25th SEA Games, Laos

Two professional volleyball coaches from China are helping the Lao men's and women's volleyball and beach volleyball teams to prepare for the 25th SEA Games in Vientiane in December.

The coaches, Mr Yin Ming and Mrs Qin Wensui, are former Chinese national volleyball representatives and have both coached popular clubs in China .

Mr Yin, who works for the Beijing City Sports Office, arrived in Vientiane last week and will train the men's and women's volleyball teams.

Mrs Qin comes from the Beijing City Club and arrived in Vientiane last month to train the men's and women's beach volleyball teams.

Secretary of the Lao Volleyball Federation, Mr Sychan Chitpanya, said the federation received assistant from the Chinese government to support the teams in their preparation for the games.

The coaches will lead the teams until after the games. This is the first time the Lao national teams have been trained by a foreign coach.

The teams will find it challenging to win a medal at the games as they lack experience at the international level and have not had a regular training programme in the past. Mrs Qin is currently training the men's and women's beach volleyball teams at the Sports Training Centre in Sikeuth district.

The volleyball teams have been training at the Nongtha village indoor courts in Chanthabouly district since March.

When the indoor stadium at Dongsanghin village in Xaythany district (Km16) is finished in October the volleyball teams will begin training there.

There are presently 15 men and 15 women players training with the squad, but the federation will select two final squads of 12 players each to compete at the games.

The teams will travel to Vietnam and Thailand for training in July and August, when they will also compete in friendly matches against those countries.

At a friendly tournament in Phnom Penh , Cambodia , last week, the women's beach volleyball team was defeated 2-0 in each of their matches against Cambodia and Vietnam .

Players in all the squads come from the Vientiane , Xieng Khuang, Borikhamxay, Savannakhet and Champassak provincial teams as well as the Ministry of National Defence team. They were selected after the eighth National Games held in Champassak province last December.


By Sangkhomsay Bubphanouvong
Vientianetimes

(KPL) Golf Long Tanh Company of Vietnam provided US$20,000 to Lao National Badminton Federation, on 11 April, to help her to prepare the Lao national badminton team to compete in the coming SEA Games.

Present at the hand-over ceremony were Dr Boviengkham Vongdara, Head of Prime Minister�s Office, Mr Thong Philavong, President of Lao National Badminton Federation, President of Golf Long Tanh Company and witnesses of concerned sectors.
This company is investing US$1 billion in a golf construction project in Dongphosy village, Hadsaifong district, Vientiane.

Photo: Lao children practice Karate inside the Budo center in Vientiane, Laos.

(KPL) Lao-Japan Budo Centre to be used for Karatedo and Judo competitions in the 25th Southeast Asian Games in Vientiane will be complete by this year’s end.

The centre is located on the land of former Chao Anou Secondary School near the old National Stadium, Chanthaboury district, Vientiane.This centre will comprise with one building of indoor stadium, which could receive up to 600 seats.

Head of International Sports Department and National Sports Committee Mr Soulasith Oupravanh last week said, “The Lao-Japan Budo Centre Construction Project is implemented with a financial grant from the Japanese Government, which is worth more than 600 million Japanese Yen. The construction started from October 2008 and 20 per cent of the work have been implemented so far.”

The centre is scheduled to complete September this year three months before the 25th SEA Games opening.

This sporting facilities will be used for not only karatedo and judo competitions but also for badminton, table tennis and trakaw competitions.

More than 250 Lao doctors, nurses and students from various medical facilities around Vientiane will provide medical services at the 25th SEA Games in Vientiane this December.

Member of the National Olympic Committee of Laos and Chairman of the Medical Anti-Doping Commission, Dr Alongkone Phengsavanh, said on Monday the team will be divided into three groups for medical services, food safety issues and doping tests.

The doctors come from major hospitals in Vientiane including Mahosot, Mittaphab, Setthathirath, 103 and 109 and the University of Health Sciences . Some will provide emergency medical services for athletes injured while competing, while others will specialise in assisting athletes with physical rehabilitation to recover from minor injuries.

Dr Alongkone said about 80 doctors and nurses will take part in training courses next month to learn more about doping tests.

In addition, doctors and nurses in major hospitals will be on stand-by 24 hours a day to provide emergency medical services for everyone during the games.

“Even though it will be the first time we've hosted the SEA Games, we are confident our team can provide effective and efficient services, as we have already proven when we hosted other big events such as the Asean Summit in 2004,” Dr Alongkone said.

