(From left: Brian, Gerald, Chiu, and Iris)
From July 10-14, 2009, HKIOF sent a team to participate in the First Annual All China Orienteering Meet 2009 hosted in Qiliping, Emei Mountainside, Sichuan. After exciting and challenging competitions including Mountain Bike O, Foot O, Night O, and a 100m O, the HKIOF team took a 2nd spot out of 40 teams from China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong (HKIOF is the only team from Hong Kong participating).
This is the First Annual All China Orienteering Meet in its style. Teams of 4 (with at least one female) are required to participate in a total of 10 events in 3 days. 2 of the events are for recreational purposes (War Game O, and GPS O), while the results of the other 8 events are recorded and accumulated to come up with an overall score, which decides the overall rankings. (Rankings were calculated as follows: 1 point for 1st place, 2 points for 2nd place,......50 points for disqualification; the team with the overall lowest point wins)
For this competition, HKIOF sent the following members: Poon Wing Young (Brian), Hui Yau Chiu (Chiu), Yip Chak Lun (Gerald), and Lui Wai Lan (Iris).
The team headed out early on July 10th and flew to Chengdu via Shenzhen. The team arrived in the hotel at Hungya, Meishan City at around 4pm. The first night included some administrative work with the organizers, a reception dinner, and a team leader's meeting. On the same day, Chiu stayed in Hong Kong as a helper of an orienteering team building activity in Ngau Liu. Chiu joined the team during the Opening Ceremony on July 11th.
July 11th started with an Opening Ceremony in the largest Square in the city attracting many citizens and reporters. The mayor and many leaders from different areas were also invited. The HKIOF team and the Taiwan team became the point of interest to many of the citizens and participants during the Ceremony and throughout the competition.
Competitions started on the afternoon of July 11th after a 45minute bus ride to Liujiang and lunch at one of the biggest landmarks of the city, Tsangjiayuan. The first event was a Bike O that had a length of 38km, climb of approximately 1000m, and 7 controls. It took place on the state road from Liujiang to Qiliping. Chiu represented the HKIOF team for this event. This event was physically challenging due to the length and climb. Biking has not been a strength of HKIOF due to the limited conditions in Hong Kong. However, Chiu still managed to maintain approximately a 10th position throughout most of the competition. Unfortunately, at the final downslope stretch to the finish, Chiu lost control and crashed when trying to avoid a child who suddenly appeared in the middle of the road. Chiu was wounded, but he still managed to finish the competition in a 16th spot with a time of 2hours and 18 minutes. Chiu had a relatively deep wound on his palm which caused Chiu to give up as the main competitor in the rest of the competition.
Chiu Starting the 1st event
The second event started 30minutes after the start of the first event. This event was a Foot O Event in the old town of Liujiang which required a pair to participate that consists of at least one female. The course details are: 2.2km, 30m climb, and 15 controls. Brian and Iris represented the HKIOF team for this event. The course was technically challenging and required very detailed map reading in figuring out how to go through the alleys in the old town. A mistake was made during the course as the map was misread and the team ran into a dead end. However, the team still managed to end up with a 2nd spot (and a potential 1st spot without the mistake) with a time of 22:20. This event had great atmosphere as almost the whole town came out to watch and cheer for runners who were running all around their backyards.
Brian and Iris during the Foot O in Liujiang
After the 1st day of competitions, the HKIOF team was 2nd out of 40 teams, the leading team was the Xian Wolf who won both events on the 1st day. All teams were then shuttled to the Event Center, Qiliping Resort and stayed there for the next 2 days.
On July 12th, the 2nd day of competition, after an early breakfast, 2 events were already on the way. The 3rd event of the competition was a Bike O with half State roads and half rough paths. It had a length of 12km and 10 controls. The start was at the gate of Mt. Emei, Ninggongli. Since our biker Chiu was injured, Brian participated in the competition as a first-timer. Brian was disadvantaged with the relatively slower biking speed, but managed to catch up with the more accurate map reading. Brian ended up 7th with a time of 1:02:42, 11 minutes slower than the winner.
Brian starting the 2nd day Bike O
At the same time, the 4th event, a one-person foot o took place. It had a length of 2km with 12 controls. The venue was in a village. Gerald participated in this event. Even though it was Gerald's first ever major competition in China, Gerald still managed to finish with a 3rd place at a time of 23:04. The winner finished with a time of 17:10.
After lunch, the 5th event, War Game O, took place. This was a recreational event that was not included in the overall rankings. The whole team still showed up to support the organizers and see what this new type of orienteering is. Briefly, 2 teams are formed each with a leader; the leaders have to compete in punching controls; everyone, except from the leaders, have infrared guns to "kill" opponents; the first team to "kill" the opponent's leader or punch all controls win. This was an interesting event in which both Iris and Brian participated.
After dinner, the 6th event, Night O, took place. A pair was required but there was no female requirement. The length was 1.3km with 8 controls. Gerald and Brian competed. With efficient cooperation, the team managed to win the competition with a time of 8:16, 34 seconds ahead of the 2nd placed team.
