歡迎光臨高雄市新聞局

◎Written by Yue-Su Chen　◎Photograph by Chung-Hui Pao

　To a warm, heart-felt welcome from all the Kaohsiung citizens, the 12th Asian S.A. Roller Skating Championships, the 2006 ICF International Dragon Boat Racing Championships, and the UIAA 15th Asian Climbing Championships started at the end of September in Kaohsiung City.

　There were athletes competing from 17 different countries making the event a truly international competition. Despite the international nature of the event, the theme of the opening ceremony and the way it was performed was still very traditional.  Due to volunteer-led tour guides around the city, athletes were given a chance to experience the energy and beauty of Kaohsiung, allowing the city to be successfully promoted as a whole.

　To the credit of local organizers, the games were conducted in an extremely professional manner, from the design of the venue, to drug testing, athlete identification checks, transportation, food, accommodation, security, environmental cleanliness, administration, and broadcasting and media. For example, standards in accordance with the "World Anti-Doping Agency" were applied to maintain a fair and healthy competitive environment.

　The final pre-event to be held out of the three scheduled events was climbing. The sport evolved from mountain climbing and is also commonly known as "rock climbing". It is now an official event of the 2009 Kaohsiung World Games. The positions required of climbing require both elegance and agility, giving the sport another name - "Ballet on the wall". The artificial climbing walls were erected in the Cultural Centre from the 26th until the 29th of October whereby 84 athletes from 13 countries were competed. Competing countries include China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, India, Japan, Iran, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and Taiwan. Such a sport requires athletes to continually push themselves beyond their limits creating a "never give up" mentality to be associated with rock climbing. Climbing athletes are likened to animation superhero, "Spiderman".  Hence, watching a climbing competition is like enjoying an artistic stage performance.

　There are no age, gender, or weight restrictions in climbing, making the sport suitable for everyone willing to try. Climbing is very beneficial to the body as it improves flexibility, coordination, and balance. It's also a great way to keep in shape and release stress.

　The dragon boat race at Lotus Lake attracted 814 athletes from 15 different countries; namely Japan, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungry, Iran, Switzerland, Russia, Korea, South Africa, the U.S.A., France, Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines, and Taiwan.

　There were six lanes and each one was 12 metres in width and 2 metres in depth. Beautiful scenery, popular attractions, and historical relics surround Lotus Pond creating a splendid backdrop for the event. With the powerful tempo of beating drums and all athletes rowing their oars in unison, onlookers were provided with an atmosphere of local culture and excitement.

　Competitors representing the Taiwanese Dragon Boat Racing team competed brilliantly, matching competitors from other countries. They won 4 gold medals, 9 silver medals, and 6 bronze medals, not to mention the fact that they had a chance to mix with and exchange training tips with other international competitors.　Eight Asian countries attended the skating competition. The competition included indoor speed-skating, outdoor speed-skating, and artistic skating. The differences between indoor and outdoor speed-skating are the size of the rink and the skills performed.  Indoor speed-skating involves negotiating turns, whereas outdoor speed-skating places a greater emphasis on athletes reaching higher straight line speeds. All athletes competed with class and strived to do their countries proud.reaching higher straight line speeds. All athletes competed with class and strived to do their countries proud.

　Taiwanese speed-skating athletes won an impressive 34 gold medals out of a total of 44 on offer, and athletes from Kaohsiung took 26 of those 34 medals. They also picked up 21 silver and 12 bronze medals. Taiwanese artistic skaters also went home with 10 gold, 6 silver, and 4 bronze medals.

　This was the first time that these three international events were held in Kaohsiung City.  Although Kaohsiung lacks experience in hosting such events, all relevant people put in 100% effort to ensure that the event ran smoothly. Holding pre- events allows the local citizens to familiarise themselves with the competing sports as well as allows visitors to Kaohsiung to get to know Taiwan. Kaohsiung Organizing Committee (KOC) came away from the event a lot wiser and will focus on setting up a better internet link for ticket purchasing as well as improving ticketing education and promotion.