By Sangkhomsay Bouphanouvong
vientiane times

Photo taken on October 2008.

Laos, which will host the South-East Asia (SEA) Games in November, has received assurances that the Chinese-constructed National Stadium will be completed by March, a Lao foreign ministry spokesman said Tuesday.”The Chinese contractors have assured us that the stadium will be completed by March,” said the ministry’s spokesman Yong Chanthlangsy.

“This will give the Lao government enough time to rehearse all the things we need to do to prepare for the games,” Yong told Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) over phone.

Land-locked Laos, one of South-east Asia’s poorest countries with a population of less than six million, will host the SEA Games for the first time in mid-November.


Photo taken on October 2008

To help Laos prepare for the games, China has provided government loans amounting to $80 million to its communist neighbour to build a new National Stadium Complex in Vientiane, the capital.

The SEA Games’ planned 390 events in 25 different sports will be held in Vientiane’s two sports stadiums and several venues in the capital.

Deputy Prime Minister Somsawat Lengsawat, who heads the National Preparatory committee for the SEA Games, was informed of the progress on the main stadium at a meeting in Vientiane Monday, said Yong.

Vietnam's aquatic sports association sends coaches to Laos

HANOI, Dec. 31 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam's Aquatic Sports Association will send experts to train Lao swimmers for the upcoming Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Laos, local newspaper Vietnam News reported on Wednesday.

Swimming coach Nguyen Manh Tuan, who competed at the Moscow Olympics in 1980, said he would help Lao athletes to sharpen their skills.

The SEA Games is expected to take place next December. The Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam has agreed to finance 100,000 U.S. dollars for the SEA Games opening ceremony.

Photo: Mr Somsavat Lengsavad speaks at the sports committee's office.

Athlete transport and accommodation, public health and media coverage were some of the items on the agenda of the Lao National Sports Committee when it met yesterday to discuss preparations for the 25th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.

The SEA Games will be held in Vientiane in December 2009, marking the first time Laos has hosted the event.

SEA Games Organising Committee Chairman and Standing Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Somsavat Lengsavad, spoke at the meeting and said Lao people would be proud the country was capable of planning such a large sporting event.

“Our target is to win 25 gold medals, but the athletes will have to win fairly,” he said.

“We will not stand for any cheating, especially involving drugs. If we find out that any referee has been biased then we will reprimand them.”

More than 700 cars and buses will be used to transport athletes and officials during the SEA Games, which will run from December 9-18.

Mr Somsavat said transport links were currently being upgraded and the new national football stadium in Xaythany district of Vientiane was finished and ready to use.

Lao sports officials are now selecting the best athletes in their respective sports, and China has offered to train some Lao athletes ahead of the event.

Away from the sporting field, the committee will make its final selection of female ambassadors for the SEA Games on New Year's Eve, when it will crown a number of young women with the title of Miss SEA Games.

The committee will meet again on Friday to discuss the budget for the games.

Also attending the meeting was Minister to the Prime Ministers Office and Lao National Sports Committee President, Dr Phouthong Seng-akhom, and other deputy ministers.

By Sangkhomsay Bubphanouvong
Vientianetimes

In welcoming the upcoming New Year, all Lao sports fans will not only celebrate the 43rd anniversary of sport in this country, but also hope that celebrations will motivate Lao athletes to success at the 25th South East Asian (SEA) Games as host nation for 2009.

Laos’ main hope as hosts of the SEA Games will be an overwhelming home team advantage that will result in more gold medals and improve on the country’s performance in previous games. Apart from international competitions such as the SEA Games, the country’s main arena for sports is the National Games.

According to the Standing Deputy Prime Minister, Somsavat Lengsavad, who spoke at the closing of the 2008 National Games on December 22, this year’s event was a great experience for officials, athletes and coaches in their preparation for the 25th SEA Games, which will take place in Laos next year.

This year’s eighth National Games was hosted by Champassak province for the second time, and the number of athletes and sports have increased dramatically since the first games in 1985. The main goals of the National Games are not only for development of sport, but also to promote and strengthen friendship between athletes, competitors and supporters from different parts of the country.

The founding day for Lao sports was July 13, 1966, as declared at the third congress of the Lao National Sports Committee (LNSC). This was also the day the Lao People’s Army’s sports division was officially opened at a base in Huaphan province. This was an important milestone in the history of Lao sport. Five months later, athletes competed in an international event for the first time when they went to the Games of New Force in Cambodia. Laos sent 22 athletes who competed in shooting and volleyball events.

