The World Games 2009 Kaohsiung Pre-Event Series / 2009高雄世運暖身賽系列
The World Games 2009 Kaohsiung Pre-Event Series
Gymnastics, Korfball, Water Ski and Boules Sports
◎Text by Hsin-Yi Peng ◎Photos by Chung-Hui Pao
The upcoming 2009 World Games Kaohsiung is an international sports event that is second only to the Olympic Games. However, because the sports featured in the World Games are not included in the Olympics, the general public is usually not familiar with competition categories. In consideration of that, Kaohsiung City Government is holding a Pre-Event Series, so that the public will become familiar with some of the competition categories in the World Games. The Pre-Event Series also serves as the government's test run for the administration procedures in preparation of the actual event. More importantly, the government hopes to raise the enthusiasm towards the 2009 World Games through the Pre-Event Series.
Kaohsiung City Government will host the Pre-Event Series from the end of October to the beginning of November. The competing categories are Gymnastics, Korfball, Water Ski, and Boules Sports. The schedule is as follows: I. The 5th World Youth Korfball Championship at the gymnasium of the National Kaohsiung Normal University between November 1st and 9th. II. The 2008 International Gymnastics Pre-Event at Kaohsiung Arena between October 28th and November 5th. III. The 12th Asian Petanque Championship at the 228 Memorial Park between November 3rd and November 6th, and IV. The 2008 Kaohsiung International Water Ski Demonstration Event at Lotus Pond on November 1st and 2nd.
Among the four pre-events, the most popular event, gymnastics, is going to take place in the newly completed Kaohsiung Arena. It is a great opportunity for residents to experience the new international-level stadium, as an effort to host the 2009 World Games. There are several categories in the Gymnastics event, including Rhythmic, Aerobics, Acrobatics, Trampoline, and Tumbling. The audience will have a chance to witness this spectacular sport presented in the pre-event, and look forward to seeing the world-class athletes who will compete in the 2009 World Games.
Kaohsiung is an ocean city, but water sports are not very popular. The World Games is a perfect opportunity to introduce various water sports to people in Kaohsiung. Water-skiing is a very exciting sport; it is considered a professional sport in the United States. In the World Games, it will compete with three categories: Barefoot, Tournament, and Wakeboard. The pre-event features only Tournament and Wakeboard, but these two categories surely will be a great demonstration of the fun of water sports to the people in Kaohsiung.
The least familiar sports in Taiwan are korfball and boules. The purpose of adding these two categories in the pre-event is to allow people in Taiwan a chance to understand them. Korfball is very similar to basketball, but is more focused on teamwork. It is the only ball game played by co-ed teams. One of the rules in korfball is that the players are not allowed to dribble; the ball has to be moved around by passing. That's why the Chinese translation of korfball uses a character that means "corporation" to emphasize its team spirit.
The boules sport originated in Europe. It is not the kind of sport in which you will see players end up with a lot of sweat. Rather, it is a graceful sport conducted at a leisurely pace. There are three types of boules games, the Petanque, the Lyonnaise, and the Raffa. The pre-event features the Petanque, a game with a focus on accuracy and intelligence, as well as the Lyonnaise, which is more focused on strategic throwing. The audience will have a chance to enjoy these highly strategic sport games and become more familiar with korfball and boules after the pre-events, especially since Taiwan is actually among one of the strongest korfball teams in the world. Next year when the World Games is here, there surely will be a bigger crowd to cheer for the Taiwanese korfball team.
These four pre-events are not the only highlights bringing people's attention to the World Games. Back in July, the Kaohsiung Organizing Committee hosted the 2008 International Air Sports Competition in the Kaohsiung Metropolitan Park, featuring Landing Accuracy and 2-Way Canopy Formation. The crowd was very impressed with the athletes' skills.
The 2009 World Games is the first international sports event hosted by Kaohsiung. Through the World Games, people in Kaohsiung will be exposed to many new sports. The pre-event provides a highlight to these sports so that people will become more familiar with them, become more involved, and enjoy them better when the World Games actually takes place.
2009高雄世運暖身賽系列
體操、合球、滑水、滾球
◎文／王御風
◎攝影／鮑忠暉
2009世運會即將在明年登場，這項僅次於奧運的世界級運動會，由於集合非奧運競賽項目，許多運動項目並不是大家所熟知，高雄市政府特別展開一連串的熱身賽，讓市民們熟悉賽事，並做為行政工作的測試，也希望藉著比賽，讓市民感受2009世運會的熱潮。
高雄市政府於10月底、11月初，陸續舉辦了體操、合球、滑水、滾球的暖身賽，分別是：一、11月１日至８日於高雄師範大學體育館比賽的第五屆世界青年合球錦標賽。二、10月28日至11月５日於綜合體育館（高雄巨蛋）比賽的國際體操暖身賽。三、11月３日至６日於228和平公園比賽的第12屆亞洲盃滾球錦標賽。四、11月１日至２日於蓮池潭比賽的國際滑水示範賽。
這四項熱身賽中，最為市民所熟悉的是體操，在剛啟用的小巨蛋舉行，也讓市民體會到高雄市為了承辦2009世運會所興建的許多國際級新穎場館。此次共有韻律體操、有氧體操、特技體操、彈翻床、騰翻體操等項目，不僅讓市民們一飽眼福，也更期待2009世運會時，會有更多世界級好手來台獻藝。
高雄市雖然緊鄰海洋，但水上運動並未盛行，此次藉著世界運動會的機會，正好可引介適合高雄市發展的水上運動給高雄市民。滑水是個相當刺激的水上運動，在美國甚至有職業大賽，世運會的正式項目中共分「赤足滑水」、「傳統三項」、「寬板」三項，此次示範賽共有「傳統三項」的跳躍及「寬板」兩項目，也讓高雄市民領略到水上活動的吸引力。
國人較不熟悉的合球及滾球，此次藉著兩項正式錦標賽，讓國人更加瞭解。「合球」是由籃球演化而來，但其更強調合作，這是唯一由男女合作、共同比賽的球類，同時不可運球、只可傳球，所以在中文名稱翻譯時，特別叫做「合球」。
至於「滾球」，起源於歐洲，與其他汗水淋漓的運動不同，是強調優雅、休閒的活動，共分「法式滾球」、「羅納西滾球」及「銳發滾球」三項，這次的比賽有強調準確與智力的「法式滾球」，也有強調判斷力的「羅納西滾球」，讓觀眾們看得大呼過癮。在這次比賽後，更增加了市民對合球及滾球的熟悉度，尤其是合球，台灣是名列名列前茅的隊伍，相信明年的世運會賽事中，會有更多人為台灣隊加油。
除了這四項熱身賽外，其實早在７月，高雄市政府還在都會公園舉辦了一場國際飛行運動暖身賽，分為定點著陸及雙人疊傘，吸引許多民眾觀賞，也對參賽選手的技術給予高度肯定。
2009世運會除了讓高雄市首度舉辦世界級賽事外，更引進許多新穎的賽事，透過熱身賽，市民可進一步瞭解這些運動的精華，到了正式比賽時，可以更投入的欣賞這些世界級賽事，享受一場運動饗宴。