August 03, 2009

Lead by their new head coach Cai Bin, the Chinese Women’s national volleyball team arrives in Macau from Ningbo this afternoon to prepare for the 2009 Macau Galaxy Entertainment FIVB World Grand Prix, which kicks off this Friday. To facilitate the Chinese team, the event’s title sponsor, Galaxy Entertainment Group (“Galaxy”), has arranged for its flagship peninsula property, StarWorld Hotel (“StarWorld”), to arrange a warm welcome reception for the Chinese team upon their arrival. In addition, the hotel will also provide special accommodation and dining services to the team during their stay in Macau.

The Chinese national team, who was the first to arrive in Macau, received a warm welcome from senior management executives and fans at StarWorld Hotel today. Cai Bin, who visits Macau for the first time as the Chinese national women’s volleyball team head coach, said that he hopes that competing in Macau will help his team build experience and further improve their performance. He acknowledges that the reorganized Chinese team still has many areas for further improvement but asserts that his team will make use of the opportunity by practicing and competing at the same time. Regarding his hopes for the Macau leg, he said, “Brazil is the strongest among the three national teams. I hope that our team overcomes this pressure and treats it as a motivation to try our best and achieve the best results”. Wang Yimei, who was informed that she was one of the candidates elected for the “My Favorite Galaxy Star Player Award” upon her arrival in Macau, said that she is very flattered and thanks her fans for their love and support.

To provide the most welcoming accommodation to these tall ladies, StarWorld has arranged bed extensions for the players so that their beds can extend to over 7 foot long and, to let the players sleep more comfortably, players are also offered five different kinds of pillows for them to choose. Regarding the players’ meals, besides taking care of the players three meals a day, the hotel will also provide the players with snack boxes both before and after each competition. The hotel will prepare all food according to three main principles: high-fiber, high calcium and high-starch, so that players have sufficient physical strength to train and compete. In addition, regarding the players’ privacies, the hotel has arranged for the team to stay on the same floor to ensure that they are free from disturbance.

The three-day “Macau Galaxy Entertainment FIVB World Grand Prix” commences at 6:00pm this Friday. The Chinese national team will first play against Poland, then against Thailand on the second day of the tournament, and finally, against the Olympic Champion, Brazil on the last day of the tournament. Besides watching the exciting games, spectators can also win attractive prize by voting for this year’s new “My Favorite Galaxy Star Player“ award recipient. Spectators can vote for their favorite player from the pool of 8 candidates previously drawn from the 4 national teams, China, Brazil, Poland and Thailand.

More than 50 sports journalists from over 10 media outlets belonging to the Hong Kong Sports Press Association and Macau Sports Press Association participated in the first phase of the “My Favorite Galaxy Star Player Award” voting. The members elected 2 players from each team as the candidates for the award. They are: Wang Yimei and Xue Ming of China, Jaqueline Carvalho and Sheilla Castro of Brazil, Anna Baranska and Joanna Kaczor of Poland, and Onuma Sittirak and Narumon Khanan of Thailand.

Second phase of the election takes place during the competition. Spectators will each receive a voting ballot upon entering the stadium. Spectators can simply drop their vote in the ballot box of their selected player and retain the ticket stub for the lucky draw. The player with the highest total number of votes will become the "My Favorite Galaxy Star Player” and receive StarWorld’s sponsored valuable prizes worth US$3,000. Prizes include a 2-nights stay at the prestigious StarWorld Suite, a dinner-for-two at the internationally renowned Japanese restaurant Inagiku, lunch at Temptations restaurant, limousine services and other valuable prizes. In addition, one lucky spectator who voted for the winner of the "My Favorite Galaxy Star Player Award” will receive a one-night accommodation at StarWorld’s Executive Room, a dinner-for-two at Inagiku, a buffet-for-two at Temptations Restaurant, plus other valuable prizes.

Sanctioned by the Federation Internationale de Volleyball (“FIVB”) and organized by the Macau Sport Development Board and the Volleyball Association of Macao, China, the “2009 Macau Galaxy Entertainment FIVB World Grand Prix” takes place between August 7 and 9, 2009 at the Macau Forum. The Olympic Champion, Brazil will face Thailand at 6:00pm on the first day event, followed by the match between China and Poland. Competition will start at 2:30pm on the second day, with Brazil against Poland and China against Thailand. Then on the third and final day, competition will start at 1:00pm with Thailand facing Poland and China against Brazil.