Since the country’s liberation in 1975, sports have greatly contributed to national protection and development. Lao sports have expanded into local communities throughout the country. Sport plays an important role in international relations and participation in international competitions brings awareness and success for the country. Since 1975, the Lao government has been developing sport by training coaches and administration officers.

The LNSC held the first National Games in 1985 in Vientiane. There were 650 athletes from five zones and eight ministries competing in 12 sporting events. Vientiane came top of the final medal tally. The second National Games were hosted by Savannakhet province in 1987. Again there were 12 sports events, but athlete numbers had risen to more than 1,376 from seven zones and nine ministries. The capital city’s team retained their winner’s title.



From then on the National Games were to be held every three years in different provinces, but sometimes the games were delayed because of funding problems. The third National Games took place in Khammuan province in 1991 and was attended by 920 athletes from nine zones competing in 11 sports. In 1994, the fourth National Games was hosted by Champassak province, and attracted 1,600 athletes. Competitors took part in 14 sports and came from nine zones, while the leader of the medal tally was Vientiane again. In 1997, the event was hosted by Luang Prabang province and athlete numbers continued to grow. This time the event attracted 1,668 athletes from 10 zones, competing in 14 sports. The Vientiane team finished on top.

The sixth National Games were held in Vientiane in 2000. For the first time, the number of athletes competing was over 3,000 and the number of sports had increased to 28. The Vientiane team retained its top ranking. The seventh National Games was hosted by Savannakhet province in 2005 and attended by teams from 17 provinces and 13 ministries. This time there were 22 sports and 3,257 athletes. Vientiane again won the final medal tally.

This year’s eighth National Games ran from December 13-22 in Champassak province, and ended with big surprises as the home team claimed the top ranking in the final medal tally. For the first time ever, previous champions Vientiane slumped to third place. This time, about 6,000 athletes competed in 24 sports, representing 17 provinces, 10 ministries and two organisations.

SISAY VILAYSACK
Vientianetimes

Photo: Deputy Minister of Information and Culture Professor Dr Bosengkham Vongdara, who is Honorary President of the newly reformed committee of the Lao Cycling Federation ( fourth right ), takes part in the start of the public cycling race in Vientiane yesterday morning. --Photo Sangkhomsay

The Lao Cycling Federation (LCF) is hopeful of winning gold medals at the 25th SEA Games in Vientiane next year after launching a new committee on Sunday.

Vice Minister of Information and Culture and LCF Honorary President Prof. Dr Bosengkham Vongdala, LCF President Vilaysouk Phimmasone and senior ministry officials attended a ceremony to launch the federation's new committee on Sunday in Vientiane.

Dr Bosengkham and senior officials participated in a mountain bike caravan procession along Fa-ngum Road as part of the event.

Mr Vilaysouk said the federation hoped to upgrade Lao cyclists' skills with the aim of achieving success at the SEA Games.

He said the federation was planning to organise an inaugural national cycling competition, a promotional bicycle caravan and an international cycling race in the lead-up to the games.

The federation's organising committee has sent cyclists to participate in the eighth National Games to be held in Champassak province in December.

The federation will organise a road race in January to select cyclists to join the national squad.

Mr Vilaysouk said the LCF was planning to send the national team to compete in at least two international races next year.

On Sunday, the federation organised a 6km road race along Fa-ngum Road involving more than 150 cyclists from Laos and neighbouring countries.

The race was held across various categories for competitors aged eight to over 50. Winners received trophies and cash prizes from the federation.

The event was supported by the federation and Lao Star Television Channel.

By Sangkhomsay Bubphanouvong

Photo: Standing Deputy Prime Minister Somsavat Lengsavad ( left ), who is also Chairman of the 2009 SEA Games Organising Committee, presents an invitation to the games to the head of the Vietnamese delegation to the SEAGF Council Meeting, Mr Nguyen Danh Thai. Mr Thai accepted the invitation on behalf of all Vietnamese competitors in the games.

Invitations to athletes and delegates to attend the 25th SEA Games in Vientiane next year have been given to all members of the Southeast Asian Games Federation (SEAGF).

