{"id":11800,"date":"2009-08-31T23:26:14","date_gmt":"2009-09-01T03:26:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.IreneEng.com\/?p=11800"},"modified":"2014-12-28T22:30:43","modified_gmt":"2014-12-28T22:30:43","slug":"beijing-tennis-club-in-new-york","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tennis.ireneeng.com\/?p=11800","title":{"rendered":"Beijing Chaoyang \u671d\u9633 tennis club in New York"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.IreneEng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/0CIMG8401.JPG\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11812\" title=\"Li Qiang\" src=\"http:\/\/www.IreneEng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/0CIMG8401-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"Li Qiang\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.IreneEng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/0CIMG8378.JPG\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11811\" title=\"their neat t-shirt\" src=\"http:\/\/www.IreneEng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/0CIMG8378-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"their neat t-shirt\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>We hosted the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bjcyta.com\/\">Chaoyang Tennis Association<\/a> \u5317\u4eac\u671d\u9633\u7f51\u7403\u534f\u4f1a from Beijing today at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ireneeng.com\/?p=11975\">Roosevelt Island Racquet Club<\/a>. Chaoyang is quasi governmental club, the players&#8217; trip is paid for by the club or the government (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.bjcyta.com\/news\/show.asp?id=343\">not sure if I got this right..<\/a>). The Sunday game was arranged by the USTA, United States Tennis Association. About week or two ago, USTA reached out to Bill, the 4.0 captain asking if any of the Chinese clubs\/players would like to play with them .. so we got involved. USTA reserved and paid two courts at the Island fm 10-12 noon.<\/p>\n<p>The arrangement leading up to the day was bit confusing. I have expressed interest to meet\/play with the BJ team since, well they\u2019re from my hometown. But I wasn&#8217;t on the list. When I questioned it, the organizer shot back a nasty e-mail to the group ..<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>irene,<\/p>\n<p>can you tell any of these names are females?<\/p>\n<p>\u90e8\u5206\u8d74\u7f8e\u51a0\u519b\u540d\u5355\uff1a<\/p>\n<p>2.5\u7ec4\uff1a\u7a46\u4f1f\u2014\u2014\u674e\u9274\u6811<\/p>\n<p>3.0\u7ec4\uff1a\u6797\u8000\u6d77\u2014\u2014\u738b\u5929\u6c11<\/p>\n<p>3.5\u7ec4\uff1a\u621a\u626c\u2014\u2014\u674e\u5f3a<\/p>\n<p>4.0\u7ec4\uff1a\u6768\u6797\u2014\u2014\u848b\u5c79<\/p>\n<p>4.5\u7ec4\uff1a\u82cf\u542f\u4ef2<\/p>\n<p>5.0\u7ec4\uff1a\u9648\u66e6\u2014\u2014\u6768\u6d9b<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Well, I haven\u2019t seen this Beijing list before and now that I\u2019ve seen it I couldn\u2019t tell their gender .. but I did see the organizer put two our girls down for 2.5 .. hence I asked.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.IreneEng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/0CIMG8418.JPG\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-11827\" title=\"4 some\" src=\"http:\/\/www.IreneEng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/0CIMG8418-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"4 some\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>What did I ever do to this organizer to deserve being scolded in public? I don\u2019t like the feel of it. Tennis is just a game, should be fun and enjoyable. Few in the group seem to have more spare time on hand, like to play sissy and politics. Can we all act like A MAN, have bit more tolerance? As if Irene wears pants here.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s just so amusing, few in the group likes to make a small match-fire into an inferno then come in as a hero or the problem solver, it doesn\u2019t give the person more right to lay claim on this club. This club belongs to everyone. No one should try to stronghold it as a personal guild.<\/p>\n<p>Then the last e-mail informing us that Beijing would only have 6 players on Sunday so our list scaled down to 6 players as well. I was not on the rotation. I understand. No problem. I just wished the organizer would mention if we could go to meet them regardless on the playing list. There was none.<\/p>\n<p>The night before, one of the players I contacted earlier for car-pooling said he\u2019ll pick me up at 9:10am the follow day.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.IreneEng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/0CIMG8376-copy.JPG\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-11823\" title=\"after a game\" src=\"http:\/\/www.IreneEng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/0CIMG8376-copy-300x249.jpg\" alt=\"after a game\" width=\"300\" height=\"249\" \/><\/a>Didn\u2019t he know he\u2019s no longer needed?<\/p>\n<p>He was being cut as well. When I asked him, he paused. Either he or other players received other instructions or they just decided to go.<\/p>\n<p>If it\u2019s the former, it proved the organizer in deed playing politics here. If it\u2019s the later, it shows poor organizing skill, very confusing.<\/p>\n<p>I decided to go knowing well I was not invited and unwelcome.<\/p>\n<p>My intention was to check out my hometown players and also being from the same city that would make them feel more comfortable. It\u2019s beyond me that the organizer failed to see eye to eye with me.<\/p>\n<p>As it turned out, the Beijing team sent more than a dozen.<\/p>\n<p>Our group had more than a dozen showed up.<\/p>\n<p>The CatsNY got two more courts to accommodate the mass.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.IreneEng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/0CIMG8417.JPG\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-11826\" title=\"Cheers .. the group came armed with a journalist Tennis World Magazine fm Beijing\" src=\"http:\/\/www.IreneEng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/0CIMG8417-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"Cheers .. the group came armed with a journalist Tennis World Magazine fm Beijing\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" \/><\/a>I have always favored an open forum (vs e-mail) for group activities where it\u2019s easier to keep truck of what\u2019s up and been done (with polling feature), that way can also reduce e-mail traffic. Of course, the big downside, the organizer would obviously lose \u2018control\u2019, the ability to manipulate.<\/p>\n<p>Playing tennis in China is expensive, still <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ireneeng.com\/?p=11861\">considered a luxury sport<\/a>, as with golf &#8211; the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ireneeng.com\/?p=11948\">green opium<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The Beijing tennis group is very interesting.