Sea Games 2009, Sea Games: The 25th Southeast Asian Games is scheduled to be held in Vientiane, Laos, in 2009. This will be the first time the country has ever held a Southeast Asian Games. It will also commemorate the 50 years of the SEA Games in the said event.
Sea Games 2009, Sea Games
The expected contenders for the top three spots in this SEAG edition are Indonesia (strongest traditional powerhouse country), Malaysia (2001 SEAG over-all champion and placed 2nd in the 2007 SEAG edition), Philippines (3rd strongest traditional powerhouse country and 2005 SEAG over-all champion), Thailand (2nd strongest traditional powerhouse country, 2007 SEAG over-all champion and recently the strongest powerhouse country replacing Indonesia placing 2nd in the 2001, 2003, and 2005 editions) and Vietnam (2003 SEAG over-all champion and recently, considered to be the newest powerhouse country in SEA Games placing 3rd in the last two SEAG editions).
This will be the first time Laos has ever held a Southeast Asian Games. It will also commemorate the 50 years of the SEA Games in the said event.
The expected contenders for the top three spots in this SEAG edition are Indonesia (strongest traditional powerhouse country), Malaysia (2001 SEAG over-all champion and placed 2nd in the 2007 SEAG edition), Philippines (3rd strongest traditional powerhouse country and 2005 SEAG over-all champion), Thailand (2nd strongest traditional powerhouse country, 2007 SEAG over-all champion and recently the strongest powerhouse country replacing Indonesia placing 2nd in the 2001, 2003, and 2005 editions) and Vietnam (2003 SEAG over-all champion and recently, considered to be the newest powerhouse country in SEA Games placing 3rd in the last two SEAG editions).
Opening ceremony: December 9
Closing ceremony: December 18
Nations participating: 11
SEA Games 2009 .the rehearsal for the Opening/Closing Ceremony
Laos, SEA Games 2009 Theme - Full Version
In welcoming the upcoming New Year, all Lao sports fans will not only celebrate the 43rd anniversary of sport in this country, but also hope that celebrations will motivate Lao athletes to success at the 25th South East Asian (SEA) Games as host nation for 2009.
Laos’ main hope as hosts of the SEA Games will be an overwhelming home team advantage that will result in more gold medals and improve on the country’s performance in previous games. Apart from international competitions such as the SEA Games, the country’s main arena for sports is the National Games.
According to the Standing Deputy Prime Minister, Somsavat Lengsavad, who spoke at the closing of the 2008 National Games on December 22, this year’s event was a great experience for officials, athletes and coaches in their preparation for the 25th SEA Games, which will take place in Laos next year.
This year’s eighth National Games was hosted by Champassak province for the second time, and the number of athletes and sports have increased dramatically since the first games in 1985. The main goals of the National Games are not only for development of sport, but also to promote and strengthen friendship between athletes, competitors and supporters from different parts of the country.
The founding day for Lao sports was July 13, 1966, as declared at the third congress of the Lao National Sports Committee (LNSC). This was also the day the Lao People’s Army’s sports division was officially opened at a base in Huaphan province. This was an important milestone in the history of Lao sport. Five months later, athletes competed in an international event for the first time when they went to the Games of New Force in Cambodia. Laos sent 22 athletes who competed in shooting and volleyball events.
Since the country’s liberation in 1975, sports have greatly contributed to national protection and development. Lao sports have expanded into local communities throughout the country. Sport plays an important role in international relations and participation in international competitions brings awareness and success for the country. Since 1975, the Lao government has been developing sport by training coaches and administration officers.
The LNSC held the first National Games in 1985 in Vientiane. There were 650 athletes from five zones and eight ministries competing in 12 sporting events. Vientiane came top of the final medal tally. The second National Games were hosted by Savannakhet province in 1987. Again there were 12 sports events, but athlete numbers had risen to more than 1,376 from seven zones and nine ministries. The capital city’s team retained their winner’s title.
From then on the National Games were to be held every three years in different provinces, but sometimes the games were delayed because of funding problems. The third National Games took place in Khammuan province in 1991 and was attended by 920 athletes from nine zones competing in 11 sports. In 1994, the fourth National Games was hosted by Champassak province, and attracted 1,600 athletes. Competitors took part in 14 sports and came from nine zones, while the leader of the medal tally was Vientiane again. In 1997, the event was hosted by Luang Prabang province and athlete numbers continued to grow. This time the event attracted 1,668 athletes from 10 zones, competing in 14 sports. The Vientiane team finished on top.
