The kickoff ceremony was held on September 7, the "7th Strait Youth Festival. The 5th Cross-Strait Youth British Rugby Exchange Competition" was held at the Fuzhou Strait Olympic Sports Center. Seven rugby teams from both sides of the Taiwan Strait, including Taipei Giant, Taipei

kickoff ceremony

Taipei Giant vs Fujian Jimei

Fuzhou Tiger Chaser Breakthrough

British rugby has a short history of development in the mainland. On December 15, 1990, the first British rugby team-Beijing Agricultural University Team (now China Agricultural University Team). Over the past 20 years, the development of British rugby in mainland China has been closely related to the support of Taiwanese compatriots. In 1992, Mr. Lin Zhendai, a pioneer of Taiwan rugby, came to the mainland to help cultivate Beijing Agricultural University. In August of the same year, the Taipei Giant Rugby Club team came to the mainland to participate in the "Beijing Huayuan Cup" rugby match, which was the first exchange competition between the cross-strait rugby teams. Mr. Shi Yongjin, the referee of the Cross-Strait Youth British Rugby Exchange Competition, was the referee on duty during the "Beijing Huayuan Cup" Rugby Championship. Lin Zhixiao, a player who represented the Taipei Giants at the time, is now the president of the Giants Club. Interestingly, both are apprentices of Lin Zhendai, a Taiwanese representative who helped promote rugby in the mainland.

Wu Lusheng introduced the rugby project to Lin Guiqiang, deputy director of the Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the Fuzhou Municipal People's Government, and Wang Xianghua, deputy mayor of the People's Government. In the cross-strait rugby development forum for this exchange match, these witnesses of the competition that year talked about the precious history of cross-strait rugby exchanges over the past 20 years. The Fujian Rugby Association, the Taipei Giant Rugby Association and the China Cross-Strait Sports Exchange Association also signed an agreement on co-construction and cooperation to further deepen mutual cooperation. During the event, Jingangwan School (temporary name) of Cangshan District, Fuzhou City presented rugby promotion consultant appointment letters to three Taiwanese youth coaches Tian Shengjie, Ye Zhaoxiang and Zhang Zhengqi, opening up a new situation for Taiwanese youth to come to Fuzhou to find employment. On September 8, the hired Taiwanese coach entered the campus to promote rugby to 30 students, which was warmly welcomed by the participating students.

Fujian Rugby Association and Taipei Giant Rugby Association jointly built a contract with

"On the way I came, I was also thinking about how I fell in love with the sport of rugby back then. I grew up in Taipei and was very active since I was in high school in 1976. At the beginning, I was just curious about such an oval ball. Later, I started and studied under Coach Lin Zhendai. He was very strict with us and privately. But it is the education of love that makes me love and hate this sport. After one game after another, I gradually felt the charm of rugby. It is a group sport. The 15 players on the field must divide the work and cooperate and support each other in order to complete the game together. We hope that in the future, there will be more frequent exchanges and interactions between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, especially Fuzhou, which is particularly suitable as a base for cross-strait exchanges. We fly over for 1.5 hours, which is faster than coming from Beijing. "Lin Zhixiao said.

Taiwan youth coach wants to promote rugby

It is understood that in recent years, rugby has shown a good development trend in Fujian Province. In September 2018, the Fujian Rugby Association was officially established. At present, a rugby training, teaching and competition system covering primary schools, middle schools, universities and social age groups has been established in Fujian Province. The association group member Xiamen University team won the Group A championship in the 2019 National College Student Sevens-a-side Rugby Bidding Competition. In this exchange competition, many teams including the "Little Tiger" Junior Rugby Team formed by Cangshan District, Fuzhou City, Fuzhou University Rugby Team, and the Road Tornado Rugby Team organized by the Fuzhou Vehicle Service Section of Nanchang Railway Bureau joined the Provincial Rural Association.During the exchange competition, the Provincial Rural Association will also hold a number of promotional activities to promote young people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait to enhance understanding, integrate feelings, work together and grow together, and further promote British rugby to the citizens of Fengshan.

This event is hosted by the Communist Party of China Fuzhou Cangshan District Committee and the People's Government of Cangshan District, Fuzhou City, and co-organized by the Communist Youth League Committee of Cangshan District Committee of Fuzhou City, the Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao Work Office of the Communist Party of China Fuzhou Cangshan District Committee, the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau of Fuzhou Cangshan District, Fuzhou Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau, and Fuzhou Cultural and Sports Development and Operation Co., Ltd., and hosted by the Fujian Rugby Association and Fuzhou 33000ft Tiger Rope Club. It is currently the most influential cross-strait exchange activity in British rugby competitions in mainland China. Over the past five years, it has attracted nearly 2,000 cross-strait youths, including more than 200 players from many colleges and youth groups in Taiwan, to participate in the event.

The leaders attending the event include: Deputy Director Lin Guiqiang, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of Fuzhou Municipal People's Government, Deputy Mayor Wang Xianghua, Cangshan District People's Government, etc. (China Daily Fujian News Agency)

Source: China Daily Network