Jinzhong 2026 – „Welcome Home“

Under the motto “Welcome home”, our trip took us to Taigu—the birthplace of the BailongBall—for the 7th International Jinzhong Roliball Competition. And sure enough, we felt right at home from the very first moment!

After a long journey with three transfers, we had lunch and rested for a few hours. By then, we had covered more than 7,000 kilometers. The opening ceremony began at 7:00 p.m. A special bus picked up our team and took us to the venue. And then the magic began…

Thousands of people were standing there waiting for the players. As we walked past them, they greeted us with cheerful shouts! And we responded with big smiles, waved, and gave high-fives to the excited children and teenagers. We took our seats in the gym, where all of us—the teams, coaches, referees, and organizers—were gathered.

Many cameras were trained on the TBBF team. One thrilling performance followed another: a large dance crew, children with basketballs, the BailongBall crew, and singers who sang as they rode around.

Late in the evening, the team captains held a draw. Once the teams had been assembled, the match reports were prepared that night. After a few hours of sleep, we began our first day of competition with the women’s singles and men’s singles.

At the same time, the group choreography competition was taking place on the other side of the gym. It was truly a competition that embodied the yin-yang philosophy. In the afternoon, individual choreography rehearsals were on the schedule. We had to perform the routine in its entirety to avoid breaking the rules. The following days unfolded in a similar manner.

One thing made this event special: the training program for national coaches. Renowned coaches Li Shao Bo and Wan Young Pin gave presentations and led a BailongBall exchange. Since we had an AI translator this time, we were able to understand the content.

At the beginning of the presentation, Mr. Li introduced me to the national coaches and explained that he would be using my video as an example. And it was a positive example 🙂 – an example of artistic play (from the 5th Jinzhong Roliball Competition in 2022, held online) – showing how to go beyond standard elements and technical execution, incorporating more freedom and body movement to create unusual forms. It was an honor and a pleasure to hear this. It came as a surprise, since the topic of the lecture focused primarily on playing techniques.

Our TBBF representative, Philippe Marty, was also on the conference program. He led a workshop for teachers on his system of proficiency levels.

In addition to the competition and educational components, there was also a daily sightseeing program as the “highlight.” We visited a museum and a workshop for traditional Chinese medicine, a cookie factory, a farm, and the ancient city of Taigu. The participants got hands-on here as well—for example, by grinding flour, trying on traditional costumes, harvesting crops, baking cookies, and rolling herbal-honey medicinal pills. Lots of fun!