The sixth National Games were held in Vientiane in 2000. For the first time, the number of athletes competing was over 3,000 and the number of sports had increased to 28. The Vientiane team retained its top ranking. The seventh National Games was hosted by Savannakhet province in 2005 and attended by teams from 17 provinces and 13 ministries. This time there were 22 sports and 3,257 athletes. Vientiane again won the final medal tally.
This year’s eighth National Games ran from December 13-22 in Champassak province, and ended with big surprises as the home team claimed the top ranking in the final medal tally. For the first time ever, previous champions Vientiane slumped to third place. This time, about 6,000 athletes competed in 24 sports, representing 17 provinces, 10 ministries and two organisations.
The Lao National Sports Committee (LNSC) has accomplished the goals set for the previous three months of preparation for the 25 th SEA Games to be held in Vientiane next year.
At the Prime Minister's Office on Friday, the national sports committee held a meeting to summarise its work and plan its tasks for September to December.
Standing Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the 25 th SEA Games Organising Committee Somsavat Lengsavad and senior officials attended the meeting.
Mr Somsavat said Laos had been given a great honour in hosting the SEA Games. The event would serve to strengthen the country and boost solidarity.
He suggested the committee should set out clear plans for assistance and cooperation with other countries.
From September to December, the sports committee will cooperate with Singapore to prepare for the event.
The Vietnamese government will assist with the installation of IT systems and electronic equipment in the new football stadium and the indoor stadiums to be used in the games.
The national sports committee will hold a Miss SEA Games beauty pageant and will build a digital clock in Vientiane to mark the countdown to the games. The time will run from December 31 this year until the opening ceremony of the games in December 2009. The clock is to be sponsored by the Lao Brewery Company.
The Thai Tourism and Sports Ministry will spend about 21.3 billion kip (84 million baht) to renovate the national football stadium, tennis courts and the sports department's indoor stadium.
The ministry will also pay about 1.5 billion kip (6 million baht) towards the training of LNSC officials, as well as referees and athletes.
The committee will also receive assistance through cooperation with doping control staff from Vietnam and Thailand .
At the end of this year, the committee will open the sports training centre and athletes' accommodation in Vientiane , to be built with assistance from the Vietnamese government.
The Lao football, judo, karatedo, wushu, wrestling, pencak silat, swimming and diving teams are currently training in Vietnam .
Also in the past three months, committee officials improved their skills at the Lao-Singapore Cooperation Centre in June and planted 500 trees around the new football stadium.
In May, the committee held discussions on work plans for the games including accommodation, food, decoration of the city, tourism, traffic, telecommunications and other work.
The committee asked the Olympic Committee of Asia and the competition organising committee of the SEA Games to assist in running the games.
Athletes' accommodation is under construction at the National University of Laos, assisted by the Vietnamese government.
Last July, the committee visited Incheon district in the Republic of Korea , where district officials provided them with sports equipment worth more than 3.5 billion kip (US$405,000).
When Lao government officials attended the Olympic Games in China last month, they signed an agreement for SEA Games cooperation with the Chinese government in Beijing . The Lao wushu and shuttlecock teams will attend training in China ahead of the games.
Singapore helped with tourism promotion for the games last month. This month it will work on business communication for the games and next month plans to assist with hospitality management.
The new football stadium where the opening and closing ceremonies of the games will take place is 65-80 percent complete, the indoor stadium is 90 percent complete, the petanque field is 80 percent complete and the taekwondo court is 95 percent complete.
Jakarta, (tvOne)
Keputusan Laos sebagai tuan rumah SEA Games 2009, mendapat tanggapan serius dari Menteri Pemuda dan Olahraga Adhyaksa Dault dan Ketua KONI Pusat Rita Subowo. Pasalnya, diperkirakan Laos akan mengurangi jumlah cabang olahraga dan tidak mempertandingkan beberapa cabang olahraga olimpiade. Situasi itu dikhawatirkan akan mengancam peluang Indonesia untuk memperbaiki peringkat.
