International sporting events in Taiwan for 2017 announced

2017/02/16

The lineup of international sporting events set to take place in Taiwan this year was announced Feb. 14 by the Sports Administration under the Ministry of Education, spotlighting the nation’s rising reputation as a world-class host of major athletic endeavors.

Of the 86 events spotlighted by the administration, the 29th Summer Universiade running Aug.19-30 boasts the highest profile. Organized by Taipei City Government, the event is the largest international sporting activity ever staged in Taiwan. It involves an estimated 7,700-plus participants from nearly 150 countries, with athletes vying for top honors in 21 sports at 38 competition venues around northern Taiwan.

Other events expected to involve large numbers of participants and spectators, as well as generate widespread public interest, include Wanjinshi Marathon and Tour de Taiwan.

Co-organized by New Taipei City Government and Chinese Taipei Athletics Association, the marathon takes place March 19 in three coastal districts in the municipality. It attracted 12,000 runners last year and is Taiwan’s only bronze label marathon as designated by the International Association of Athletics Federations in 2015.

Tour de Taiwan is recognized by the Union Cycliste Internationale as part of its Asia tour. The five-day event, which involves around 160 cyclists from 30 countries, kicks off March 26 in Taipei City and takes riders through some of the country’s most scenic vistas.

According to an administration official, such activities are increasingly seen as the country’s signature sporting events and play an essential role in promoting Taiwan’s image and landscapes abroad.

The official said recent outstanding performances of Taiwan athletes in sports such as badminton and tennis have captured the imagination of the public. Consequently, two top-flight events expected to prove popular with sports lovers are the Badminton World Federation-sanctioned Yonex Open Chinese Taipei, running June 28 to July 3, and the OEC Taipei Women’s Tennis Association Challenger, running Nov. 13-20.

Baseball and softball fans are also in for a treat. The 28th Baseball Federation of Asia Asian Baseball Championship is taking place Oct.2-8 in Taipei and New Taipei cities. In addition, the 11th Asian Women Softball Championship is running Nov.28 to Dec. 5 in central Taiwan’s Taichung City.

Taiwan is no rookie when it comes to staging major international sporting events. Kaohsiung and Taipei cities hosted the World Games and Deaflympics in July and September 2009, respectively. A total of about 2,900 athletes from 84 countries contested the former, while nearly 2,500 from 77 participated in the latter.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/news.php?unit=18&post=111435)