The 42nd Golden Mountain Bay Area Chinese Sports Congress held a press conference at the South Bay Qiao Jiao Center on May 16th last Saturday to announce this year’s competition and activity arrangements, inviting the Bay Area public to actively participate and join in the grand event.
This year’s Chinese Sports Congress has the theme of “Gallop of Steeds, Soar of Chinese Sports,” with nearly 30 planned events and activities. The opening ceremony and parade will be held on July 19th at Fremont High School in Sunnyvale. The main competition events include baseball, billiards, table tennis, bowling, shooting, volleyball, golf, wrestling, basketball, track and field, celebrity sprint, children’s drawing, folk culture, family fun competitions, tug-of-war, badminton, tennis, and pickleball, among others.
Chairman of the Chinese Sports Congress, Chen Ligong, stated that since its establishment in 1985, the Chinese Sports Congress has become one of the important Chinese sports competition organizations in North America and overseas. In its 42nd edition this year, the achievements are the result of support and dedication from various sponsors, the overseas Chinese community, the business community, the academic community, as well as competition coordinators and volunteers.
He emphasized that the purpose of the Chinese Sports Congress is to respond to the promotion of public health by the government of the Republic of China, promote the sports culture among the Bay Area overseas Chinese community, encourage everyone to “exercise more, be healthier, and be happier,” and promote physical and mental health, healthy competition, community cohesion through sports competitions, and let the mainstream community better understand the vitality of the Chinese overseas community.
This year’s Chinese Sports Congress has several new highlights, including the revival of pickleball competition, scheduled to be held by the end of August; the addition of the “Healthy Lifestyle Seminar” on May 23rd; and the redesign of bronze medals to be more bright and delicate. In addition, the Chinese Sports Congress will produce volunteer jackets for the first time, to be given to important volunteers, sponsors, and individuals who have provided long-term service, as an expression of gratitude and appreciation.
It was also mentioned during the meeting that the opening venue for this year’s Chinese Sports Congress will still be at Fremont High School in Sunnyvale. Participants must adhere to school district regulations — they can bring balloons but are not allowed to release them; aside from service dogs, bringing pets into the venue is prohibited; and for those who need to use drones for photography, prior permission must be obtained, and unapproved operation of drones is not allowed.
Executive consultant Lu Yuzhen is responsible for the parade team at the opening ceremony this year. She expressed gratitude to friends from all walks of life for their long-term support and called on various associations and schools in the Bay Area to actively form teams to participate in the 42nd Chinese Sports Congress, hoping that this year’s opening lineup will be even more grand than in previous years and encourage more people to participate in subsequent track and field and various competition events.
Several event coordinators introduced the highlights of this year’s competitions during the meeting. Among them, the wrestling competition garnered attention. The organizers stated that the Chinese Sports Wrestling competition is one of the few competitions within the Chinese Sports Congress with a points system, has international significance, and is also one of the qualifying events for the US Wrestling National Team selection, which will attract participants from various regions in the US to compete for representing the US in international events. The wrestling competition is scheduled for August 15th.
The family fun competition will continue the format from last year, combining amusement park elements with the concept of a Taiwanese night market, with children’s age group and family and friend group categories; the slow pitch baseball game has already begun, with 27 matches planned and the championship and runner-up matches scheduled for May 31st. The track and field competition is one of the largest events at the Chinese Sports Congress, with 16 age and gender categories and a total of 108 events, which will take place after the opening ceremony.
The shooting event will conduct a safety training session on June 14th at the South Bay Qiao Jiao Center, with the official competition on June 21st. The organizers emphasized that safety education is more important than the competition. Other events include table tennis, traditional sports, billiards, basketball, and golf, each with its own unique characteristics. The golf tournament is scheduled for September 12th to 13th, expecting to attract nearly a hundred participants.
For more information on the events and registration, please visit the official website: www.tcaat.org. ◇