Beberapa cabang olahraga yang tidak dipertandingkan adalah angkat besi, balap sepeda dan dayung. Hal ini dikecam oleh Indonesia. Bahkan Adhyaksa mengancam, Indonesia tidak akan menyertakan kontingen di pesta olahraga negara-negara Asia Tenggara itu.
Selain itu, Laos berencana mengurangi jumlah cabang olahraga yang dipertandingkan di SEA Games mendatang, dari 45 menjadi 25. Bahkan di 25 cabang tersebut, Laos memasukkan 4 cabang olahraga tradisional seperti pentaque, traditional boat race, shuttlecock dan fin swimming.
Jika keputusan pengurangan cabang olahraga yang menjadi lumbung emas Indonesia itu tetap dilakukan, maka peluang tim merah putih untuk memperbaiki peringkat di SEA Games semakin kecil. Meskipun begitu, keputusan pengurangan cabang olahraga baru akan dibahas dalam rapat luar biasa SEA Games Council, Oktober mendatang.
Philippines had 42 SEA in its calendar when it hosted the 2005 SEA SEA while last year 2007 edition saw Thailand hosting 43 SEA , but the Laos 2009 SEA will only see 22 sports disciplines. This is due to the lack of finance and infrastructure of the Laos nation after decades of war
The Philippines now would like to discuss and add some eight more sports to the 2009 SEA when the Southeast Asian SEA Federation are to meet this week in Vientiane, Laos
The Pinoys would like to see the inclusion of rowing, cycling, bowling, dance sports, basketball, billiards, fencing and archery, rather than the Loas introducing lesser known sports such as kempo, muay lao, shuttlecock and petanque
Currently the SEA SEA preparation in Laos is going well with help and aid from other countries such as Japan, China, Vietnam, Singapore and South Korea
Laos is making great strides towards a successful hosting of the 2009 Southeast Asian Games, Reuter’s quoted the country’s Olympic chief as saying.
Laos receives a flood of handouts from the international community. The funding, construction and expertise for the 25th edition of the Games is being provided almost entirely by other countries after the hard-up nation made a desperate plea for help with its first international sports event.
"Everything is moving well now, with a little help from all our friends," Olympic chief Somphou Phongsa told Reuters in a telephone interview.
"Facilities are 60 percent complete. We will be a more than suitable host for the SEA Games."
China, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam and the Olympic Council of Asia have come to Laos's rescue to ensure the Games go ahead.
China has provided more than $100 million to construct a 20,000-seat stadium and is building two indoor stadiums, a tennis centre and the country's first Olympic-sized swimming pool.
South Korean companies are financing a taekwondo centre and a 27-hole golf course and Japan was funding a judo venue.
Thailand last month pledged $2.9 million and will train officials in 12 sports, while neighbouring Vietnam has put up $19 million to build eight 10-storey apartment blocks for athletes.
Singapore has offered computer technicians and English teachers to educate volunteers and staff, most of which will be local university students.
"We've had so much help so far," added Somphou, who will lead a Laotian team of just four athletes at next month's Beijing Olympics. "We couldn't have done it without them."
The Games take place in December 2009 and will be contested by Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Myanmar, East Timor, Brunei, Cambodia and Vietnam.
Although only a minor event on the sporting calendar, the SEA Games is taken as seriously as the Olympics by the 11 competing countries, most of which are historic foes.
Despite the motto of "spirit, friendship and celebration", the biennial gathering of around 7,000 athletes is often dogged by tit-for-tat spats, dubious judging and cries of foul play - sometimes from the countries' leaders.
Some nations are unhappy the communist country was awarded the Games and are furious that the number of sports was slashed from 43 to 25, with obscure disciplines like Muay Lao, pencak silat, wushu, petanque and kempo replacing traditional sports like gymnastics, archery, cycling and weightlifting.
Somphou insisted Laos was up to the task, even though it has virtually no experience hosting sports events. "We've had some difficulty," he said. "But we will be ready."
Photo: Mr Vilayvong Boutdhakham ( third left ), Mr Phongsavath Boupha ( fourth left ), Mr Watanabe Toshiyuki ( fourth right ) and federation officials gather at the Youth Union on Monday.
