Archived News: Binh Thuan Sports

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PWA Windsurfing Grand Slam in Mui Ne

2011 Vietnam PWA Grand Slam: The Profesional Windsurfers Association is holding Asia's first-ever PWA competition and this year's first stop on the world tour, right here in Mui Ne this week. Events are February 25 through March 25 at Full Moon and Sunshine Beach resorts. See more photos at our blog.

This year Mui Ne’s 11th Fun Cup featured more divisions, faster riders, more competition, and bigger prizes than ever before. Both days started with light wind, building up to 20 knots plus by the last race of the day.

Ov professional, women’s, and amateur categories were calculated with the point system to determine overall ratings. The professional division with the flying start gave a good chance to showcase positioning techniques, and the LeMans start for the amateurs and women allowed the crowd to enjoy watching the competitors jostle at the beachstart. A small shorebreak gave some trouble to those not used to these conditions, but all competitors soon got underway.

After the races, the award ceremony and barbecue party followed with such entertainment as vocalists, traditional Cham ethnic dancers, and DJ providing fun for all.

Results are as follows:

See you next year at the 2011 Fun Cup at Jibe’s!

Read more about Kiteboarding and Windsurfing in Mui Ne here.

2009 Liberty Cup Results Are In

10.05.09 Jibes. For the second year, during the long national holiday week end, 14 relaxed races were held at Jibe’s Beach Club on stunning Mui Ne Bay.

Rain and light wind discouraged some to enter the event, but the 6 international teamscompeting in this Fun event were very competitive and eager to win the trophy. The all- girl team finished 3rd overall but won for their enthusiams and smiles, ( Julia UK, Satoko Japan, Lucy Australia).

During day 1 and 2 fourteen races were held, leaving Mark’s Team and Olivier and his crew with 3 wins each. The pressure was on for those 2 friends on the ground. On Sunday morning, having recovered from the party at Jibe’s Beach Club the night before, both teams put extra care in getting their boats ready for the final race. Mark Walton and his crew won the race and the Liberty Cup over Olivier Laforest; after a bad start Mark had a good speed upwind that enabled him to over take Olivier and win the last leg with 2 minutes lead. Generally, the level of the teams has risen compared to the 1st edition, resulting in more entertaining starts and races to the spectators that were not bothered by the sunless weather. Genekers were successfully used in most of the legs.

Once again, the organisation was perfect with Race officer Janot Prat who had set up a short but challenging course well in view of the weekenders on the beach The racing rules were simple and efficient, perfect for fun racing . Thanks to Jibe’s Beach Club’s team for getting the 2 boats ready and organizing the BBQ beach party on the Saturday,

The 3rd edition of the Liberty Cup will be on the 30th April and 1st May 2010 at the same location, hopefully with a better weather and a larger field. Jibe’s Beach Club is working on a new event, the concept will be teams of two on the golf course and the same teams on the sailing boats, then scores will be combined, it promise to be a very fun event, date will be finalized at a later stage.

Over the last 12 months there has been more sailing event organised in Vietnam it definitly shows the interest in sailing on the South China Sea and confirm the raise of interest in water sport in the country.

Final Results:

1st: Marc Walton (Fr) & Jerome Besnard (Fr)
2nd: Olivier Laforest (Ca)
3rd: Julia Shaw(HK), Satoko Nakamura(Ja) and Lucy Odillo Maher(Aust)

View Photos Here

This Weekend Jibes Liberation Cup
Start Time: Thursday, April 30, 2009 at 8:00am End Time: Sunday, May 3, 2009 at 2:00am Location: Jibe's Beach Club Street: 90 Nguyen Dinh Chieu

3 days of match racing in Mui Ne bay,on the 30th April we will have a free day of practice and clinics for all team registered, 1st and 2nd May will be racing, 2nd evening will be award ceremony and beach BBQ party, boats will be free use for cometitors on Sunday.

10th Annual Vietnam Fun Cup

22.02.09 The 10th Annual Vietnam Fun Cup concluded Saturday, March 21, with Chris Pressler as winner. The competition included 34 competators, with 8 races for men and 2 for women. Sandra Wolf earned a victory in the women's competition. The windsurfing and kiteboarding charity event is hosted by Jibes and Full Moon Resort. Results were as follows:

Men
1. Chris Pressler, Austria
2. Nguyen Thanh Dong, Vietnam
3. Nguyen Thanh Tam, Vietnam
4. Remi Vila, France
5. Nguyen Ngoc Bong, Vietnam

Women
1. Sandra Wolf, Germany
2. Sylvie Feuerle, France
3. Kerstin Reiger, Austria
4. Lucy Maher, Australia
5. Deborah Khoo, Singapore

Local Wins Fun Cup

29.02.08 Nguyen Thanh Dong won first place at the 9th Annual Vietnam Fun Cup, sponsored by Jibes and Full Moon Resort in Mui Ne.

Thirty-eight competitors from 15 countries competed. Proceeds from the contest, which ended last Saturday, will be donated to the orphanage and School for the blind and disables in nearby Ham Tan.

View photos from the even here.

Fun Cup 2008 to Benefit Local Orphanage

February 22-23 marks the annual Vietnam Fun Cup, a water sports event sponsored by Jibes and Binh Thuan Province. This year all profits from the event will be donated to the local orphanage. Click here for a schedule and more details.

2008 Vietnam Fun Cup Announcement

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.

Gannon Vietnamese Championship

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.

Another Binh Thuan Golf Course

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.

And the Winners Are...

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.

Windsurfing and Kiteboarding Tournament
This Weekend in Mui Ne

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.

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.

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
• 12:30 pm: Snack for competitors
• 07:30 pm: Prize Presentation
• 08:00 pm: Beach Party at Jibe’s Club

For more information contact: jibe@windsurf-vietnam.com

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.

See a video of the camp here.

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.

Sea Links Phan Thiet Golf Course
Construction Set to Begin

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.

A New Golf Course in Mui Ne?

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.

Race Tracks in Mui Ne?

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.

7th Annual Vietnam Fun Cup in Mui Ne

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.