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Cricket to the Max
120 young grade 6 cricketers enjoyed a very full day of
Sawasdee cricket at Baan Saimoon School in Hang Dong last Saturday when 12
teams played 16 games over 6 hours.
 PRC’s
senior team won the gold medal at the Sawasdee cricket tournament held at
Baan Saimoon School in Hang Dong last Saturday, September 27.
In the final, PRC’s senior team played the better
cricket to win the gold medal defeating a strong team from Chol Prathan
Phateak, Doi Saket.
The host team from Baan Siamoon School bowled more
accurately to be victorious over Montfort, taking the third place bronze
medal.
 A
strong team from Chol Prathan Phateak, Doi Saket, finished in 2nd place.
Teachers from Doi Saket have benefited greatly form the
recent weekend cricket seminar coaching in Bangkok. This was very evident by
the improved play by the three schools from that area. 46 Thai sports
teachers from all over Thailand attended the seminar. International
cricketer Roger Binny was the head coach with our own Parn Poshyanoda taking
many of the sessions.
Chiang Rai scores an
outstanding tennis victory
The next Paradorns?
Phisut Itsaracheewawat
At the 700th Anniversary Sports Complex, after three days
of tough competition during the ‘Education Zone 10 student sport games’,
it was a dream outcome for the Chiang Rai tennis team.
 Congratulations!
Chiang Rai wins seven titles at the Education Zone 10 games. (Photo by
Pichitpon Tongtuek)
With a winner in all 7 categories - best team, best male
and female singles player, best male and female doubles players and best
mixed doubles, it showed how well prepared the team was.
Chiang Rai’s head coach, Choochai Leampriboon said that
he was very impressed with the result of seven gold medals, proving that his
faith in the team was warranted. His son, Chaiwit Leampriboon, is also an
outstanding player and was chosen to be the zone 10 tennis player to compete
in the next national games.
However, they both felt that being a sportsman in the
northern region has a lot of disadvantages compared to Bangkok. “There are
no national games played in the Chiang Mai-Chiang Rai area and the Thailand
Open in Bangkok is too far away for the young players to go to, compared to
the youngsters in Bangkok. There is also a lack of well-trained coaches in
the north and these two main obstacles need to be overcome for regional
tennis players to flourish,” Choochai said.
Wieng Ping games planned from 21-27th December
Pichitpon Tongtuek
The eight Rajabhat institutes in the northern region are
preparing for the Wieng Ping Games, which will be held from December 21-27
in Chiang Mai.
The Wieng Ping Games are an inter Rajabhat Institutes
event, held all over Thailand. The representatives of the athletes from the
41 institutes will compete against each other at the Chiang Mai venue.
At the end of October this year, regional games will be
held to choose athletes for the Chiang Mai finals. The northern semi will be
in Lampang and students from Rajabhat Institute Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai,
Lampang, Uttaradit, Phiboonsongkram (Phitsanulok), Kampangpet, Nakornsawan
and Petchaboon will take part.
Chiang Mai’s football team is training hard with
Surachet Paowan, the assistant trainer saying, “There were 25 players, but
soon we will cut them down to only 18 players. ... If we win the Lampang
games, we will be one of two representative teams to compete in the Wieng
Ping events.”
Chiang Mai Pool League
Cycling around Chiang Mai with Don Lee: Biking up to Doi Pui Summit
This is the second in a series of notes on cycling roads
and mountain biking trails in the Chiang Mai area. Last week we rode up Doi
Suthep from the zoo entrance at the end of Huai Kaew Road to Phu Ping
Palace. This week we will take you further up the mountain to the Doi Pui
Summit and the starting point for several off road trails to be described in
future editions.
To continue your ride up
the mountain:
Phu Ping Palace to Doi Pui Summit (4 to 6 km): As you
pass the Royal Family palace entrance gate, the road narrows and continues
up past the tourist entry gate on the right and a row of shops on both
sides. You can eat food or fill your water bottle here. Continue on, and at
about 800 meters from the shops you will reach a fork in the road with signs
in Thai and English. The main road curves downhill to the left, past a park
office, 2 km to Ban Maeo Doi Pui, the primary tourist destination village.
There is a downhill mountain bike trail from that village to Sri Sang Val
Falls and the Hang Dong - Samoeng Road that I’ll describe in a later
edition.
 Simon
Philips of the UK, from Mt Snodon in Wales, to Doi Pui Summit, an expert
mountain bike rider on his Gary Fisher, Mt Tam model, super lightweight
bike.
But to reach the summit, instead of going downhill to Ban
Maeo Doi Pui, take the right, uphill turn at the signs, narrowing down to
one lane and up to the forestry checkpoint kiosk. (At this point the
suitability for skinny tire road bikes becomes questionable. Although the
road is still paved, it is not as smooth as the highway up; there are more
loose rocks and potholes.)
At one kilometer you will pass a left turn downhill to a
monastery, but to continue to the summit go straight on the main road
another 400 meters and check out the spectacular view from the pullout on
the left. You can see Ban Maeo Doi Pui village below and the mountains
beyond.
Wat Sun Ku and the top of
the mountain
One more kilometer and you pass over the highest point on
this road; a little farther you reach a bend in the road with a pullout and
a sign for Sun Ku. About 50m in from the road there is a small temple
restoration site with an informative sign in Thai and English. It’s a nice
quiet rest/meditation stop before you start down the other side of the
mountain. If you rode all the way up from the zoo, you just did about 20 km
uphill and climbed almost 1300 meters (4000 feet). Tired yet?
