a hat tournament, so you'll rank yourself in several categories and be placed on a team based on your ranks. All the teams will be about even so it'll be good competition the whole way through!
The tournament fee is around 250 kuai, but before you stop reading, look at what that includes: tourney food (fruit, bread, peanut butter, etc) at the fields both days, dinner on Saturday night, two free drinks at both parties (that's right, there are tournament parties on Friday AND Saturday night), free beer and liquor at the fields, and a tournament t-shirt! Let us stress that this is an entire weekend-long experience with lots of good times for all.
If you're still not willing to shell out money to play a sport you've never played, come play! We'll be having a free Ultimate clinic on Sunday, February 1st at 3pm at the Minzu soccer field. Come see what we're all about before you make a decision.
If you're looking for a way to get some exercise, meet and party with some cool people, and learn a new sport, then this is the thing for you!
Check out the tournament on facebook here or send an email to kunminghat at gmail.com for more information.
Here's the short version: it's a seven on seven team sport played on a 120m x 40m field with 25m endzones included in that length. You can't run with the disc and you advance down the field by completing passes to your teammates. If you catch it in the other endzone, you score. Most games are played to 13 or so but also have a time limit.
The reason we're bringing this all up is that we're having an Ultimate tournament right here in Kunming in just a couple of weeks! On the weekend of February 7-8, people from all over China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Ningbo, Chengdu, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong, will be traveling to Kunming to participate, but all ability levels are welcome. Don't have a team? Don't worry, this is a hat tournament, so you'll rank yourself in several categories and be placed on a team based on your ranks. All the teams will be about even so it'll be good competition the whole way through!
The tournament fee is around 250 kuai, but before you stop reading, look at what that includes: tourney food (fruit, bread, peanut butter, etc) at the fields both days, dinner on Saturday night, two free drinks at both parties (that's right, there are tournament parties on Friday AND Saturday night), free beer and liquor at the fields, and a tournament t-shirt! Let us stress that this is an entire weekend-long experience with lots of good times for all.
If you're still not willing to shell out money to play a sport you've never played, come play! We'll be having a free Ultimate clinic on Sunday, February 1st at 3pm at the Minzu soccer field. Come see what we're all about before you make a decision.
If you're looking for a way to get some exercise, meet and party with some cool people, and learn a new sport, then this is the thing for you!
Check out the tournament on facebook here or send an email to kunminghat at gmail.com for more information.
Image: Beijing Ultimate
Tags: Kunming, Ultimate Frisbee, Yunnan
Golf in China: The view from the top
Monday, 1st September 2008 ~ Chris ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
Arthur Yeo at Spring City Golf & Lake Resort
Recently US magazine Golf Digest selected what it considered to be China's top ten golf courses, with three of the top six courses being in Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan province.
Perhaps surprisingly for those unfamiliar with golf in China, the top two courses are both located at the same resort - Spring City Golf and Lake Resort in the Yangzonghai resort area, approximately 45 kilometers southeast of Kunming.
How did Kunming end up having the two best courses in China? China Sports Today spoke with Spring City General Manager Arthur Yeo - who has been involved in the Spring City project since its inception in the early 1990s - about the challenges and rewards of building a world-class travel destination in Kunming:
China Sports Today: Spring City's Mountain and Lake Courses were recently named the top two courses in China - what other awards has Spring City won in the last few years?
Arthur Yeo: In the last few years we have won many awards - we average about 10 per year – it would be too lengthy to mention all of them.
However, some of the more significant awards are: Best Golf Course in China and Hong Kong by US Golf Digest [1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007 - they rank once in every two years], Best 500 Holes in the World in 2000 [18th hole mountain course designed by Jack Nicklaus] awarded by US Golf Magazine, Best Golf Course in Asia awarded by Asia Golf Monthly from 2004 to 2007, 100 Best Courses outside US ranked by US Golf Digest in 2005 & 2007 [ranked once every 2 years] and Best Golf Resort in China by World Travel Award [London] from 2005 to 2007
CST: How does Spring City overcome the challenge of having the best courses in China but being far from the coast?
Yeo: The recipe is a combination of good design, good construction adhering strictly to USGA specifications, good greenskeeping practice, good service management, spring-like weather all year round and being located in a very picturesque location with mountains and a lake.
This unique combination entices people to make Spring City Golf & Lake Resort a specific must-visit destination. Once they have visited the resort, they always come back again with their friends.
CST: What regions do Spring City's guests come from these days? Where do local Chinese fit into the picture?