◎文／陳月素　◎攝影／鮑忠暉

　在全體高雄市民熱情好客的歡迎與準備下，「2009高雄世運暖身賽」的三大賽事─第12屆亞洲滑輪溜冰錦標賽、ICF世界龍舟錦標賽及第15屆亞洲攀登錦標賽自九月底起在高雄市隆重登場。

　來自十七個國家、近千名選手在多元不失國際化，又具有在地傳統特色的開幕晚會、選手之夜及世運晚會的豐富節目表演下，體驗了高雄陽光般的活力、美麗與風情，在志工的市區觀光導覽後，莫不對港都留下深刻的印象，讓高雄市再次成功地贏得一次漂亮的國際行銷。

　為了展現高雄市舉辦國際賽事的信心與用心，賽事過程中不論是場地、藥檢、選手認證、交通疏導與安排，或是食宿需求、反恐機制、治安維護、市容整潔、後勤、轉播，都是以最高規格來辦理。例如藥檢部份，就是依World Anti-Doping Agency 的標準作業，維護競賽公平及保障選手身體健康。

　三大賽事中最後開賽的是挑戰極限的攀岩，它是由登山衍生而來，又稱「技術攀登」，已被列為2009高雄世運會正式比賽項目。由於攀岩的姿態優美靈巧，而有「岩壁芭蕾」的美譽，十月廿六日至廿九日在文化中心搭起的岩壁上，只見來自中國、香港、印尼、印度、日本、伊朗、韓國、馬來西亞、新加坡、泰國、哈薩克、蒙古、台灣等十三個國家的八十四位選手參賽，在先鋒賽、抱石賽及速度賽中，四肢抓攀踩踏，考驗著耐力、速度及判斷路線的能力，不斷地征服自我，奮力往上爬，展現的那股氣勢非凡、堅毅不撓的運動家風範，彷如電影中行走自如的蜘蛛人，讓觀看攀岩競賽好比欣賞一場藝術表演一般。賽中，四肢抓攀踩踏，考驗著耐力、速度及判斷路線的能力，不斷地征服自我，奮力往上爬，展現的那股氣勢非凡、堅毅不撓的運動家風範，彷如電影中行走自如的蜘蛛人，讓觀看攀岩競賽好比欣賞一場藝術表演一般。

　高雄世運組委會基金會（ＫＯＣ）表示，攀岩沒有性別、年齡及體型的限制，是一項老少咸宜的休閒運動，不但可以盡情地伸展肢體，還可以增加身體的柔軟度、協調及平衡感，經常暢快淋漓地揮汗，是現代人塑身及釋壓的好方法。

　在蓮池潭體驗疾馳水面熱力節奏的龍舟賽，則有來自日本、德國、香港、匈牙利、伊朗、瑞士、俄羅斯、韓國、南非、美國、法國、印尼、新加坡、菲律賓及台灣等十五個國家組成十六隊，計八百一十四名選手奮力操槳。

　這次活動中設有六條賽道，每條航道寬度十二米，平均深度二米，在蓮池潭充滿歷史人文氣息的環境中，配合著鏗鏘有力的鼓聲節奏，各國選手們整齊畫一的划著槳，那力與美結合的畫面，深烙在每一位觀賽的民眾心中。

　台灣的龍舟運動已具有國際性的水準，藉由賽事不但可以和各國優秀隊伍的好手相互交流切磋，並可讓台灣的龍舟競技與國際接軌，進而替未來龍舟競賽轉入奧運項目做準備，台灣代表隊此次表現不凡，計贏得四金、九銀、六銅的佳績。
　至於具有競速追風樂趣的滑輪溜冰，由八個亞洲國家組隊來台參與此體壇盛事，比賽分為場地競速、公路競速及花式進行。其中公路競速滑輪溜冰賽有別於場地競速滑輪溜冰，除了場地的大小及技巧性有所不同，場地競速著重於轉彎的技巧速度，而公路競速則著重於直線加速的能力，所有選手們在烈日之下的實際道路上較勁速度，在體力上的負荷更甚於場地競速，但各國代表隊仍使出渾身解數，全力為比賽盡力演出，以求獲得佳績，國家爭取榮譽。

　代表台灣的中華台北隊實力陣容堅強，還佔有地主國優勢，光榮地為我國爭取了多面金牌，在一共44面金牌的競速滑輪溜冰比賽中，台灣就獲得了34面，而高雄本地的選手就佔了其中的26面金牌；而大會所發出的44面銀牌及44面銅牌中，台灣更分別獲得了21、12面。加上花式的10金6銀4銅，台灣代表隊成績斐然。

　三大國際賽事是高雄市第一次舉辦的綜合性賽事，雖然經驗不足，但相關單位工作人員全體投入，藉暖身賽讓國人對於綜合性賽事有進一步的了解與認同，並藉此加強與國際媒體溝通。圓滿落幕之後，高雄世運組委會基金會（ＫＯＣ）經由此次舉辦經驗，獲得相當多寶貴的改進意見，未來將增進與國際性的售票網絡連結，持續加強購票概念的教育及宣導。