The Lao karatedo team is hoping for two gold medals at the 25 th SEA Games in Laos next year, after winning only one bronze medal at the 24 th SEA Games in Thailand last December.
On Monday the Lao Karatedo Federation held a ceremony at the Lao Revolutionary Youth Union to present certificates and black belts (dan) to the federation president and officials.
A representative of the Yuuwakai Association of Japan, Mr Watanabe Toshiyuki, presented certificates and black belts (5 dan, 4 dan and 3 dan) to President of the Lao Karatedo Federation and Deputy Security General of the Lao Revolutionary Youth Union, Mr Vilayvong Boutdhakham, and to the federation's vice presidents, secretary and trainers.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and consultant to the federation Phongsavath Boupha, national team members and members of the Vientiane Secondary School Karatedo Club also attended the ceremony.
“We want to strengthen the hearts of the federation's president and officials to encourage them to continue to improving karatedo in Laos ,” Mr Phongsavath said.
“We thank the Yuuwakai Association and hope Japan will continue to help us develop karatedo in Laos and that our two countries will enjoy friendly cooperation.”
The karatedo team from Vientiane Secondary School gave a demonstration of their skills at the end of the ceremony.
Consultant to the federation Sonesak N.Nhansana supervised an examination of karatedo fighters in several categories at the Lao Telecom Centre Shotokan Karatedo camp on Sunday.
Seven candidates passed the examination and received a black belt and 3 kyu, 7 kyu and 8 kyu belts. They have been training in the sport since March this year. The camp will send a karatedo team to compete in the 8 th National Games in Champassak province in December and the camp's top fighters will join the national team at the 25 th SEA Games in Laos next year.
Laos will have to work hard to host the 25th SEA Games in 2009 because the country only has five years to prepare international facilities, said National Sports Committee President, Dr Phouthong Seng-akhom recently.
The meeting of the SEA Games Council Members held in December 2003 in Hanoi, Vietnam nominated Laos to host the SEA Games in 2009 because the honour had never come here before.
Dr Phouthong Seng-akhom told the Government Meeting last month that plans were needed to ensure that the games would be a success. The Government accepted and has given the NSC responsibility for planning and preparation including fields for competition, athletes villages and other services during the Games. The Government will then review the plan to decide the budget for the SEA Games.
"We will upgrade some fields for competition in Vientiane so that they are international standard. We are lucky in Vientiane because we have many indoor stadiums that can be used for the indoor sports events," Dr Phouthong Seng-akhom explained.
The National Stadium could be used for the opening and closing ceremonies and the football finals but it seats only 5,000 spectators. "Laos is planning to build a new 20,000-seat stadium in Vientiane for use in the opening and closing ceremonies," said Dr Phouthong.
He said that the new national stadium is the most ambitious and important project in the preparations. It will contain 20,000 seats or more and provide roofing cover on the west and east stands. It will be a multi-function stadium for football and athletics competitions. The construction should be designed and completed to international and regional standards.
The NSC is also planning to organise some sports events in Vientiane and Savannakhet provinces. The traditional boat racing, canoeing and other events will be held in Vientiane province, said the NSC president. "The first round of the football competition will be held in Savannakhet because their new 15,000-seat stadium is nearly complete," he said.
"We are a small country but we want to make the games exciting and hold many sports events. We have decided to organise 25 sports events for the SEA Games in 2009 including Lao traditional sports such as archery, top spinning and boat racing," he added.
The new national stadium will be constructed at Km 16 in Xaythany district on Road 13 South and construction will begin next year. The swimming pools, golf and tennis courts of world standard will be built near the Lao International Trade Exhibition and Convention Centre (ITECC).
Another big football stadium to use for the SEA Games in 2009 is the new 15,000 seat stadium in Savannakhet province. It is currently under construction and will be finished next year in time for the National Games.
The aim of the SEA Games is to promote friendship, solidarity and understanding between countries in the region. It is also held to promote good sports records, techniques and tactics, and create the conditions for athletes to compete at the highest level in order to get better results at the Asian and Olympic Games.
Before 1975, the SEA Games was named the SEAP Games (South East Asian Peninsula Games). The first SEAP Games was organised in 1959 in Bangkok, Thailand and attended by only six countries including Laos. Singapore became the 7th member after it separated from Malaysia to be an independent nation in 1965 and then Indonesia and the Philippines joined the Games in 1977.
