'Omnikin! Osan' Korea's First Kinball World Cup X International Open opens in Osan on the 5th! More than 1,000 athletes from 14 countries including Canada and France participated in the event

Nov 04, 2024

photo courtesy of the Korea Kinball Association

"Omnikin! Wrong!"

The 2024 Kinball Sports World Cup-International Open Korea (hereinafter referred to as the Kinball Sports World Cup) will open at Osan Five Color Culture and Sports Center in Osan, Gyeonggi-do on the 5th.

Hosted by the International Kinball Federation and Osan City (Mayor Lee Kwon-jae), Gyeonggi-do Province, and organized by the Korea Kinball Association (Chairman Kim In-kyu) and the Korea International Cultural Exchange Institute (Director Song Ki-chul), the Kinball Sports World Cup was the world's most prestigious competition in Kinball Sports and began in Canada in 2001 and will host the 11th event for the first time in Korea. A total of 47 teams (13 men's teams, 12 women's teams, 7 international open amateurs, 15 professional teams) from 14 countries around the world, including Canada, France, Switzerland, Japan, China, and Belgium, and more than 1,000 athletes will participate. The International Open Cup is divided into amateur-professional categories to provide a festival and a venue for harmony for Kinballers in daily sports, and the World Cup is in itself a stage to determine the world's best Kinball national team.

Kinball is a sport that can be enjoyed by men and women of all ages around the world. Founded in 1984 by Canadian physical education teacher Mario Dumas, Kinball is a representative new sports event in which everyone participates together and cares for each other, whether they are good at sports or not. It is a unique way of playing in which three teams of pink, gray and black clash, rather than a showdown, with a 'Hot Pink' super-large ball with a diameter of 1.22m. Four players pick up the ball and nominate a team to receive the ball, then one heater flies a serve. After the attacking team decides on the defensive team "Omnikin"!shout the team name with " 'Omnikin!' is a combination of 'Omni', which means 'all together' and 'kin', which means 'all participants play together'. Grey Team "Omnikin Pink!If the attack is successful after shouting ", not only the gray team but also the black team who did not participate in the offense and defense will score 'Udji'. The first place team cannot attack the third place team 'weakest'. It is a game in which both the weak and the strong are together until the end. After being adopted as a school sports club event in 2014, Korea's Kinball expanded its base and grew technically amid favorable responses from students, resulting in the first time in 10 years that it has hosted the World Cup, a world tournament.

Osan Mayor Lee Kwon-jae, who will host this competition, said "We will spare no effort to help Kinball Sports become more active and settled in Osan City with the hosting of the World Cup and the International Open." expressed his intention. The Korea Kinball Association, which is hosting the event, said "Starting as a school sport in 2014, we were able to host the World Cup and the International Open Cup with 10 years of continuous efforts"We will develop the Kinball sport, which has been successfully settled in school, into a life sport starting from this competition. "

(G)The Korea Kinball Association will send a total of 23 men's and women's teams to the tournament. Like curling in winter sports, it is very meaningful that they are the players who have become national team members while learning and enjoying the Kinball after first encountering the Kinball at the 'School Sports Club'. The men's national team will play the opening game against Canada and Belgium from 5:30 p.m. to 6:45 p.m. on the 5th. The second round of the preliminary round against Spain and Japan will be held from 2:45 p.m. to 5 p.m. on the 6th, and the third round of the preliminary round against France and the Czech Republic will be held from 12:15 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. on the 7th. The women's national team will play the opening match against Germany and Singapore from 4 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. on the 5th, the opening match against Germany and Singapore from 2:15 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. on the 6th, the second qualifying match against Singapore and Hong Kong, and the third match against Denmark and Germany from 5:15 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on the 6th. The final winning team will be determined through the semifinals on the 9th and the final tournament on the 10th after the ranking is determined according to the results of the preliminary round.

In this competition, all foreground aircraft are streamed live on the official YouTube channel of the Korea Kinball Association, and you can watch all games on site. Kim Sang-woo, vice president of the Korea Kinball Association, said, `The World Cup and the International Open Cup, which will be held for the first time in Korea, will be a great opportunity to enjoy the play of the world's best Kinball sports players.' `I hope many people come to the stadium to enjoy and cheer together.'

sky4us@sportschosun.com