To celebrate the Lunar New Year of the Rabbit and to bid farewell to the year of the Tiger, a range of recreation and sport activities were organized by the Macao Sport Development Board and the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau as well as several social groups. These activities were unveiled at 8 a.m. on February 5, 2011 in Dr. Sun Yat Sen Municipal Garden and they included: Cycling Tour; Stepping High Macao Tower Run; Lion Dance Performance; 3-A-Side Basketball Tournament (Male and Female); 5-A-Side Football Tournament; and Day Out at the Grand Taipa Natural Park for the Healthy and the Disabled , etc.

Cycling Tour

The Cycling Tour opened the recreation and sport activities of this year. The route of this event was the ecological cycle track to Doumen on the mainland, via the Yuwenquan Hot Spring Resort and Kin Tai Temple to the destination at the entrance of the Huangyang Road, covering 17 kilometers.

This event has been held for several years running and has attracted many participants every year. Apart from relieving stress and strengthening body, the Cycling Tour can also broaden participants’ vision and enable them to enjoy the beautiful mountain, lake landscapes and the pleasure of cycling. This year, more than 200 cyclists participated in this event.

Stepping High

The Stepping High Macao Tower Run was staged at Macao Tower on February 6. A massive wave of participants started from Macao Tower, circled Sai Van Lake once, and then challenged the 1,298 steps leading up to the top of the 61-floor Macao Tower.

This event attracted 517 participants, including 497 local people and 20 people from abroad. In the end, Gi Ka Man breasted the tape at the top of Macao Tower with a time of 17 minutes and 34 seconds, winning the championship for 7 consecutive years; in the event of the female group, Yiu Kit Ching touched the finishing line first with a time of 20 minutes and 50 seconds, taking the crown away from the previous champion Hoi Long.

Lion Dance Performance

The Lion Dance Performance was respectively staged at Senado Square and Tap Seac Plaza during the Spring Festival. Six social groups participated in this event. They were the Macao Workers’ Association of Martial Arts and Physical Education; the Wai Ieong Sports Club; the Hong Lok Sports Club for Macao Workers; the Sau Mou Sports Club; the Hong Lok Recreation and Sports Club; and the Lo Liang Athletic Association.

Martial arts and lion dance are the quintessence of Chinese culture, they are the indispensable traditional activities in Chinese Festivals as well as international competitive sports events in their own right. In an effort to promote these traditional arts and skills, Un Oi Mou, Director of the Sports Commission of Macao Federation of Trade Unions introduced the origin, customs, eye dotting ceremony and relevant taboos of the southern China lion dance performance to the audience on the site. Afterward, the six participating social groups presented several rounds of outstanding lion dance and martial arts performance in the midst of resounding gongs and drums and applauses.

Basketball and Football Tournaments

The 3-A-Side Basketball Tournament (Male and Female) and 5-A-Side Football Tournament were put on at the Sports Ground on Estrada do Canal dos Patos on February 6, attracting several hundred fans of ball games respectively. The basketball tournament had 16 men’s and 6 women’s participating teams, while the football tournament had 12 participating teams. The games were both intense and lively, through this event, the participants and their fans were able to make friends and  celebrate the Spring Festival happily.

Integration of the Healthy and Disabled

A day out at the Grand Taipa Natural Park was organised on February 13, with 250 healthy participants and participants with disabilities took park in the event. This activity not only gave the participants with disabilities an opportunity to go for an outing to build up their strength and improve their body immunity, but also enhance the public’s awareness and understanding, thus disseminating the message of social harmony and integration of the healthy and disabled.