To celebrate the upcoming of the Year of the Horse, the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau and the Macao Sport Development Board, in conjunction with the Macao Tower Convention & Entertainment Centre, the Macao Association of Athletics, Macao-China Basketball Association, Macao Football Association, Macao Cycling Association, the Sports Committee of the Macao Federation of Trade Unions, Macao Special Olympics, Macao Deaf Association, Macao Association of Support for the Disabled and other associations jointly organized a series of plentiful New Year sports and recreational activities to spice up the “Infinite Joy in the Year of Horse” festival, including “Lion Dance Joint Performance”, “New Year’s Fortune Bike Ride”, “Race to the Top of the Macao Tower”, “New Year Open Five-a-side Football tournament and New Year 3-on-3 Open Basketball tournament” and “New Year’s Recreational Activities for the Disabled”, which created a joyful jubilant atmosphere for the entire city.
Lion Dance Joint Performance
The performance took place at Leal Senado Square and Tap Seac Plaza on 2nd and 3rd February. Dragon dance, lion dance and martial arts performances from the six sports associations were carried out to spread the distinguished dragon and lion dance cultural features to the public, the residents and tourists not only were impressed by the New Year’s extraordinary “Cai Ching” (or “plucking the greens”) performance and martial arts, but was also electrified with the jubilee air.
New Year’s Fortune Bike Ride:
Set off from Dr. Sun Yat Sen Municipal Park in Macao with the destination point at Yeli Island in Zhuhai in a distance of 30 kms, more than 200 residents and bike-ride lovers joined the event on 2nd February and enjoyed their rides and sceneries along the way. Some parents who accompanied their children to the bike rides told us that cycling is a wonderful activity to keep fitness and allow the children to kiss the nature, not to mention that it ties up the family relationship as well, what an act to free two birds in one day!
Race to the Top of the Macao Tower
The race was held on 9th February at the Macao Tower, which attracted a total of some 600 local and oversea runners, started from the age of 12 up to 69. This year’s race served as the first leg of WFGT (The World Federation of Great Towers) Towerrunning Challenge 2014, which will be followed by the races held in Kuala Lumpur, Sydney, Melbourne, Calgary, Chicago, Tallinn and Vienna. The first male and female winner from each station will be selected to participate in the Empire State Building run-up held in Chicago, New York in February 2015.
New Year Open Five-a-side Football tournament and New Year 3-on-3 Open Basketball tournament
The tournaments kicked off at the free sports ground at “Canal dos Patos” on 16th February, attracted 12 teams for the New Year Open Five-a-side Football tournament and 16 for men’s and 6 women’s teams for the New Year 3-on-3 Open Basketball tournament respectively.
New Year’s Recreational Activities for the Disabled
The activities were located at the Dr. Sun Yat Sen Municipal Park on 8th February, mainly designed for the local differently-abled people and their families. The activities aimed at strengthening the communication and interaction between the general public and the physically-challenged community, in order to co-operate a society with harmony and integration. Through the fun games and recreational activities, the community was powered up into a lively festival environment. A large number of over 250 differently-abled people and their family members participated in the activity.
