10.10.07 Binh Thuan Province and Jibe’s Beach Club are proud to announce details for the coming 9th Vietnam Fun Cup, Feb 22-23, 2008. The event highlights water sports in Mui Ne. Click here for more details.
24.08.07 More than 150 golfers will compete in the 12th annual Gannon Vietnamese Championship, held at Ocean Dunes Golf Club in Phan Thiet this weekend.
The tournament will begin Saturday morning and finish with a barbeque lunch at the club-house. The tournament concludes on Sunday morning after a second round of golf and barbeque.
The Gannon Vietnam Championship is for both professionals and amateurs. Participants will be rewarded for a range of achievements, including closest to the pin, longest drive, and straightest drive. Any competitor lucky enough to bag a hole-in-one wins a Mercedes-Benz C180 and a Club Car golf cart.
The tournament organizers will hold a special auction for an autographed Tiger Woods golf cap (Tiger Woods' father Earl served in Binh Thuan province during the war. Tiger himself is named after one of his father's friends--the ARVN Province Chief of Binh Thuan). All proceeds from the Tiger Woods cap auction and the net proceeds from the tournament will benefit ORBIS International. ORBIS International is a nonprofit humanitarian organization dedicated to blindness prevention and treatment in developing countries. This is the longest-running golf tournament in Vietnam.
14.08.07 The Binh Thuan Province People’s Committee has licensed a new Korean project called Sun Resort VINA, in Tan Thang Ward, Ham Tan District (SouthWest of Mui Ne). The US$90 million complex, will include a 36-hole golf course and a four-star hotel. This is the third licensed golf course in the province, although only one (Ocean Dunes) is operational.
04.02.07 Stephane Peillon (Russia) finished first in the 8th Annual Vietnam Fun Cup for windsurfing, followed by Alexey Truson (Russia) and Nguyen Hoang Phi (Vietnam).
In women's, Sylvie Feurle took the title, followed by Fele Kyanko (Philippines) and Kerstin Reiger (Austria).
The event, which is hosted by Jibe's in Mui Ne, concluded Feb 3.
01.01.07 More than 40 male and female athletes from many different countries are set to compete alongside nine local athletes at the 8th Vietnam Fun Cup, hosted by Jibe's on Mui Ne Beach. The tournament for windsurfing and kiteboarding will run from February 2-3, the organisers will also hold another tournament for juniors under 14. The qualifying round starts today, where contestants will compete in a two-leg 800m race. Over the past 5 years Mui Ne has becoming the water sports capitol of Vietnam. Windsurfing and Kiteboarding is now one of the main attractions in the area. Click here for more information.
Jibes to Host the 2007 Vietnam Fun Cup
25.12.06 Binh Thuan Province and Jibe’s Club are proud to announce details for the coming 8th Vietnam Fun Cup to be held from February 02-03.
Overview:
Jibe’s Club will have the opening ceremony and opening party.
After that, the usual high-wind Slalom racing will commence for two days. Once again the Official referee from Binh Thuan Province sport department will be ruling the event.
As usual there will be many great prizes and a lot of fun.
Schedule:
Feb 01:
10:00 am: Free Practice day at Jibe’s Club
Feb 02: Registration until 9:00 am
10:30 am: Figure 8 Slalom Racing at Jibe’s Club
12:30 pm: Snack for competitors
07:00 pm: Chill out at Jibe’s Club
Feb 03
10:00 am: Day 2 Figure 8 Slalom Racing at Jibe’s Club
Ozone Distributors Meeting, Nov 2006
Kiteboarding in Mui Ne
Jibe's Gets Local Kids Involved
23.09.06 This summer Jibes, the top kitesurfing center in Mui Ne, offered a summer camp for local boys to teach them about the sport. The boys who were selected by the Binh Thuan Province Sport Department were between the ages of 12 and 14 years and had been chosen from the local community.
After one month of attending the camp eight children were still coming daily for practice. Four of the boys showed exceptional improvement and had already developed their own individual styles of windsurfing.
Although school has started again here in Vietnam, the boys are able to come and practice at Jibes for two days each week.
Our compliments to the folks at Jibes for giving back to the local community!
Vietnam Open Golf Championship, Phan Thiet
27.08.06 The 11th Vietnam Open Golf Championship was held on August 25-27 at the Ocean Dunes Golf Club in Phan Thiet. The tournament consisted of six divisions, including Professional, Men’s Gross, Men’s Net, Men’s Callaway, Ladies Gross and Ladies Net. Prizes were awarded for closest to the pin, longest drive, the straightest drive and the ultimate winners of the championship. Gannon Vietnam is again the title sponsor for the fourth consecutive year. The course is listed among the ‘Best 500 Holes in the World’ by the USA’s Golf Magazine.