In 1997, Brunei was recognised as an official member, raising the total of official members to 10 countries and last year's SEA Games in Vietnam saw an increase to 11 countries when East Timor joined.
The Philippines will host the 23rd SEA Games in 2005. They will then be hosted by Thailand in 2007 before Laos takes its turn in 2009
2009 SEA Games to reduce number of Olympic sports By CHRIS LINES The Associated Press Sunday, December 16, 2007 NAKHON RATCHASIMA, Thailand: The next Southeast Asian Games will reduce the number of Olympic sports.
Cycling, basketball, gymnastics, hockey, rowing and weightlifting are among Olympic sports at the current SEA Games that will be absent in Vientiane, Laos in December 2009.
The games will retain events like tenpin bowling, petanque, billiards, 'dragon' boat racing, sepak takraw, the more obscure martial arts of wushu, Muay Thai and pencak silat, and will resume the sport of juggling a shuttlecock with feet.
There will be 25 disciplines compared to 43 in Nakhon Ratchasima.
The cutback is partly due to the landlocked country - with no sailing, windsurfing or triathlon - and also lack of facilities in Vientiane.
Organizers also wanted to reduce the breadth of the games, with many events currently having small fields and weak competition.
Thailand swept the final day of medals, winning gold in men's, women's and mixed doubles tennis on Saturday. In beach volleyball, Indonesia defeated Thailand in straight sets to take men's gold while Yupa Phokongploy and Kulna Kamoltip edged another Thai pair in the deciding third set to take the women's event.
Thailand topped the table with 183 gold medals, with the games' closing ceremony on Saturday.
It was the fourth straight SEA Games where the host nation had finished top of the standings.
Debate about home advantage reached boiling point here in boxing, where the Philippines forfeited six men's gold medal bouts in a protest at judging in the women's finals - where its boxers lost out to Thai opponents in all five bouts that were decided on points.
The Philippines' protest spared its fighters having to compete with a world-class array of Thai boxers. The Philippines was considered to benefit from the judging at the Manila event in 2005.
The protest robbed the Games of a rare display of world-competitive athletes in gold medal competition. Manus Boonjamnong and his brother Non, Amnat Ruenroeng, Somjit Jongjohor, Pichai Sayota and Suriya Prasathinphimai will all be genuine threats for the Philippines at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
Aside from boxing, the only other Olympic gold prospects on display were in shooting and badminton.
Shooting was held before the Games started to avoid a clash with an Asian championship.
In badminton, Indonesia swept all seven gold medals, led by reigning Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat in men's singles. However Indonesia was not put fully to the test as Malaysia's top male and female players sat out the Games - and both nations will be hard pressed to match the powerhouse of China in Beijing.
The most popular win was that of the Thai men's under-23 soccer team. Thailand won an eighth straight SEA Games gold by defeating Myanmar 2-0 in the final Friday before a sell-out crowd. However, Thailand had already failed to qualify for Beijing.
On the track, Indonesia's Suryo Agung Wibowo won the 100 and 200 meters double for men, as did Vietnam's Vu Thi Huong for women. Similarly, the 5,000 and 10,000 meters double was won by Thailand's Boonthung Srisung for men and Indonesia's Triyaningsih in the women's. Vietnam monopolized the 800 and 1,500 meter events, with Nguyen Dinh Cuong doing the men's double and Hang Truong Thanh the women's.
Thailand's Beijing-bound Wassana Winatho not only won the heptathlon but also the women's 400 meters hurdle, and took gold in the 4x400 meter relay.
In the pool, Thailand's Natthanan Jankrajang won four golds in women's events, as did Singapore's Chinese-born Tao Li.
