Day 5 - Wrapping Up

On Day 5, competition at the international arena was over, leaving just a half-day’s worth of events at the arena that was until today exclusively used for the Chinese competitors.

The morning started off with 4 demonstrations of Qigong, something which was unfortunately timed since most people seemed to be quite tired, and the relaxing music and movements seemed to cause quite a few of the athletes who were in the stands to nod off for a bit of sleep! (They should have joined in, they might have come out of the experience revived and energetic instead…) They were quickly woken up shortly afterwards though, as the floor came to life with domestic and international group events.

In the international group events, the level of competition was quite high. The kids from Myanmar put on a great show of their gymnastic ability, but it wasn’t enough to clinch the top spot. Bad luck for the Australians today, as the first Aussie group to compete was short one member and was penalized 0.5 points for it—had they not been penalized they would have easily secured top spot. The second Aussie group seemed to have some issue with their registration, and were allowed to perform but were not assessed a score, but no worries, word has it they’re about to go on a 3 week tour of China, so they’ll have more than enough great experiences to make it up!

For the competitors from 66 countries and all corners of China, today was the final day of this great competition. While there were complaints about some things, all in all most people seemed to be impressed by the friendliness of the locals and other competitors, and many friends were made, which is part of what this kind of international competition is all about.

With a closing ceremony and banquet to end off the day, and end off the event, it was time for everyone to head their own ways, until they return in two more years for the next Zhengzhou World Traditional Wushu Championships.

Congratulations and thanks go out to all the competitors for making it out and joining in this great event. Have a safe trip home and keep training hard—see you again in Zhengzhou in 2 years!