On May 13, the three-day 2024 China Gas Volleyball Open (Fujian Changtai) ended successfully in the Workers' Cultural Palace of the Cultural and Sports Center of Changtai District, Zhangzhou, and 469 athletes from 52 teams from home and abroad gathered in Changtai District, a "thousand-year-old county" Changtai District to compete for the championship honor. After 3 days and 141 fierce games, the teams fully demonstrated the spirit of the Chinese women's volleyball team "love to fight and dare to win".
In the end, the men's middle-aged leader Taiqi volleyball team, the men's youth leader Taiguosu team, the women's middle-aged group Beijing Haibaili Sports team, the women's youth group Quanzhou Juying team, and the mixed group Quanzhou Juying team won the championships of each group respectively. The men's middle-aged Australian Union team, the men's youth Malaysia team, the women's middle-aged Australian Sydney salad team, the women's middle-aged Malaysian team, and the mixed New Zealand Air Volleyball Association team won the international group winners respectively.
Meng Jian, Director of the Social Development Department of the Volleyball Sports Management Center of the General Administration of Sports of the People's Republic of China and Deputy Secretary-General of the Chinese Volleyball Association; Xu Zhengguo, Vice Chairman of the Chinese Volleyball Association, Chairman of the Fujian Volleyball Association, and Director of the Management Committee of the 2024 China Gas Volleyball Open (Fujian Changtai); Yang Suping, director of Zhangzhou Sports Bureau; You Yuchuan, head of the People's Government of Changtai District, Zhangzhou; Yang Wenbin, deputy director of the Management Committee of the 2024 China Air Volleyball Open (Fujian Changtai); Zeng Wei, member of the Management Committee of the 2024 China Air Volleyball Open (Fujian Changtai); Ye Shuishan, Chairman of the CPPCC of Zhangzhou Changtai District; Zeng Jinxing, member of the Standing Committee of the Changtai District Party Committee of Zhangzhou; Huang Nanshan, deputy director of the Standing Committee of the People's Congress of Changtai District, Zhangzhou; Lin Baochuan, Director of the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau of Zhangzhou Changtai District, and other leaders and guests attended the closing ceremony and presented awards to the winning teams.
According to reports, the China Air Volleyball Open is one of the highest level of air volleyball brand events in China, very authoritative and influential, the competition aims to use the ball as a medium, build a bridge for Chinese and foreign exchanges and mutual learning, enhance emotions, bring together air volleyball enthusiasts from all over the world to connect, gather in China, and feel the beauty of Changtai at zero distance. On the field, air volleyball fans from all over the world fought bravely, and every smash and every block showed their exquisite skills and team spirit. The enthusiasm of the audience was also ignited, and applause and shouts came one after another to cheer for the athletes.
In addition to the intense competition, the Open also held a series of colorful activities. The Changtai District Dancers Association and the New Zealand Air Volleyball Association conducted an exchange activity with the theme of "using the ball as a medium and emotional resonance" at the Changtai District Cultural Center. Traditional Chinese intangible cultural heritage items such as guqin, Chinese opera, and puppets were displayed on the spot, as well as dances with national characteristics such as She and Gaoshan in Fujian Province. At the same time, New Zealand's characteristic folk dances also appeared on the scene, learning from Chinese folk dances and jointly performing an international exchange feast.
As the venue of this competition, Changtai District also took this opportunity to show its unique cultural charm and tourism resources to the world. With its long history, beautiful natural scenery and rich cultural heritage, this "thousand-year-old county" has attracted the attention of many tourists and contestants. It is reported that this competition has specially launched a preferential policy for the participants and their entourage in Changtai Scenic Area, recommended special tourist routes, and exhibited and sold Changtai's local characteristic agricultural products, so that the participants can take away a good memory from Changtai while reaping honors.
After the game, Jin Gang, a referee from Australia, said: "It is a great honor to represent the Australian League men's team to return to my home country to participate in this high-level competition and have the opportunity to participate in the refereeing work. During the three days of refereeing work, I not only learned a wealth of refereeing experience, but also gained a deeper understanding and mastery of the rules of the game. In addition, Jin Gang also emphasized that he would bring this valuable experience back to Australia, and hoped to share with Australian referees and golfers what he saw and felt about this air volleyball feast, as well as the new knowledge and skills learned in the referee work, so as to contribute to the development of air volleyball in Australia.
The 2024 China Air Volleyball Open (Fujian Changtai) once again detonated the "gas volleyball" traffic code, providing a platform for domestic and foreign air volleyball players and enthusiasts to communicate and discuss skills, showing the enthusiasm of the Chinese people to welcome guests from all over the world, and starting the popularity of "Fresh Fujian, Fancy Zhangzhou, Slow Guest Changtai". It is understood that Changtai District will take this event as an opportunity to continue to explore and develop the "cultural tourism + sports" business model, create a brand of "travel with the event", promote the continuous growth of the event economy, health care economy, night economy, etc., and accelerate the construction of "a well-known cultural tourism and health resort on the southeast coast".