Packed schedule for biggest-ever Vietnam Hat

Players competing at 2008’s Vietnam Hat Tournament - Photo: The organizers

Organizers have arranged an action packed schedule for players at the seventh Vietnam Hat ultimate Frisbee tournament that starts on Saturday at RMIT International University Vietnam, 702 Nguyen Van Linh Boulevard, District 7, HCMC.

Ten teams will be made-up from nearly 200 Ultimate Frisbee players from more than 10 countries. Teams will play between six and nine matches each, depending on if they progress into the final rounds on Sunday.

The organizers, Saigon Ultimate Club and RMIT Ultimate Club, said the teams are larger this year so players will have plenty of time to rest and rehydrate. The registration party is on at Le Pub tonight, 175/22 Pham Ngu Lao, District 1. (see www.lepub.org for info and directions) from 7pm till late. The tournament party on Saturday night with a costume theme of Beauty and the Beast will be at Lush Bar, 2 Ly Tu Trong, District 1 from 9pm. If not in costume, dress code applies.

The Saigon Times Daily is the proud media sponsor of the Vietnam Hat.

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Biggest-ever Vietnam Hat ultimate frisbee tournament this weekend

Saigon Ultimate club is holding the seventh Vietnam Hat ultimate frisbee tournament at RMIT this Saturday and Sunday - Photo: The organizers

Nearly 200 ultimate frisbee players from more than 10 countries will play at Vietnam’s biggest ultimate tournament ever this weekend.

The Saigon Ultimate Club (SUC) that is organizing the two day Vietnam Hat tournament at the fields at RMIT University in HCMC’s District 7 has had record registrations from Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia, Malaysia, Japan, Australia, China, the U.S. and Europe with nearly a third of the players Vietnamese.

“This is the largest ultimate tournament ever held in Vietnam. It’s half again as large as any previous tournament,” said one of the organizers, Aaron Toronto.

We’ll have 10 large teams this year and previously we’ve never had more than seven,” Toronto said. Last year the Vietnam Hat had 116 players, but this year the response has been huge especially from Singapore with 50 players and new Vietnamese players at universities in HCMC.

SUC has been busy this year promoting the sport with Vietnamese students and has generated a lot of new players from HCMC University  of Technology in District 10, Vu Anh Vu, another member of the organizing committee, said.

The RMIT Ultimate Club has also been a driving force in developing the sport and finding the next generation of players, Vu said.

In a bid to give the new players international tournament experience the organizers made the registration price for Vietnamese players cheaper than for expats or international visitors this year. “We want Vietnamese to participate to grow the sport here and give people a great ultimate experience. That will help us develop,” Toronto said.

“Many Vietnamese don’t have the opportunity to go to international tournaments, so this is their best chance,” he said.

The unprecedented response from Singapore was because SUC has sent a lot of players to the Singapore Ultimate Tournament over the past few years and built up a good relationship, players said.

This year marks the seventh Vietnam Hat tournament so the theme for the competition and the party at Lush night club on Saturday night is “The Mystery of Seven”.

Hat tournaments are less competitive than team tournaments, so people have fun, make friends, play frisbee and party at night, Vu said.

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Ice skating in the tropics

Hockey players at the ice-skate rink in HCMC’s District 1 - Photos: Tuong Van

Skating in a tropical country like Vietnam seems like an unlikely sport. But at an ice skating rink that opened last month in HCMC, people are doing just that – spending their free time and weekends skating on ice.

The ice-skate rink that covers about 425 square meters is on the third floor of the HCMC Youth Culture House at 4 Pham Ngoc Thach Street in District 1. It’s had a good reception from the young people who are keen to try a new and interesting recreation.

Hoang Van Anh, owner of the ice-skating club, said that he used to live in the U.S for dozens of years and played many games with ice and snow, so he made the rink for Saigonese to have fun on the ice indoors away from the heat.

The playground is kept at 16 to 18 degrees Celsius. Everything is imported from the U.S. according to international standards, said Anh. He added that the surface has some synthetic materials but has the feel of real ice.

Two skaters balance and glide on the ice in tandem

“Ice skating gives me a new and amazing feeling more than rollerskating because it’s faster and I can do more moves,” said Nguyen Van Duy, an enthusiast.

The rink supplies the iceskates and some instructing. After two or three times newcomers can begin to walk and skate, and move on to the next level.

Ice hockey players also have a club there.  “They need to be good skaters and know the hockey rules as teams need spirited players with discipline,” said Anh.

The hockey club is open for anybody from 8 to 55 years old. The center offers free training for new players in December. 

With about VND50,000 for 85 minutes, including equipment, all the Saigonese can try iceskating for fun and health.

The rink has only been open for two months but is already popular with children from international schools, youth and women who want to keep fit, and dancers and singers. It will have special programs for Christmas and New Year.

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