Hwaseong Hosts First National Integration Shulren Tournament... Breaking Down Barriers with a Single Puck

1st Hwaseong Special Mayor's Cup National Disabled Integration Shulren Tournament Concludes
More than 450 Participants from Across the Country
A Unifying Event Breaking Barriers Between People With and Without Disabilities

The first-ever national-scale Shulren tournament, where people with and without disabilities enjoy the sport together, was held in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province.

Participants and officials of the 1st Hwaseong Special Market Cup National Disabled Persons Shuren Competition are taking a commemorative photo at the Hwaseong Sports Complex Indoor Gymnasium on the 3rd. Provided by Hwaseong City

The Hwaseong Special City Government (Mayor Jung Myeong-geun) announced on the 4th that more than 450 participants, including athletes and officials from across the country, took part in the '1st Hwaseong Special Mayor's Cup National Disabled Integration Shulren Tournament' held at the indoor gymnasium of Hwaseong Sports Complex on the 3rd.

This tournament was organized to broaden opportunities for people with disabilities to participate in sports and to encourage communication between persons with and without disabilities through sports. The event was hosted by the Hwaseong Sports Association for the Disabled and arranged by the Hwaseong Shulren Association for the Disabled.

The competition was divided into individual and team events across the following categories: the Student Division, the Disabled Division, and the Integration Division in which able-bodied persons also participated. In the Student Division, an integrated match allowed students with physical, hearing, and developmental disabilities to compete together. Events in the Disabled Division were further classified by type of disability, including visual, physical, hearing, and developmental disabilities.

Shulren is a traditional Dutch recreational sport where players slide small discs, called 'pucks', across a wooden board to score points by landing them in specific slots. The rules are simple, making the game easy for anyone—regardless of age or gender—to learn. One of its defining features is that matches can be enjoyed together, regardless of whether a person has a disability.

The participants engaged in good-natured competition, demonstrating the skills they had honed. Throughout the matches, athletes with and without disabilities naturally chatted and interacted, further underscoring the significance of the event.

At the opening ceremony, Yoon Sungjin, 1st Deputy Mayor of Hwaseong Special City, encouraged the athletes. Commendations were also given to contributors to sports development, and the athletes’ representative read the tournament pledge.

Sungjin Yoon, the First Deputy Mayor of Hwaseong Special City, encouraged the participating athletes and gave a congratulatory speech on the 3rd at the 1st Hwaseong Special City Mayor's Cup National Disabled People’s Shulreun Competition. Provided by Hwaseong City.

Deputy Mayor Yoon stated, "Beyond the competition itself, this event is particularly meaningful as it allowed people with and without disabilities to interact and deepen mutual understanding through sports. We will continue to promote recreational sports that everyone can enjoy together, regardless of disability or age, in order to further expand opportunities for people with disabilities to participate in sports."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.