Rural basketball tournament eyes interactions with NBA
The Cun BA basketball tournament, one of China's popular grassroots sports competitions, plans more interactions with NBA professionals in the current season.
This year's tournament, which started on March 22 at Taipan village in Guizhou province's Qiandongnan Miao and Dong autonomous prefecture, will last through November.
The Cun BA basketball tournament, one of China's popular grassroots sports competitions, plans more interactions with NBA professionals in the current season. [photo: xinhua]
"We plan to take the championship team to an exchange program with the NBA, allowing them to experience, learn from and interact with professional NBA players," Cen Jianglong, head of Taipan and co-organizer of the tournament, said on Friday.
During the Cun BA, or Village Basketball Association, tournament, at least one NBA player will visit Taipan to interact with players and the local community, he said.
Cen said the organizing committee plans to establish the Cun BA alliance through the tournament and foster the development of rural basketball.
More than 600 teams from 24 provincial-level regions, including 75 from Guizhou, have registered for this year's event. More than half of each team's players must be farmers, with the rest coming from different walks of life, including herdsmen, teachers and businessmen, according to Cen.
The men's five-per-side basketball tournament has three stages: the preliminary rounds, group stage qualifiers and the final competition.
The basketball games, originally held to mark a local festival that falls on the sixth day of the sixth month on the Chinese lunar calendar, went viral in 2022, garnering online views of more than 1.5 billion that year. In 2023, the event received over 55 billion views, further consolidating its status as a cultural and sporting phenomenon.
In its third year, Cun BA remains both a basketball competition and a carnival.
On opening day, singers performed, with the aim of conveying cultural confidence to the audience and improving awareness of preserving traditional culture, according to the organizers, who hope that such activities will attract even more spectators to the games.
"The Cun BA journey is truly rewarding," said Luo Shan, a resident of Chongqing, who took time off from work to embark on an impromptu trip with her son.
"The atmosphere was amazing, and we might come back," Luo said after watching the inaugural game, adding that they also enjoyed local delicacies and performances.
The Cun BA phenomenon has not only energized the local economy, but has also contributed to the overall development of Taipan village and the surrounding region.
In 2023, Taijiang county, which has jurisdiction over Taipan, attracted 6.4 million tourists, up nearly 75 percent year-on-year, and the county's tourism revenue reached 8.46 billion yuan ($1.17 billion), up nearly 95 percent year-on-year.
With the growing fame of Cun BA, Yang Zaihua, a local resident who used to work as a migrant worker outside the province, returned to his hometown and started a barbecue business next to the venue for the games.
"I used to earn only 4,000 yuan a month as a migrant worker, while now I can earn 400 to 500 yuan a day. When people come here, money arrives," Yang said.
He added that he is happy, since he can make money while watching his hometown become an even better place.
At the grassroots level, sports events combined with entertainment activities are driving local cultural and tourism development in a number of regions across the country.
For example, in Wenchang, Hainan province, a volleyball competition featuring an array of playing styles attracted wide participation. The atmosphere both on and off the court was filled with joy and excitement, sparking the enthusiasm of players and spectators alike.
Related articles
Trump accepts a VP debate but wants it on Fox News. Harris has already said yes to CBS
NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump said Friday his campaign has accepted an invitation from Fox News for h2024-05-21Taihang mountains attract visitors as leaves change colors
A man visits a ginkgo forest in Luanxie Village of Shahe City, north China's Hebei Province, Oct. 312024-05-21Tourism drives cultural and creative industries in SW China’s Tibet
Photo taken on August 19, 2020 shows characteristic decorations in Jokhang Temple during the Sho Dun2024-05-21- Contact Us HomeNewsHighlightACWF NewsSocietyWom2024-05-21
Liverpool confirms Arne Slot as Jurgen Klopp's replacement
Arne Slot will take on one of the most daunting challenges in soccer by replacing Jurgen Klopp as Li2024-05-21African lion cubs survive extreme environment of Qinghai
An African lion cub is seen at the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Wild Zoo in Xining, capital of northwest Ch2024-05-21
atest comment