FINAL MEDAL STANDINGS AT THE 2007 SOUTHEAST ASIAN GAMES
Thailand 183 123 103 409
Malaysia 68 52 96 216
Vietnam 64 58 82 204
Indonesia 56 64 83 203
Singapore 43 43 41 127
Philippines 41 91 96 228
Myanmar 14 26 47 87
Laos 5 7 32 44
Cambodia 2 5 11 18
Brunei Darrusalam 1 1 4 6
The great Laotian epic, the Phra Lak Phra Lam, claims that Prince Thattaradtha founded the city when he left the legendary Lao kingdom of Muong Inthapatha Maha Nakhone because he was denied the throne in favor of his younger brother. Thattaradtha originally founded a city called Maha Thani Si Phan Phao on the western banks of the Mekong River; this city was told to have later become today's Udon Thani, Thailand. One day, a seven-headed Naga told Thattaradtha to start a new city on the eastern bank of the river opposite Maha Thani Si Phan Phao. The prince called this city Chanthabuly Si Sattanakhanahud; which was told to be the predecessor of modern Vientiane.
Contrary to the Phra Lak Phra Lam, most historians believe Vientiane was an early Khmer settlement centered around a Hindu temple, which the Pha That Luang would later replace. In the 11th and 12th centuries, the time when the Lao and Thai people are believed to have entered Southeast Asia from Southern China, the few remaining Khmers in the area were either killed, removed, or assimilated into the Lao civilization, which would soon overtake the area.
In 1354, when Fa Ngum founded the kingdom of Lan Xang, Vientiane became an important administrative city, even though it was not made the capital. King Setthathirath officially established it as the capital of Lan Xang in 1560. When Lan Xang fell apart in 1707, it became an independent kingdom. In 1779, it was conquered by the Siamese general Phraya Chakri and made a vassal of Siam.
When King Anouvong raised an unsuccessful rebellion, it was obliterated by Siamese armies in 1827. It eventually passed to French rule in 1893. It became the capital of the French protectorate of Laos in 1899.
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It was spectacular ending to the 24th SEA Games earlier in the closing ceremony.
As the flag is passed on to the next country to host the SEA Games, we reflect of the one we had.
It was a well organised 24th SEA Games by the King and Kingdom, and we look forward to the 25th SEA Games in Laos 2009
It will be Laos first time hosting the SEA Games and estimated 25 sports will be contested.
If Laos failed to meet qualifications to hold the event in time, the games would be moved to Singapore.
As for us here at this website, we would like to thank for your support and feedback at the site and interaction at the chatbox. Despite user differences at times seen at the chatbox, we’re still so much similar being we’re all from South East Asia region.
Let’s not forget the fair-play in such games and lose sight of it. It’s an eye opener for us maintaining this website with the limited resource available to us and we’ll try to do better on the next games. Thank you
69% of the country's people are ethnic Lao, the principal lowland inhabitants and the politically and culturally dominant group. The Lao belong to the Tai linguistic group who began migrating southward from China in the first millennium AD. A further 8% belong to other "lowland" groups, which together with the Lao people make up the Lao Loum. Hill people and minority cultures of Laos such as the Hmong (Miao), Yao (Mien), Tai dumm, Dao, Shan, and several Tibeto-Burman speaking peoples have lived in isolated regions of Laos for many years. Mountain/hill tribes of mixed ethno/cultural-linguistic heritage are found in northern Laos which include the Lua (Lua) and Khammu people who are indigenous to Laos. Today, the Lua people are considered endangered. Collectively, they are known as Lao Soung or highland Laotians. In the central and southern mountains, Mon-Khmer tribes, known as Lao Theung or mid-slope Laotians, predominate. Some Vietnamese and Chinese minorities remain, particularly in the towns, but many left in two waves; after independence in the late 1940s and again after 1975.
The term "Laotian" does not necessarily refer to the ethnic Lao language, ethnic Lao people, language or customs, but is a political term that also includes the non-ethnic Lao groups within Laos and identifies them as "Laotian" because of their political citizenship. In a similar vein the word "Lao" can also describe the people, cuisine, language and culture of the people of Northeast Thailand (Isan) who are ethnic Lao.
The predominant religion is Theravada Buddhism which, along with the common Animism practiced among the mountain tribes, coexists peacefully with spirit worship. There also are a small number of Christians, mostly restricted to the Vientiane area, and Muslims, mostly restricted to the Myanmar border region. Christian missionary work is regulated by the government.