The official invitations were handed over at a ceremony last week in Vientiane as Asean nations' sports heads attended the SEAGF Council Meeting from November 11 to 13

The invitations were presented by Standing Deputy Prime Minister Somsavat Lengsavad, who is also Chairman of the 25th SEA Games Organising Committee, and received by a representative from each country.

It is the custom for each SEA Games host nation to issue a formal invitation to inform each participating country the games will take place on the stated date.

Standing Deputy Prime Minister Somsavat Lengsavad expressed his thanks to all SEAGF members for their support for Laos in hosting the 25th SEA Games and said he looked forward to seeing athletes and delegates from each country attending the games.

During the presentation of the invitations, Mr Somsavat told SEAGF sports heads that construction of facilities for the games was going well.

The complex to be used for competitions and training for several sports events and for the opening and closing ceremonies will be complete by March 2009, while other facilities will also be finished on time. The 25th SEA Games will be ready for the opening date in December 2009.

Mr Somsavat congratulated SEAGF sports heads on the successful meeting of council members in Vientiane .



The SEA Games organising committee confirmed the main stadium, located at Km 16 in Dongsanghin village, Xaythany district, is currently 70 percent complete.

Construction of other facilities is nearing completion. The athletes' village is about 15 percent complete, but is expected to be finished by next August.




Photos: The athletes' village at National University of Laos.

The athletes' village is on a 42,000sqm site at the Dongdok campus, National University of Laos. The village comprises 10 buildings and other auxiliary facilities. Eight four-storey buildings with international standard facilities will contain 1,000 rooms and accommodate 4,000 athletes. A single-storey building will house a canteen and a three-storey building will contain multi-purpose management offices.

Vientianetimes

A football stadium in Vientiane to be used for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 25th SEA Games will be finished by March next year, according to officials.

The stadium is currently 70 percent complete. The Chairman of the 25th SEA Games Organising Committee is Standing Deputy Prime Minister Somsavat Lengsavad. Mr Somsavat, ministry officials and senior officials from the Lao National Sports Committee (LNSC) surveyed progress on construction of the site in Vientiane yesterday. Mr Somsavat said construction was on schedule and officials were pleased the facilities would be ready in time for the games.

The football stadium must be finished by July next year, under an agreement signed by the LNSC and construction companies. The Industrial Park Overseas Investment Co Ltd, China Yunnan Construction Engineering Group Corporation and China Development Bank are undertaking construction of the sporting facilities.

Mr Somsavat said the football stadium was an indication of the cooperation relationship between Laos and China and he believed athletes from other countries would be impressed by the facilities. He said officials were confident Laos would host a successful event, thanks to the support of China.

Industrial Park Overseas Investment and China Yunnan Construction Engineering Group have employed more than 1,200 personnel from China and 400 Lao labourers to work at the site. All the sporting arenas will meet requirements as stipulated by the Asian Athletic Federation. In addition to the football stadium, athletes’ accommodation, two multipurpose indoor stadiums, tennis courts, a shooting field, an archery field and a swimming pool are all being built on 1,000 hectares of land in Dongsanghin village, Xaythany district, 16km south of the city centre.

A contract for the construction of the main stadium was signed between the Lao government and the China Development Bank in Vientiane in April 2007. The two Chinese construction companies have agreed to lease the land for 50 years from the Lao government. At the end of this period the facility will be handed back to the Lao people. Construction of the complex is projected to cost US$100 million. Mr Somsavat and his delegation visited the athletes’ dormitory at the National University of Laos’ Dongdok campus, which is currently about 15 percent complete and on track for completion in June next year. The taekwondo training centre at the National University of Laos is being built with funding assistance of US$300,000 from the Booyoung Company of the Republic of Korea. The Lao national taekwondo team will begin training at the centre in preparation for the SEA Games as soon as construction is complete.

The LNSC will use the centre to host future national and provincial taekwondo, wrestling and other martial arts events.

Vientianetimes

Weight lifting, cycling, archery and water polo may be added to sporting events included in next year's Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Laos, following a meeting of the event's rules committee which began yesterday in Vientiane.


Members from the national sports committees of participating countries attended the meeting to talk about the rules for sports to be included in the SEA Games in November 2009.

Participants at the three-day meeting will consider imposing restrictions on how many events each country can enter in any one sport. This follows a principle seen at the Olympic Games which had eight taekwondo categories, but countries were only permitted to enter competitors in four categories.

