A place to express the passion of grassroots athletes

In the last days of May, the weather in Lao Cai is extremely hot, with temperatures sometimes reaching over 40 degrees Celsius. However, we clearly felt that inside the sports stadium of Apatit Vietnam One Member Co., Ltd. - where the Lao Cai Province 2023 Senior Volleyball Tournament (held from May 19 to 21) - the atmosphere was always bustling.

Having just competed and won the final match of the men's category 56 years and older, Mr. Nguyen Duc Hiep, a member of Lao Cai Ward Club (Lao Cai city) confided: "To prepare for the tournament, we practiced very hard. As expected, we overcame our opponents and won the championship!".

At the 2023 Lao Cai Province Senior Volleyball Tournament, fans were most impressed with the Van Ban District men's volleyball team aged 56 and over, not only because of their eye-catching competition uniforms but also because of their graceful playing style and competitive spirit. The Van Ban District men's volleyball team aged 56 and over defeated a series of teams and only lost to the champion - Lao Cai Ward Club in the semi-finals and accepted the third prize.

Mr. Pham Xuan Quy, a member of the 56-year-old and older men's volleyball team of Van Ban district, said: When we received the plan to organize the Lao Cai Province Senior and Middle-aged Volleyball Tournament in 2023, we practiced more and with higher intensity. Winning third place in a playground that gathered many strong teams was also a great success for us.

Being present on the field to watch and cheer for the teams, especially in the final match, is enough to see the efforts and determination of the athletes. In the stands, hundreds of spectators were present to cheer enthusiastically, creating a vibrant atmosphere no different from a professional tournament.

Mr. Nguyen Hung Manh, Head of the Van Ban District Volleyball Team, said: Although the travel and accommodation conditions are still difficult, Van Ban District still sent 4 teams to participate in all events of the Lao Cai Province Volleyball Tournament for middle-aged and elderly players in 2023. Before the tournament, we organized training, provided technical guidance, and improved the athletes' physical strength. I found that this year's tournament had high professional quality, and the matches were exciting and dramatic.

The 2023 Lao Cai Province Senior Volleyball Tournament has 46 teams with 415 athletes from agencies, units, and localities in the province. The tournament will compete in 4 categories: Men 40 - 55 years old; women 40 - 55 years old; men 56 years old and older; women 56 years old and older. The teams are divided into groups, compete in a round-robin to score points, and select the first and second teams in each group to enter the quarter-finals. According to the Organizing Committee's assessment, this is a suitable competition format, applied by many localities for grassroots sports tournaments.

Mr. Nguyen Thai Hoa, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture and Sports, said: Despite the harsh weather, the 2023 Lao Cai Province Volleyball Tournament for the Middle and Seniors still received special attention from agencies, units and localities. This shows that the volleyball training movement in the province is growing strongly. The successful tournament is a driving force for the industry to continue organizing sports tournaments in general, and volleyball in particular, in the coming time.

In recent years, the physical education and sports (ST&S) career in the province has developed strongly; the mass sports movement has expanded in terms of the number of participants and residential areas with many diverse forms. Up to now, the whole province has reached 35% of the population and 20% of families regularly participating in physical education with nearly 1,000 clubs. The province aims to reach 37.5% by 2025 and over 40% of the population by 2030; 100% of schools ensure physical education ; 90% - 100% of schools have extracurricular sports activities.

Source link: https://baolaocai.vn/noi-the-hien-dam-me-cua-cac-van-dong-vien-o-co-so-post368763.html