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How Do You Translate "Fast Break?"

Monday, 28th April 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)


With so many foreign coaches of Chinese teams, and such a short history of foreign language education in China, we've often wondered about the challenges of coaching in translation. Tom Maher, head coach of the Chinese women's basketball team, shares some thoughts on this topic and more in the above video from FIBA, the international governing body of basketball. The video is a little hard to watch, with Maher's forehead cut off for much of the time, but includes some interesting comments.

Maher says about the language barrier:
"You can't communicate the same way. You don't realize how many pictures you paint with words. There's so many little phrases and analogies we make and you don't realize how much it is until you try to communicate. It's a little bit sad because you can't bridge that gap as well as you would like to."

His observations about China come at around 3 minutes into the interview. Also, having coached New Zealand and Australia at past Olympics, Maher has a good read on the international women's game. At about six minutes in, he breaks down the top teams contending for medals in August.

The answer to the question in the headline above, by the way, is 快攻 (kuàigōng), or "fast attack."

Tags: basketball, Olympics, Tom Maher

Olympic Basketball Draws

Monday, 28th April 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)

The draws for the Olympic men's and women's basketball tournaments were announced over the weekend, though five berths remain undetermined for the women's tournament and three for the men's.

The basketball tournament runs for most of the Olympic period, from August 9 to August 24, with women's games played on odd dates and men's games on even ones. In both the men's and women's tournaments, teams will play all five opponents in their group to determine seeding for an eight-team playoff.

Women's Tournament

Group A: Australia, Korea, Russia, Qualifier A, Qualifier B and Qualifier C
Group B: China, Mali, New Zealand, USA, Qualifier D and Qualifier E

The remaining teams will be determined by the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Women in Madrid from June 9 to 15. Competing teams are Senegal, Angola, Cuba, Brazil, Argentina, Japan, Chinese Taipei (Taiwan), Spain, Belarus, Latvia, Czech Republic and Fiji.

Men's Tournament

Group A: Argentina, Australia, Iran, Lithuania, Russia, Qualifier A
Group B: Angola, China, Spain, USA, Qualifier B and Qualifier C

The remaining teams will come out of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Men in Athens from July 14 to 20. The participating teams are: Cameroon, Cape Verde, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Canada, Lebanon, Korea, Greece, Germany, Croatia, Slovenia and New Zealand.

Tags: basketball, FIBA, Olympics

Phase 3 Olympic Ticket Sales Start May 5

Monday, 28th April 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)

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Sorry we're sharing this with you a little bit late, but the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG) finally announced its plans for Phase 3 ticket sales last week. Phase 3 was supposed to begin in April, and we had been told by managers at various Bank of China branches around Beijing that it would begin April 25. But BOCOG itself remained mum until last week.

Tickets will be on sale from May 5 to June 9, and can be bought at Bank of China or online with a Visa card or Chinese bank card at BOCOG's ticketing Web site.

To find the Bank of China head office for your province, check here. Call your local head office to find the branch nearest you.

BOCOG ticketing customer service phone number: +86 10 952008
BOCOG ticketing customer service e-mail: ticketsupport@beijing2008.cn

Image: BOCOG

Tags: Olympic ticketing

Google Earth Torch Relay Tracker

Monday, 28th April 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)


The Olympic torch goes to Pyongyang and Ho Chi Minh City before returning to China for its domestic circuit. Follow the torch at Google Earth's new Torch Relay Map.

Tags: Olympic torch relay

Darren Clarke Wins BMW Open

Monday, 28th April 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)

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Shanghai—In an exciting two-man race to the finish, Darren Clarke of Northern Ireland held off Dutchman Robert-Jan Derksen's comeback to win at the BMW Asian Open at Tomson Shanghai Pudong Golf Club, the second European Tour golf competition held in China this month (along with last week's Volvo China Open in Beijing).

Clarke took a two-stroke lead over Derksen after the 14th hole, but proceeded to bogey 16 and 17 to head to the 18th in a tie with Derksen. Clarke then birdied 18 for the win and the US$383,330 purse, with a final 8-under-par 280 over four rounds.

"Sometimes things are meant to happen, sometimes not. I guess today was my day," said Clarke. "I was thinking of getting it to the hole (on the 18th) and I wasn't going to lag it up. I putted nicely this week, and wanted to give myself a chance on the last and I hit a solid putt. It was tracking six foot out and sometimes it's meant to go in."

At 5 under par, Li Wen-Tang from Taiwan finished in a three-way tie for third place with Italy's Francesco Molinari and Englishman Robert Dinwiddie. China's top player, Liang Wenchong, finished 14th at even par.

The tournament is part of a China marketing strategy for BMW that has the goal of double-digit sales growth in the Middle Kingdom this year, according to this report in Forbes magazine. It is also part of a broader sports marketing strategy for the automaker, which this month put on the BMW Formula Europe Formula 1 racing event and the BMW Sailing Cup.

In the photo with Clarke are flight attendants from Dubai–based Emirates Airline, another major sponsor of the event.

Tags: BMW China Open, golf, Li Wen-Tang, Liang Wenchong, Shanghai Tomson Pudong Golf Club