Yeo: Our overseas guests are typically from Southeast Asia, Japan and South Korea but we also have many local Chinese guests. We are also attracting a growing number of expatriates working and living in China – they tend to be from the USA, Australia and Europe.
Also, the number of golfers in Kunming is growing very fast and they form our bread-and-butter players.
CST: Yunnan has some of the best courses in China, do you think it can become synonymous with golf holidays like Florida in the US?
Yeo: Currently, no, as the number of golf courses in Yunnan is limited to seven at present.
However, this could happen in the future. Florida is a very established and developed golf community as compared with the Yunnan golf industry, which only started up 10 years ago.
CST: As golf becomes a more established sport in China and fewer new courses are built, what trends do you foresee for courses and golf as a sport in general around the country in the next few years?
Yeo: The development of golf has a positive impact on the economic and social development of the country - the current trend is that there are more and more golf courses popping up in China even with the central government clamping down on the development of golf courses nationwide. Also, there is a rapid increase in the number of Chinese learning and taking up golf.
Golfing in China will explode, however, the central government in my opinion should not curb the development of golf but rather monitor and control a healthy development of the golf industry in China. More emphasis should be given to:
1. Increasing education in golf maintenance and management to make sure that there are sufficient qualified people running and managing golf courses
2. Ensuring that minimal potential farmland is being used for golf development
3. Ensuring that quality golf courses are being built in a way that maximizes the use of land resources
4. Using 'green belts' within cities to develop public golf courses for public access at a reasonable price
5. Implementing strict environmental guidelines and controls for golf course developers in order to protect the environment.
Related article: China's top 10 golf courses: Kunming is king
Tags: Arthur Yeo, golf, golf course design, Jack Nicklaus, Kunming, Robert Trent Jones Jr, Spring City Golf & Lake Resort
Winging it in Yunnan
Thursday, 24th April 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
The below report on paragliding in Yunnan was written by CST Kunming correspondent Chris Horton. If you have a China sports experience to share, go to our Contributions page to find out more.Kunming—Early last Wednesday morning, we met up with a few friends on Jiaoling Lu for a trip out to Anning. Red-eyed and sleepy, we all needed a coffee or two, but none of Kunming's cafés had opened yet. Packing into the van we were to take on our trip, there was a slightly giddy feeling reminiscent of skipping school.
There was also a palpable feeling of nervousness, perhaps even dread, of what was to come. Our minds were on something far more intimidating than Kunming morning traffic – we were all preparing to go paragliding for the first time.
Paragliding – known in China as huáxiángsǎn (滑翔伞), or 'gliding parachute' – is a relatively new sport in China. It first began to be promoted in China about 10 years ago but has yet to attract the numbers of die-hard pilots found in the US, Europe or even South Korea and Japan.
"Paragliding is one of those sports like Kung Fu or bicycling that can become a way of life for those that enjoy it," said Mike Fougere, the internationally-certified tandem pilot and instructor who would be taking us up into the sky later that day. Poring over indecipherable (for us) wind charts for the area around Anning's Longsan mountain, Mike seemed pleased with what the glyphs were telling him about what the day had in store for us windwise.
"It's been so windy lately it's almost been discouraging," Mike said, recounting a recent day of tandem flights that he had to cancel due to excessive winds, "But today should be just right."
After making it out of Kunming we stopped in Anning's hot springs area for some bananas and water before heading up toward the mountain that we were all going to launch off of. Nervous smiles belied the churning stomachs beneath the veneer of calm that we were trying to maintain.
disembarked and ate bananas as Mike planted a wind indicator and spread out a 43-square-meter nylon airfoil, which he refers to as a 'wing'. After some deliberation, we determined who would be the first to take to the skies.
GoKunming techie Matthew was the first to strap into the paragliding harness, which allows for semi-easy running during takeoff and quite comfortable seating once airborne. Mike, originally from Canada, has piloted around 500 tandem flights over the last three years at a Quebec City paragliding school (aerostyle.ca) and has been logging more than 200 hours annually in solo flights in Asia and North America.
Over the last two springs, he has been exploring ideal areas around Kunming for paragliding – in addition to Anning's Longsan, he has also tried out Xishan in Kunming and Liangwan Shan in Chengjiang, about 50 minutes' drive from Kunming.
After a quick briefing on the finer points of taking off and triplechecking all of the key points of the harness, Mike waited for an ideal wind and then instructed Matthew to start moving forward, toward the edge of the mountain's flat top. Wind direction wasn't acceptable for the pilot, so Mike decided to abort the attempt, which would happen a couple more times. On the fourth attempt all was good and Matthew and Mike took to the sky.
