CHUNCHEON, South Korea, Aug. 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- An international leisure sports festival kicked off in Chuncheon, South Korea last Friday with new competitions and various programs for visitors, organizers said.
The fifth edition of the Chuncheon International Leisure Sports Festival ran from August 12-15 at several venues near the Songam Sports Town in Chuncheon, 85 kilometers northeast of Seoul, with some 5,000 local and foreign athletes from 31 countries.
The festival, which first started in 2010, aims to promote Chuncheon as the nation's top leisure and tourism city. With the beautiful Uiam Lake, the city of Gangwon Province has been trying to attract people who like to experience leisure sports.
This year's festival featured 14 sports events -- five international and nine local. The organizers said extreme kicking and drone racing have been added to international events for the first time. The other three international competitions are International Actions Sports Championship, World Latin Dance Festival and Airsoft Survival Festival.
For domestic events, a 3-on-3 basketball tournament, an RC car off-road championship and a car drift competition named "Maxpower Drift Muscle" made their debut.
26 events were offered to visitors, the largest in the festival's history.
Visitors could go down a 90-meter water slide, participate in a water gun battle, and ride kayaks, paddle boats and yachts. In addition, there were a free ice hockey lecture, a supercar exhibition, K-pop concerts and dance performances.
The organizers said some programs like hot air balloon riding were a hit as tickets for such programs had been sold out the day prebooking started.
The festival got underway with some practice matches and qualifiers on Friday , but its opening ceremony only took place on Saturday evening, featuring performances by K-pop idol groups and a fireworks show.
"We plan to promote our city as a city where everyone can enjoy leisure sports," Chuncheon Mayor Choi Dong-yong said. "The festival is proof that our city deserves the reputation of the nation's top leisure and tourism city."