It has also been proposed that a special 4x200m relay event be held just for competitors from Laos , Cambodia , Brunei Darussalam and Timor Leste. Sport in these countries are less developed than in other nations and it is hoped these countries will have more opportunities to win medals if they compete against each other in one event.

Meeting Chairman Kasem Inthara said the committee would learn from the experiences of previous organising committees to ensure the SEA Games was successful and ran smoothly.

Next year's SEA Games will include athletic events, aquatic events and traditional sports.

They are: diving, water polo, swimming, archery, badminton, billiards and snooker, boxing, cycling, football, golf, judo, karatedo, sepak takraw, shooting, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis and soft tennis, volleyball, weightlifting, wrestling and wushu, muay, fin swimming, petanque, shuttle cock and pencak silat.

Source: Vientianetimes

photo: Standing Deputy Prime Minister Somsavat Lengsavad speaks at the Prime Minister's office.

The Lao National Sports Committee (LNSC) has accomplished the goals set for the previous three months of preparation for the 25 th SEA Games to be held in Vientiane next year.

At the Prime Minister's Office on Friday, the national sports committee held a meeting to summarise its work and plan its tasks for September to December.

Standing Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the 25 th SEA Games Organising Committee Somsavat Lengsavad and senior officials attended the meeting.

Mr Somsavat said Laos had been given a great honour in hosting the SEA Games. The event would serve to strengthen the country and boost solidarity.

He suggested the committee should set out clear plans for assistance and cooperation with other countries.

From September to December, the sports committee will cooperate with Singapore to prepare for the event.

The Vietnamese government will assist with the installation of IT systems and electronic equipment in the new football stadium and the indoor stadiums to be used in the games.

The national sports committee will hold a Miss SEA Games beauty pageant and will build a digital clock in Vientiane to mark the countdown to the games. The time will run from December 31 this year until the opening ceremony of the games in December 2009. The clock is to be sponsored by the Lao Brewery Company.

The Thai Tourism and Sports Ministry will spend about 21.3 billion kip (84 million baht) to renovate the national football stadium, tennis courts and the sports department's indoor stadium.

The ministry will also pay about 1.5 billion kip (6 million baht) towards the training of LNSC officials, as well as referees and athletes.

The committee will also receive assistance through cooperation with doping control staff from Vietnam and Thailand .

At the end of this year, the committee will open the sports training centre and athletes' accommodation in Vientiane , to be built with assistance from the Vietnamese government.

The Lao football, judo, karatedo, wushu, wrestling, pencak silat, swimming and diving teams are currently training in Vietnam .

Also in the past three months, committee officials improved their skills at the Lao-Singapore Cooperation Centre in June and planted 500 trees around the new football stadium.

In May, the committee held discussions on work plans for the games including accommodation, food, decoration of the city, tourism, traffic, telecommunications and other work.

The committee asked the Olympic Committee of Asia and the competition organising committee of the SEA Games to assist in running the games.

Athletes' accommodation is under construction at the National University of Laos, assisted by the Vietnamese government.

Last July, the committee visited Incheon district in the Republic of Korea , where district officials provided them with sports equipment worth more than 3.5 billion kip (US$405,000).

When Lao government officials attended the Olympic Games in China last month, they signed an agreement for SEA Games cooperation with the Chinese government in Beijing . The Lao wushu and shuttlecock teams will attend training in China ahead of the games.

Singapore helped with tourism promotion for the games last month. This month it will work on business communication for the games and next month plans to assist with hospitality management.

The new football stadium where the opening and closing ceremonies of the games will take place is 65-80 percent complete, the indoor stadium is 90 percent complete, the petanque field is 80 percent complete and the taekwondo court is 95 percent complete.

By Sangkhomsay Bubphanouvong
Vientianetimes

Photo: New stadium for 25th SEA Games in Vientiane, Laos

(KPL) Laos has announced a series of venues for the 25th SEA Games, which will be held in the country at the end of next year.

Most of the infrastructure for the games are now under construction, said Chairman of the Lao National Sports Committee Phouthong Seng-akhom on July 15.

The main stadium is being built in Saythany district, 16 km south of Vientiane Capital, at a cost of over 100 million USD. Another three stadiums are also under construction in Luang Prabang, Savannakhet and Champassak provinces.

Besides, Laos has arranged four more sporting facilities in Vientiane for the 25th SEA Games.

The Southeast Asia’s largest sporting event, is scheduled in Laos in December, 2009, with 25 sporting events.