Brian and Gerald after winning the Night O
The team stayed at the event center for some social events and some food for the night. After 2 days of competition, HKIOF was ranked 2nd overall, behind the Xian Wolf Team.
July 13, the final day of competition, started with 2 competitions similar to the previous day. The 7th event was a paired sprint Foot O in a village which required at least one female to participate. The length was 1.8km with 12 controls. Some mistakes were made by the team, but the team still managed to finish at a satisfactory 7th place with a time of 20:32. Xian Wolf won this event with a time of 17:59.
Gerald and Iris Sprinting to the finish
At the same time, the 8th event, Bike O, took place. The length was 6.5km with 6 controls in very rough paths. This was a very physically challenging course and parts of the course (400m) even required the biker to carry the bike. Brian competed in this event and ended up at 12th place with a time of 37:59. The winner finished at 33:56.
After the 7 ranked events, the HKIOF team pretty much secured a 2nd place overall position as long as the team manages to finish the final ranked event without disqualification. The 9th event (final ranked event) after lunch was a typical Chinese 100m O with a 2-person relay element. The team goal was to play safe. Brian and Chiu took part in this event and managed to finish safely at a 11th position and secured an overall 2nd place.
Brian during the 100m O sprinting to pass on to the 2nd leg, Chiu
The 10th and final event was a recreational GPS O in which participants hold on to a GPS device and follow the screen to controls. This was an interesting and fun event for participants to relax a bit after the competitions.
The Closing and Prizing ceremony took place later in the afternoon. The HKIOF Team took away the 1st runner-up position, just behind the winning Xian Wolf Team. The HKIOF Team was also awarded the Entrepreneurial Spirit Award (拼搏獎) for its professionalism and its try-our-best spirit. The night ended up with a farewell dinner in the hotel.
After the competition, the team had the 14th to do some traveling. After discussing with some locals, the team managed to organize a trip in the early morning of the 14th to the Golden Summit of Mt. Emei. The expected sunrise could not be seen due to the fog, but the team managed to see the grand structures and gorgeous nature when the fog faded away every once in a while. Afterwards, the team was driven back to Hungya for lunch in a nice local restaurant (which would have never been discovered if not brought there by locals) The food was good (Not spicy!) and the team was very satisfied. The team was glad to mix in some traveling, socializing, and exploring with the orienteering trip. The team then took a taxi back to Chengdu Airport for the flight back to Shenzhen and home.
HKIOF at the Golden Summit, Mt. Emei
This has been a very worthwhile trip for HKIOF. The name of HKIOF was spread and known in many areas of the country due to the competition. The team cultivated good long-term relations with major mainland organizers, and other teams including the Taiwan team and the Guangdong team. HKIOF looks forward to participating in similar competitions in the future.
Picture with other teams at Mt.Emei
Some links related to the competition:
Video: http://www.sc.xinhua.org/content/2009-07/14/content_17097431.htm
Video: http://sports.cctv.com/20090713/109708.shtml
News: http://www.sc.xinhuanet.com/content/2009-07/12/content_17070985.htm
The following is an article extracted from the Xinhua Net:
http://news.sina.com.tw/article/20090713/1914722.html
全國首屆定向運動大會西安奪冠 港島與川師大二三名
北京新浪網 (2009-07-13 22:22)
新華網成都7月13日電（史春東、李華梁）全國首屆定向運動大會13日在四川眉山洪雅縣落幕。來自全國各地的41支代表隊經過三天的激烈爭奪，西安沃爾夫定向隊以總分38分奪得全國首個戶外定向團體冠軍，港島隊和四川師範大學隊分獲第二、第三名。
中國定向協會專案主管李德利在頒獎儀式上接受記者採訪時說：『定向運動作為一項新興體育專案，在中國僅是剛剛起步。中國定向未來的路仍然任重道遠。』
本次比賽歷時3天，除進行山地自行車定向越野賽、山地徒步定向越野賽、百米定向賽等八場正式定向比賽外，組委會還特意增設了軍事野戰類比定向、ＧＰＳ救援搜索定向兩項教學交流賽。港島定向隊領隊兼隊員潘永殷賽後對記者說：『沒有獲得第一名確實很遺憾，不過本次比賽水平很高，希望以後能有更多的機會與內地選手切磋和交流。』
全國定向運動大會是國家體育總局、中國定向協會面向國內著名旅遊城市及風景名勝區為推廣定向運動而舉辦的賽事，是以定向越野競賽、戶外露營和體育文化交流等連續進行的綜合體育活動。從2009年起，這項賽事將每年舉辦一屆，採取以團體積分確定最終成績和排名。下屆比賽舉辦地將在山西和湖北兩地通過競爭產生。
定向運動19世紀末起源於北歐，1994年傳入中國，目前在北京、上海、四川等地深受青年學生的喜愛和推崇。定向運動是利用地圖和指南針到訪地圖上所指示的各個點標，以最短時間完成所有點標者為勝。由於定向運動是集體力和智力于一身的比賽方式，因此被人們稱為『智勇雙全』的運動。定向運動通常在森林，郊外和城市公園里進行，也可在大學校園里進行。（完）