22.04.06 Work will reportedly begin this week on Rang Dong Construction Company's Sea Links Phan Thiet Golf Course. The new 18-hole golf course will reportedly be built along 132 hectares of beachfront sand dunes, at an elevation of 60 meters in Ham Tien Ward (Mui Ne Beach). Technically those conditions do not seem to exist along the beachfront, so it is likely the golf course will be built in the dunes behind Mui Ne, with a distant view of the Ocean.
The project is expected to cost $10 million, and the company hopes to further develop the project in the future with a complex of 200 luxury villas, a five-star hotel and resort ($50 million), swimming pools and other facilities. The current project is apparently moving forward before a company has agreed to operate the finished golf course.
The development will likely face environmental difficulties. There is no irrigation source within the sand dunes areas above Mui Ne. Dry season brings intense drought and rainy season brings substantial erosion. Visitors to the golf course may find the glaring sun uncomfortable with an absence of tree cover. An influx of water for landscaping and increased traffic can also put increased stress on the dunes leading to further erosion.
Still, the Sea Links Phan Thiet could undoubtedly help fill tourism's increasing demand for more activities in Mui Ne. Although the Ocean Dunes Golf Course at the Novotel in Phan Thiet has been very popular, it requires a 20-30 minute ride by motorbike for most visitors to Mui Ne to reach it. If the new golf course is within walking distance for many visitors, it will certainly be much more convenient.
04.04.06 A new golf course reported by VietNamNet can be added to the growing list of seemingly improbable tourism developments proposed for Mui Ne and the surrounding area. The 18-hole Sea Links Phan Thiet, Vietnam Golf Course is reported to begin construction on the beachfront at Ham Tien Ward – (Mui Ne Beach) on April 27. The report contradicts common understanding that Ham Tien beachfront (also known locally as Rang Beach) is strictly zoned for Resorts only. Space for the development would seem to be another issue as beachfront is very narrow in Mui Ne. It also raises questions regarding environmental issues--Mui Ne sits in a region that is considered the driest in SE Asia. Binh Thuan province is prone to drought, and irrosion along the coastline is a big problem. With one of the few established (and well-known) golf courses in Vietnam just 20 minutes away at the Ocean Dunes Golf Club, Phan Thiet, the question of demand will undoubtedly be a significant factor. The course will reportedly be surrounded by 200 villas, hotels, restaurants, swimming pools, and "other facilities for entertainment;" however it is unclear if these will be new facilities or rely on developments already present in the area. The project is expected to begin operation in 2007.
18.03.06 Minister and chairman of the Committee of Sports and Physical Training, Nguyen Danh Thai, has agreed with a recent plan to build cross country sand racing tracks in Mui Ne (Binh Thuan Province) and Phan Rang (neighboring Ninh Thuan Province).
This will be the first sand track for motorcycle and car racing in Vietnam. Local authorities of the two provinces said they welcomed the project, as they believe it will help to lure more visitors to the area. Leaders at Ho Chi Minh City Television (HTV) confirmed they are interested in hiring helicopters to broadcast the events live.
Authorities will face significant hurtles in developing the project successfully. Mui Ne and Phan Rang sit in the expanding Binh Thuan desert. Off-road vehicles are notorious for destabilizing sand dunes environments, and Binh Thuan province has had several natural disasters in recent years due to erosion along the coast.
Proximity to the hotels will face other problems. If too close to the resorts, the excess noise may actually drive tourists away and hurt Mui Ne's reputation as a quite, out-of-the-way destination. However, placing the tracks too far away may also exclude tourists. Vietnam tourism events are typically poorly advertized, and transportation to and around Mui Ne is limited. If such issues are not carefully balanced, the races could draw local residents and Saigon's elite, but fail to attract the desired targets--international tourists.
07.02.06 Full Moon Beach Resort and Jibes Restaurant, Bar and Grill in Mui Ne Beach are hosting the 7th Annual Vietnam Fun Cup for water sports. The competition will be held February 10-11 with a focus on windsurfing and kiteboarding. 45 people from 12 countries have entered the competition. In just a few short years, Mui Ne has become the windsurfing and kiteboarding capitol of Vietnam, with 4 centers now operating on the beach. The launch and landing point for the competition is usually on the beach in front of Jibes. See their website for more details.
23.09.06 This summer Jibes, the top kitesurfing center in Mui Ne, offered a summer camp for local boys to teach them about the sport. The boys who were selected by the Binh Thuan Province Sport Department were between the ages of 12 and 14 years and had been chosen from the local community.
07.02.06 Full Moon Beach Resort and Jibes Restaurant, Bar and Grill in Mui Ne Beach are hosting the 7th Annual Vietnam Fun Cup for water sports. The competition will be held February 10-11 with a focus on windsurfing and kiteboarding. 45 people from 12 countries have entered the competition. In just a few short years, Mui Ne has become the windsurfing and kiteboarding capitol of Vietnam, with 4 centers now operating on the beach. The launch and landing point for the competition is usually on the beach in front of Jibes. See 