The official and dominant language is Lao, a tonal language of the Tai linguistic group. Midslope and highland Lao speak an assortment of tribal languages. French, still common in government and commerce, has declined in usage, while knowledge of English, the language of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), has increased in recent years
Degussa, a global leader in the field of specialty chemicals, will showcase its work on lithium-ion batteries, hybrid vehicles and lightweight construction at the upcoming SAE 2007 World Congress in Detroit.
Degussa began volume production of electrodes for large-format lithium-ion batteries at the Li-Tech GmbH (SK Group) site in Germany in the fourth quarter of 2006. (Earlier post.) In Detroit, the company will exhibit a Honda Civic hybrid equipped with a li-ion battery made of Degussa electrodes with some 40,000 kilometers (24,855 miles) of on-road testing.
Degussa also offers a ceramic membrane separator—SEPARION—which consists of a flexible substrate, normally a non-woven polymer, coated with a porous ceramic layer. The pore size can be selectively set by an appropriate choice of ceramic coating material. According to Degussa, the ceramic properties of the separator make it more temperature-stable than conventional polymer separators used in lithium-ion polymer batteries, and therefore contribute towards preventing short circuits in the battery.
The company will also present adhesive solutions to replace welding, both in the chassis and the superstructure. Degussa says that every additional kilogram of the special adhesive makes the car 25 kilograms lighter. Degussa supplies silanes for the adhesives.
Laos will have to work hard to host the 25th SEA Games in 2009 because the country only has five years to prepare international facilities, said National Sports Committee President, Dr Phouthong Seng-akhom recently.
The meeting of the SEA Games Council Members held in December 2003 in Hanoi, Vietnam nominated Laos to host the SEA Games in 2009 because the honour had never come here before.
Dr Phouthong Seng-akhom told the Government Meeting last month that plans were needed to ensure that the games would be a success. The Government accepted and has given the NSC responsibility for planning and preparation including fields for competition, athletes villages and other services during the Games. The Government will then review the plan to decide the budget for the SEA Games.
"We will upgrade some fields for competition in Vientiane so that they are international standard. We are lucky in Vientiane because we have many indoor stadiums that can be used for the indoor sports events," Dr Phouthong Seng-akhom explained.
The National Stadium could be used for the opening and closing ceremonies and the football finals but it seats only 5,000 spectators. "Laos is planning to build a new 20,000-seat stadium in Vientiane for use in the opening and closing ceremonies," said Dr Phouthong.
He said that the new national stadium is the most ambitious and important project in the preparations. It will contain 20,000 seats or more and provide roofing cover on the west and east stands. It will be a multi-function stadium for football and athletics competitions. The construction should be designed and completed to international and regional standards.
The NSC is also planning to organise some sports events in Vientiane and Savannakhet provinces. The traditional boat racing, canoeing and other events will be held in Vientiane province, said the NSC president. "The first round of the football competition will be held in Savannakhet because their new 15,000-seat stadium is nearly complete," he said.
"We are a small country but we want to make the games exciting and hold many sports events. We have decided to organise 25 sports events for the SEA Games in 2009 including Lao traditional sports such as archery, top spinning and boat racing," he added.
The new national stadium will be constructed at Km 16 in Xaythany district on Road 13 South and construction will begin next year. The swimming pools, golf and tennis courts of world standard will be built near the Lao International Trade Exhibition and Convention Centre (ITECC).
Another big football stadium to use for the SEA Games in 2009 is the new 15,000 seat stadium in Savannakhet province. It is currently under construction and will be finished next year in time for the National Games.
The aim of the SEA Games is to promote friendship, solidarity and understanding between countries in the region. It is also held to promote good sports records, techniques and tactics, and create the conditions for athletes to compete at the highest level in order to get better results at the Asian and Olympic Games.
Before 1975, the SEA Games was named the SEAP Games (South East Asian Peninsula Games). The first SEAP Games was organised in 1959 in Bangkok, Thailand and attended by only six countries including Laos. Singapore became the 7th member after it separated from Malaysia to be an independent nation in 1965 and then Indonesia and the Philippines joined the Games in 1977.
In 1997, Brunei was recognised as an official member, raising the total of official members to 10 countries and last year's SEA Games in Vietnam saw an increase to 11 countries when East Timor joined.
The Philippines will host the 23rd SEA Games in 2005. They will then be hosted by Thailand in 2007 before Laos takes its turn in 2009.