<\/p>\n<p>The licensing of NRTP.<\/p>\n<p>I was dumbfounded to hear a tennis rating could be licensed. The BJ players told me that as an individual they didn\u2019t pay to be rated, but the club paid. The USTA even sent a representative to Beijing to do the rating.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Was there training involved?&#8221; I wondered.<\/p>\n<p>They didn&#8217;t know.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWas the person white?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes. She was.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDoes she speak Chinese?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo .. \u201c but there was an interpreter.<\/p>\n<p>Why can\u2019t the Chaoyang club read the description and rate the players themselves? Can\u2019t they find a knowledgeable player to do so?<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.IreneEng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/0CIMG8444-ok.JPG\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-11824\" title=\"after lunch .. fr left: the Beihang couple ... the two PhDs\" src=\"http:\/\/www.IreneEng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/0CIMG8444-ok-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"after lunch .. fr left: couple ... father and daughter\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" \/><\/a>A down payment for a future alliance?? But tennis being so international, USTA certainly doesn\u2019t represent the world of tennis. It\u2019s only one of few major components. There are Wimbledon and Roland Garros. .. with the Aussie in the distance.<\/p>\n<p>One of the members mentioned that the Chaoyang club did consider and decided to reach out to the Americans. The USTA logo is prominently displayed on their site.<\/p>\n<p>I didn&#8217;t have complete score but BJ won most matches. Few players ..<\/p>\n<p>Li Qiang \u674e\u5f3a (top .. serving) is a 46-year old PhD candidate at Beijing Athletic Academy, \u5317\u4eac\u4f53\u80b2\u5b66\u9662. He works at Normal University, my mom\u2019s Alma mater. His path to tennis was during his teaching years at Dongbei Nongye Daxue \u4e1c\u5317\u519c\u4e1a\u5927\u5b66 Northeast Agriculture University where he was a martial art master, or kung-fu master. When school wanted to start tennis program, they turned to him who knew nothing about Love 40. With innate athletic ability, he learned the game then taught. He was HelongJiang Provincial single champion.<\/p>\n<p>This couple (pic above .. husband to my right wife to my left) work at Beihang \u5317\u822a, \u5317\u4eac\u822a\u7a7a\u5b66\u9662 Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics. The wife visited Moscow in 1992 after the fall of the Berlin Wall, and brought back two tennis racquets. They both plagued into the sport, and primarily play at Beihang where they work and live.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.IreneEng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/0CIMG8439.JPG\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-11829\" title=\"A sign and sight in New York\" src=\"http:\/\/www.IreneEng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/0CIMG8439-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"A sign and sight in New York\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The PhD team (to my left .. Dad and his girl). Dr. Dad is professor at Beihang\u2019s Research Center for Condensed Physics and Materials Physics &#8211; phew .. may I get my PhD degree now ?? after I copied down this long string of alien stuff from his business card :). Dr. Daughter is a life cycle analyst, taking the title of Director at the Dairy Management Inc. in Chicago. She doesn\u2019t play but came down to see dad for a few days.<\/p>\n<p>Wang Jihong is the correspondent. Yes, the BJ club came armed with a 26-year old journalist who writes for Tennis World Magazine.<\/p>\n<p>..<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately I didn\u2019t get to talk to everyone on the Beijing delegate.<\/p>\n<p>We filled three tables at East Buffet in Elmhurst for lunch. It happened the organizer sat at our table who hardly said anything throughout the meal. Speaking the same dialect doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019ll have common language.<\/p>\n<p>This McDonald ad was opposite to the East Manor Restaurant in Elmhurst, New York. Not Beijing .. mind you.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/album.php?aid=261796&amp;id=551603402&amp;l=3416f5d089\">More pics on FB<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis.ireneeng.com\/?p=13557\">More trouble follows<\/a><\/p>\n<p><object width=\"560\" height=\"340\" classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" codebase=\"http:\/\/download.macromedia.com\/pub\/shockwave\/cabs\/flash\/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" \/><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" \/><param name=\"src\" value=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/thybdZUfD04&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;\" \/><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" \/><embed width=\"560\" height=\"340\" type=\"application\/x-shockwave-flash\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/thybdZUfD04&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;\" allowFullScreen=\"true\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" \/><\/object><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We hosted the Chaoyang Tennis Association \u5317\u4eac\u671d\u9633\u7f51\u7403\u534f\u4f1a from Beijing today at Roosevelt Island Racquet Club. Chaoyang is quasi governmental club, the players&#8217; trip is paid for by the club or the government (not sure if I got this right..). The Sunday game was arranged by the USTA, United States Tennis Association. About week or two [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,3],"tags":[28,15,9,19],"class_list":["post-11800","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-china","category-uncategorized","tag-beijing","tag-new-york","tag-tennis","tag-us-open"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.ireneeng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11800","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.ireneeng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.ireneeng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.ireneeng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.ireneeng.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11800"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.ireneeng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11800\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.ireneeng.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11800"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.ireneeng.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11800"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.ireneeng.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11800"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}