What happens when a Chinese-Canadian former SFU student tries to re-arrange the traditional SFU Robbie Burns traditions?]
Dragon carts “paddle” down Simon Fraser University's Convocation Mall, Chinese lion dancers dance with Scottish bagpipers… and human curling rocks scamper into each other on the Mall.
Check out this article from Simon Fraser University Recreation Department.
http://students.sfu.ca/gunghaggis/
January 29 from 12:30pm – 2:30pm: come to Convocation Mall and enjoy the annual celebration.
Gung Haggis What?????
Gung Haggis Fat Choy was created in 1998 when Todd Wong hosted a small
dinner party celebrating both Chinese New Year and Robbie Burns
Day. The SFU Gung Haggis Fat Choy Canadian Games began in 2005 on the
Burnaby Campus and included dragon cart (instead of boat) races.
This year's SFU Gung Haggis Fat Choy Festival is a two hour celebration
in Convo Mall on Thursday, January 29. The Mall will be transformed
into a cultural collage of the senses with performances, the always
popular human curling challenge and traditional dragon cart races, lots
of prizes, cultural food including haggis and spring rolls, plus some
tea to keep us all warm.
Take Part in Gung Haggis Fat Choy Festival 2009
Join in the fun by pulling together a team for the Human Curling
Challenge, the Dragon Cart Races, or volunteer your time to help run
the event! If you are interested in volunteering, please email with
your name and availability to sarmitage@sfu.ca. Volunteers are needed for set-up, as activity assistants, and for take down.
Teams need to register
either online before January 29 or at the festival, but registration is
on a first-come-first-served basis and space is not guaranteed. To register online
each team member must register individually. If you register at the
festival it must be done at least 45 minutes prior to the start of the
event.
Dragon Cart Races
Object of the game: to get your team and your cart down Convo mall faster than the team you are racing against.
- Large wooden carts are propelled with “sticks” from West to East in Convo Mall by teams of five.
- The
races are single-elimination. No times will be recorded; the winner of
each heat will get to move on to the next round of competition until a
winner is determined. - The judge at the finish line is the final decision maker in determining the winner.
Rules:
- Physical contact with the opposing team will result in disqualification of BOTH teams.
- All five (5) members must be in the dragon cart at all times.
- Participants must use the sticks provided for propulsion.
- Combined team weight can not exceed 1400lbs.
- Cart must stay on course.
Human Curling Challenge
Object of the game:
similar to regular curling or shuffleboard, teams will “throw” their
“stones” down the course attempting to score points by landing the
stone on scoring locations. Teams will alternate throws and may bump
the opposing team’s stones out of a scoring location.
Rules:
- Teams will consist of 6 players – four “stones” who sit in the rolling tires and two pushers
- Two
teams will compete head to head in each round. The team with the
highest point total at the end of all the rounds will be the winner. - Each round will consist of two ends – teams will have two opportunities to throw their four stones.