1st Hwaseong Special-Status Mayor's Cup National Disabled Persons' Inclusive Shuffleboard Tournament Held Successfully

Hwaseong Special-Status City (Mayor Jung Myeong-geun) announced that the '1st Hwaseong Special-Status Mayor's Cup National Disabled Persons' Inclusive Shuffleboard Tournament' held on the 3rd at the Hwaseong Sports Complex Indoor Gymnasium concluded successfully with the participation of around 450 athletes and officials from various regions across the nation.

The tournament, hosted by the Hwaseong City Disabled Sports Association and organized by the Hwaseong City Disabled Shuffleboard Association, was divided into student, disabled persons, and non-disabled (inclusive) divisions, with individual and team competitions held. In the student division, integrated competitions were held with students with physical, hearing, and developmental disabilities participating together, while in the disabled persons division, competitions by disability type—visual, physical, hearing, and developmental—were held.

Shuffleboard is a recreational sport that originated in the Netherlands, where players push small pucks on a wooden board to score points by placing them in holes. The competition format is relatively simple, allowing anyone of any age and gender to enjoy it easily, and it is characterized by the ability for people to participate in competitions together in the same space regardless of disability status.

In particular, the tournament provided a venue for harmony where disabled and non-disabled persons enjoyed competitions together and naturally communicated and exchanged through sports as a medium.

Yun Seong-jin, First Vice Mayor of Hwaseong Special-Status City, said "This tournament is significant in that it goes beyond simply competing in wins and losses to become a place where disabled and non-disabled persons understand and exchange with each other through sports," adding "We will activate recreational sports events like shuffleboard that can be enjoyed together regardless of disability status or age, broaden opportunities for disabled persons to participate in sports, and further invigorate sports exchanges in our local community."