The 28th CGU Sports Meet
　

The 28th CGU Sports Meet took place on the 15th of November. The meet was filled with enthusiasm and excitement that created a real buzz. Due to the ominous weather, the organisation committee re-arranged the activities to suit the changing weather conditions. To kick off this eagerly anticipated day, the organisation committee announced the traditional running around campus. Running in the drizzle were approximately 1,700 faculty members, staff, and students, who had put in many days of practice. After running around campus, everyone gathered in the gymnasium to attend the opening ceremony. CGU President Prof. Chia-Chu Pao delivered a speech to thank everyone for attending and participating in the event. Miss Nian-zhen Li, who was the runner-up of the women’s karate competition (Tier 3) in the 2014 National Intercollegiate Athletic Games, led all athletes in reciting an oath. She was also a student in the Department of Health Care Management. Following the oath recital was the highly popular tug-of-war competition. As soon as CGU Vice President Prof. Jan-Kan Chen pointed a gun skyward and pulled the trigger, each team tightly gripped the rope and pulled as hard as they possibly could. The speculators cheered loudly and enthusiastically for their classmates. In the end, the male students from the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering won, giving them back-to-back championships. In addition, the Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation women’s team secured a gold medal, too. Next was one of the most awaited contests – the cheerleading competition, which took the audience by storm. This year’s cheerleading competition included 17 teams from 18 departments. After months of rigorous practice, the audience were absolutely enthralled by the cheerleaders’ bedazzling moves. This created a vibrancy and youthful exuberance to spread the cheerleading spirit. In the end, the Chemical and Materials Engineering Department won first place in the competition.

While celebrating Chang Gung University’s 28th anniversary, one of the activities which took place simultaneously with the annual sports meeting was the carnival. This year, adopting the theme of international cuisines and cultures, CGU invited overseas students and student clubs to showcase an array of delicacies from several countries. The carnival featured original Chinese tea, Indian curry cuisine, traditional Burmese food, Italian coffee, traditional Chinese medicinal meals, and Japanese noodle soup. Other activities included family stands, night market magic shows, ball games, and environmental friendly toys DIY for kids to play with. These activities gave participants an opportunity to appreciate the beauty of different cultures.
 

The track and field competitions resumed after the weather had cleared up in the afternoon. The highly anticipated relay race drew the most attention. With the crowds showing zealous boost of support, athletes sprinted as fast as they could. The crowds screamed and shouted when seeing their favourite athletes sprint at their top speed towards the finish line. In the end, the administration staff team, the Electrical Engineering Department, and the Department of Biomedical Sciences won the gold medal in the categories of faculties/staff, male students, and female students respectively. It is worth mentioning that the Department of Electrical Engineering achieved a great success by claiming the gold medal for 12 years in a row in the male students’ relay race.
　

The closing ceremony was held when everyone got together to celebrate the achievements of the day. This year, several new records were set, including men’s 100-meter race, 4 x 100-meter relay race, female students’ 800-meter race, relay race, and faculties’ and staff’s running around campus. In particular, 2 groups of 4 middle-aged men broke records in 5 categories. In the end, the School of Medicine won the sport award, and the College of Engineering won the teamwork award. The 28th Sports Meet was concluded with high spirits and smiling faces of faculties, staff, alumni, and students.