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International Leisure Sports Festival Kicks Off in Chuncheon

CHUNCHEON, South Korea, Sept. 1, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The annual leisure sports festival started on Friday in this provincial city east of Seoul with a qualifying match for an inline skating event.

International Leisure Sports Festival kicks off in Chuncheon
International Leisure Sports Festival kicks off in Chuncheon

The 3rd edition of the Chuncheon International Leisure Sports Festival will run until Sept. 2 at several venues in Chuncheon, 85 kilometers northeast of Seoul, with participation of some 16,000 athletes from 50 different countries, including South Korea, according to organizers.

About 200 of the athletes are foreigners and they are competing in three international events -- inline slalom, action sports and paramotor gliding. Fourteen other events, including sports climbing, paragliding, tennis, baseball, dance sports and billiards, are for native Koreans only.

One of the major attractions for this year's event is the variety of programs for visitors.

The programs include mountain hiking, a photo contest, canoe riding, water bike riding and making a bamboo water gun and a wind powered automobile. Various art and automobile exhibitions will also be showcased.

In addition, visitors can also ride motor boats, banana-shaped boats and fly boards free of charge during the festival.

The opening ceremony is scheduled to be held at the main stadium in Chuncheon's Songam Sports Town at 7 p.m. Saturday, which will be followed by a K-pop concert.

To promote convenience for the large number of vistors expected to attend, the festival's organizing committee said they will run shuttle buses connecting two train stations in the city to the sports town over the weekend.

About 160 volunteers will provide help with such areas as interpretation, transportation and assistance with race procedures, organizers said.

Choi Dong-yong, mayor of Chuncheon and chief organizer of the festival, expressed hope that as many people as possible would visit Chuncheon, a city well equipped with infrastructure for leisure sports, during the festival and go back home with unforgettable memories.

Photo - http://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20140901/8521404910

Source: Chuncheon World Leisure Sports Festival Organizing Committee
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