Meteorological knowledge is crucial to being a good (and safe) pilot and understanding how the sun heats the ground and creates hot air currents in specific areas is how you find thermals - and go up. After much fruitless searching, the winds smiled upon the wing, sending pilot and passenger about a kilometer straight up in a very short amount of time. For us on the ground, nervousness was giving way to eagerness.
After Mike and Matthew landed atop the mountain which they had launched off of half an hour earlier, the rest of us took turns making the launch. Your correspondent and another friend both ended up missing the big thermals, but the tour of the face of the mountain was far from disappointing - we were flying, after all.
The last two in our group ended up catching some major thermals, quickly shooting up to nearly four kilometers above sea level (see video above). Both times the wing was nearly too small to see without binoculars from the top of Longsan Shan, with the pilot and passenger spending around an hour gliding across the sky.
At one point the instrument that measures altitude and rate of climb was emitting a high-pitched noise that meant the two were ascending at a rate of six meters per second. Both of the lucky high-fliers were slightly dazed but happy to have flown upon returning to terra firma.
Should you decide to try paragliding it is recommended to fly with an experienced pilot who is certified by a country with a developed paragliding community. Hiking boots, sunscreen, a windbreaker and plenty of snacks and water are also recommended.
Mike Fougere is a Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association of Canada (HPAC)-certified paragliding instructor based in Kunming. He has been paragliding for more than 10 years and has been involved in various other airsports and windsports since a young age. He is available – winds permitting – to pilot tandem paragliding flights around Kunming at a rate of 300 yuan per person (plus transport expenses). Mike can be contacted at mike4g_air(at)yahoo.ca or (+86) 15825256431.
Tags: Anning, Kunming, paragliding, Yunnan
Lu Wins at Kunming, Young Amateurs Shine
Monday, 14th April 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
This post was written by Chris Horton, editor of GoKunming.com. China Sports Today welcomes contributions from our readers.
Equally notable was the strong showing by two teenage amateurs. Lu's playing partner, 16-year-old Benny Ye Jianfeng (叶剑峰), finished second after winding up the day four over par, while 18-year-old amateur James Su Dong's (苏东) even-par 72 lifted him to third place. The high finish by two teenagers suggests that the next generation of Chinese golfers is starting to come into its own.
After Lu was presented with a trophy and check for 150,000 yuan on Lakeview's 18th green, the three golfers were drenched by spectators and caddies in honor of the Dai water-splashing festival (泼水节), which was celebrated throughout southern Yunnan yesterday.
"I was able to hold on to my lead because I've been there before, but I was really impressed with what I saw this week," said Lu, who posted a five-under-par total of 283 to finish seven ahead of Ye and 10 clear of Su on a windy day at the Nick Faldo-designed course.
"The Chinese players are much more professional now than when I first played here more than 10 years ago. The younger generation are exceptional."
Lu went professional in 1992, the year after Ye was born, and has since won over US$1 million on the Asian Tour alone. The golf veteran had nothing but praise for the younger Ye.
"Ye Jianfeng hits the ball really well, even though he's so skinny," laughed Lu. "He played very well and is really a good player, one to watch. I had a lot of fun playing with him."
"I'm so excited. I never thought I'd be here. Every time I play in professional events, my aim is to just make the cut, so this is just great. Yesterday's 66 was my best score in a pro event and I'll remember that round forever," he said.
Ye will play in next week's US$2.2 million Volvo China Open after winning last year's Volvo China Junior Championship.
Vancouver-based Su said he was surprised to finish in the top three with a 72, but acknowledged the effect that the unpredictable Kunming winds were having on everyone at Lakeview yesterday.
"It was tough today because the wind was changing every second. However, I really like this course as it encourages you to drive long," added Su, who hit his tee-shot on the 472-yard 13th hole almost 400 yards.
With Ye and Su picking up flowers instead of paycheques, Jim Johnson, Chen Dinggen and Kunming-born Liu Anlin each won RMB54,000 for sharing fourth place on six-over.
The Omega China Tour was inaugurated in 2005 with four events, and since then two tournaments have been added each season. This year's 10-event Omega China Tour offers total prize money of RMB8 million (US$1.15 million). After a 'southern swing' of six events from March to June, the tour takes a break for the Olympics before a 'northern swing' of four events in September and October.
Tags: golf, Kunming, Lu Wen-teh, Omega, Ye Jianfeng
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