With the World Games starting on Thursday, here is part two of our alphabetical summary of all you need to know about the 10-day sporting extravaganza.
M — Mascots
As usual with mascots, Gao Mei (高妹, literally “tall girl”) and Syong Ge (雄哥, “brave boy”) look as if they’ve been designed by a three-year-old on Ritalin. According to the marketing blurb Gao and Syong, whose names together form the name of the host city, are: “the shape of water droplets and translucent, the two water spirits personify Kaohsiung as a city of the sea and the sun.” Their halos absorb solar energy like the roof of the main stadium and “illuminate with a message of ecology and environmental protection.” Yeah, right.
PHOTO: HUNG TING-HUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
N — Ninety-nine
Ninety-nine countries were to be represented in Kaohsiung (now it’s 105).
O — Olympics approved
PHOTO: CHANG CHUNG-YI, TAIPEI TIMES
The World Games is under the patronage of the International Olympic Committee and the IWGA abides by all principles of the Olympic Charter.
P — Pollution
Kaohsiung is an industrial city and surrounded by several steel works and oil refineries. Although its pollution problems are serious, they are thankfully nowhere near the level of last year’s Olympic host Beijing, so motorists can relax. Nevertheless, the Kaohsiung Organizing Committee still had to drain Lotus Lake — where the water-skiing, dragon boat racing and canoe polo will take place — after plans to clean up the lake’s algae problem using fish failed.
Around 850,000 tonnes of fresh water will have been pumped into the lake ahead of the Games to bring the water quality up to a standard fit for water sports.
Q — Quadrennial
Just like their more famous counterpart the Olympics, the World Games are held every four years.
R — Russia
If recent World Games are the yardstick, then the Russians will be the team to beat in Kaohsiung, having topped the medals table for the last two Games in Duisburg in 2005 and Akita in 2001.
S — Slogan
The official slogan of the World Games is “THE WORLD GAMES: 30+ SPORTS AT THEIR BEST!”
T — Tickets
Selling tickets is often a problem for the hosts of big sporting events and the Kaohsiung World Games is no exception. According to reports on July 8, only about 25 percent of tickets for the Games had been sold. A face-saving mass ticket giveaway may be in the offing.
U — Underused?
Although the main stadium is impressive, apart from the opening and closing ceremonies, it will only be used for the Rugby Sevens and Frisbee events. Let’s hope this inspiring piece of architecture is put to good use after the Games and does not become a gigantic white elephant (or should that be “white dragon”?).
V — Venues
Unlike the Olympics, the World Games host city isn’t required to build facilities or extend upon available infrastructure for the sake of hosting the Games. But Kaohsiung still built a brand new stadium. Twenty-three venues will be used in total, including Kaohsiung Swimming Pool (fin swimming and life saving), Kaohsiung Senior High School Gymnasium (Sumo) and Siziwan (beach handball, life saving).
W — Weather
With the average high this month well above 30ºC and humidity hovering at 75 percent, athletes not used to competing in such conditions for outdoor events such as orienteering and rugby could struggle.
X — Exchanges
Sports are regularly exchanged between the Olympics and the World Games. The World Games serve as a breeding ground for Olympic sports and also picks up sports rejected from the Olympics. The triathlon started off in the World Games before becoming an Olympic sport in 2000, as did taekwondo. Similarly, sports that get kicked off the Olympic roster end up in the World Games. Softball will feature in Kaohsiung just a year after getting bumped from the Olympics.
Y — You
The World Games are a great opportunity for Taiwan and Kaohsiung to grab some positive news coverage. However, the games will only be a success if everyone gets involved, so if you have some spare time get yourself down to Kaohsiung.
Z — Zuoying
The location of the main stadium and Lotus Lake, Zuoying, is one of the city’s 11 administrative districts and is also home to Taiwan’s largest naval base.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to