The good news is that it’s mostly downhill from here,
unless you ride up to the summit. About another kilometer from Wat San Ku
and you reach a fork in the road with a forestry checkpoint kiosk, usually
unattended. There is a gated road on the left that leads up to the actual
summit of Doi Pui (about 2 kilometers from the kiosk). I don’t know why
they keep the pole-gate down, but I’ve never been stopped from putting my
bike under the gate and riding up to the summit. The dirt road that leads
down to the right of the kiosk is the start of the popular Huay Tung Tao
downhill course, the Doi Pui to Pong Yaeng Nok and Mae Sa Valley cross
country, and some other alternative trails.
The ride above is an extension of last week’s ride,
described and mapped as Route 4 in Pete Devakul’s book, Fun & Genuine
Mountain Biking - Biking on Your Own, available at Top Gear Bike Shop and DK
Books in Chiang Mai.
Next time we take you on the off road mountain bike
downhill route Doi Pui to Lake Huai Tung Tao (Route 5). Get your mountain
bike ready; you’re going to love that one.
Where do you buy a good mountain bike in Chiang Mai? I
like Top Gear, on the bend at the middle of Chiang Moi Road, near Soi 2. The
staff all speak English, and they are all bike riders. They are
knowledgeable and equipped for parts, repairs and upgrades. That’s where I
bought my bike on recommendation for another expat; they have so far taken
good care of me and my bike, and held true to their promise of free brake
and gear adjustments if you’ve purchased the bike from them. They also
offer bike riding and bike maintenance courses.
Tom Matty, the Canadian co-owner of Top Gear said, “We
are a bicycle shop dedicated to providing great service, knowledge and
advice, with the goal of helping people to have fun with bicycles. That’s
pretty much what we want to be about.”
Chiang Mai HHH Corner - “On On!”
CH3, the oldest hash club (males) in Chiang Mai is picked
up from the “ONON” pub (Moon Mueng Soi 1) at 16.00 once every 2 weeks.
Pick up can be arranged from Fish and Chips shop as well.
 CSH3
is a mixed Saturday hash which is picked up from the H3 Pub on Moon Mueng
Road every Saturday at 15.30. Pick up can be arranged from Fish and Chips
shop as well.
CUMH3 is a male hash which runs from the “ONON” Pub
every consecutive (from CH3) Tuesday. Pick up is at 16.00.
BH3 is a female hash (Harriettes) that runs once a month
on the last Sunday of the month.
 All
information either from Fish and Chips, H3 or “ONON” Pub. Or look at the
websites at: http://www.thai-american. com/hhh/
It’s great fun and you surely get value for your money
plus you get to meet all the long-time expats here!
Champions of tomorrow compete at LIST Elementary School Swimming Meet
Text by Marion Vogt
Photos by Michael Vogt
Results provided by LIST
Thursday, September 25 was the elementary school swimming
competition day for seven international schools in and around Chiang Mai.
Even before reaching Lanna International School, one
could hear children’s excited screams, parents’ cheers, and teachers and
teacher helpers trying to cool down the atmosphere a little by talking in
different microphones. It was pure excitement.
Swimming is not only a sport; it also equips children
with a crucial survival skill. It is seen as a wholesome, lifesaving,
lifetime sport, as well as a recreational activity, and it is good for
social, emotional, and educational development.
It definitely was an emotional affair and at the end of
the day all scores from the seven schools that took part were carried
forward to the senior event at Prem for the overall placing.
After the first day of the elementary schools
competition, the standings were as follows: 1st Prem, 2nd GIS, 3rd Lanna,
4th CMIS, 5th NIS, 6th APIS, 7th CDSC.
Individual scores were:
Janet
Powell, the sports director at Prem, making sure 4-year-old Oliver knows the
‘drill’. He was participating in his first ever swim meet and went home
with four (4!) Gold medals!
Simon,
the PE assistant at Prem with Alex, Jessica, Royanne and little Laura.
Jaime,
James, Ben and Danny, the gold medal winners for the freestyle and medley
relays.
One-Two-Three-Go!
25 m Freestyle race for little swimmers.
Last
instructions from one of the coaches ... trying to cool down the excitement.
Cheerleaders jump for joy at championship finals
50,000 baht helps too!
Phisut Itsaracheewawat
The finals of the cheerleader contest for the Thailand
Championship 2003 ended with the Benjama Cactus team from Benjama Maharak
College, Ubon Rachatani winning the High School division and Prince Lion from
Bangkok Business College voted winners of the university section.
 Spectacular
performances on stage at the Cheerleader Thailand Championship 2003. It was a
hard time for judges to decide the winners.
The contest drew 14 cheerleader teams from all over Thailand
to the finals at the Central Airport Plaza, being part of the To Be Number One
campaign launched by Her Royal Highness Princess Ubolratana.
Following regional semi-finals, the contest was divided into
two categories, with eight teams from high school and six from university level.
The judges reported that every team performed so well, it was difficult to
choose the winners. However, congratulations went to BMC Benjamin Cactus team
from Ubon Rachatani and Prince Lion from Bangkok for high school and university
levels respectively, who received cheques for 50,000 and 70,000.
 The
high school winners, Benjama Cactus from Benjama Maharak College, Ubon Rachatani.
Congratulations! A new face in the contest.
HRH Princess Ubolratana attended the final round to preside
over the closing ceremony asked Thai teenagers to be a part of this campaign and
not to be involved with drugs. “I’m so glad to see the success of my
campaign To Be Number One. Not only can it help teenagers to spend their free
time in a worthy cause, but also it helps them learn how to work as a team,”
she said.
 The
university winners ‘Prince Lion’ from Bangkok Business College posed after a
tough competition with a cheque for 70,000 baht.
HRH Princess Ubolratana graciously presented a shield of
honor from Her Majesty the Queen to both winning teams. Both team leaders agreed
that the government should open more public stages for teenagers to show their
capability and potentiality, keeping them away from getting involved with drugs.
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