Accommodation

As announced earlier, every registered participant of the World Championships 2019 (this means those who have paid the registration fee of 70 EUR, however max. 20 persons per nation and the nation must have taken care of all its duties towards WMF; i.e. payments, filing member survey, etcetera…) will receive max. 14 nights free accommodation including breakfast (buffet breakfast; the organizer is currently negotiating to organize also some western-style food for the breakfast). Registration is only possible via your National Federation.

This free accommodation offer is valid only for those participants who have registered and paid the registration fees within the deadline announced in the Championships Invitation.

The official player hotel is:

Zhouzhuang Shui Zhi Yun Hotel

Address: No.497 Daqiao Road Zhouzhuang Town, Kunshan, Jiangsu 215325, China

Web: http://24711.hotel.cthy.com

The hotel has over 200 standard rooms and players are placed mainly to double rooms and to some single rooms subject to availability. The room bookings are handled by WMF.

According to the organizer there are several restaurants and small shops or markets around the hotel. Also the distance to the ancient town is just 20-30 min by foot.

WMF will manage the accommodation bookings of the particpants and the room allocation.

Contact: Pasi Aho, sportdirector@minigolfsport.com

*Please note that only participants registered and paid in time are entitled to free accommodation according to the special offer for this World Championships.

Visa issues

All participants must apply for their Chinese visas in the Chinese embassies or consulates in their countries of residence. WMF is not responsible for the process and not liable for visas not being granted or being granted too late. We seriously recommend to begin with the application process early enough by enquiring for the details about entering PR of China.

From the local WC 2019 organizer the teams will receive the official invitation letter, which is needed for applying for the visas. For this letter you need to announce the names and birth dates of the visa applicants. These issues are to be handled directly with the local organizer.

The contact person for visa issues is:

Ms. Xiang Zhang

Tel. +86 13809061237

Email: 395908972@qq.com

Transportation

The closest international airports are Shanghai Pudong (60-90 min from Zhouzhuang by car depending on the traffic) and Shanghai Hongqiao (30-45 min from Zhouzhuang by car depending on the traffic). Most flights from Europe arrive at Pudong.

The organizer will provide collective bus transfers from airports to the hotel and back at certain times on certain days. The schedule will be defined later, when the arrival times of the teams are better known. These transfers are free of charge, but please note that customized transfers can’t be provided to single teams. For those who prefer to use taxi, the prices are ca. 50 EUR from Hongqiao and ca. 80 EUR from Pudong to Zhouzhuang. The organizer will also provide free shuttle service between hotel and minigolf centre on competition and official training days.

Transportation enquiries are to be addressed to Ms. Zhang (see above).

Schedule

Groups for nations training:
The final composition of the groups will be published according to the final entries after June 30th, 2019 by e-mail, on WMF media channels and of course this website.

The accreditation of all participants has to be filed immediately after arrival at Zhouzhuang, latest Saturday, 19th October 2019, 18:00 hrs.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2019 - OFFICIAL TRAINING DAY 1

07:00 – 12:00 Nations training group A

12:00 – 17:00 Nations training group B

after 17:00 Courses open for both groups

16:00 Last possibility for written complaints regarding courses

17:00 Inspection of the courses by the Sport Director and a member of the Organizer

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2019 - OFFICIAL TRAINING DAY 2

07:00 – 12:00 nations training group B

12:00 – 17:00 nations training group A

after 17:00 courses open for both groups

17:00 deadline for accreditation of all players, officials and coaches

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2019 - OFFICIAL TRAINING DAY 3

07:00 - 12:00nations training group A

12:00 – 17:00nations training group B

after 17:00courses open for both groups

09:00 WMF Delegates' Conference 2019
Players, who lose practice time as delegates at the WMF Delegates' Conference on 20th of October 2019, get as compensation more practice time during Monday 21st of October 2019 from 08.00 to 17:00.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2019 - OFFICIAL TRAINING DAY 4

07:00 – 12:00nations training group B

12.00 – 17:00nations training group A

11:00media conference12:00deadline for payment of the practicing fees

11:30technical (coach) meeting

17:00deadline for name lists of players (team order)

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2019 - OFFICIAL TRAINING DAY 5

07:00 – 11:00nations training group A

11:00 – 15:00nations training group B

after 15:00no training allowed due to the opening ceremony

16:45transport to opening ceremony from player hotel

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2019 - FIRST DAY OF COMPETITION

07:30start for men: feltgolf - concrete - feltgolf

07:30start for women: concrete - feltgolf - concrete

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2019 - SECOND DAY OF COMPETITION – FINAL DAY OF TEAM STROKEPLAY CHAMPIONSHIPS

pairings are regrouped in accordance with the individual results after the first day for individual players and team results after the first day for team players.groupsthe team players are divided into two tournament groups:

• group 1 consists of teams from place 7 downwards

• group 1 starts before group 2

• group 2 consists of teams on places 1 to 6

• group 2 starts after group 1

07:30start for men: concrete - feltgolf - concrete

07:30start for women: feltgolf - concrete - feltgolf

end of team competitionnecessary team sudden-deathimmediately after the end of team competition at the course played last by the categoryafter the competition

medal ceremony for team championships at the courses

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2019 - THIRD DAY OF COMPETITION – FINAL DAY OF INDIVIDUAL STROKEPLAY CHAMPIONSHIPS

pairingspairings are regrouped in accordance with the individual results after the second day.start modeif the time calculations show need for it, the intermediate round will be played with shotgun start.

intermediate round of the individual strokeplay championships for all participants:

07:30start for men: feltgolf - concrete

07:30start for women: concrete - feltgolf

necessary sudden-deathfor qualifying to the individual matchplay finals (best 32 men / 16 women): immediately after the end of intermediate round on course Afinal round of the individual strokeplay championships:

13:30start for women + men: feltgolf - concrete

necessary sudden-deathimmediately after the end of competition at the course played last by the categoryafter the competition

medal ceremony for individual strokeplay championships at the courses

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2019 - FOURTH DAY OF COMPETITION – MIXED PAIRS' STROKEPLAY CHAMPIONSHIP

qualifying rounds of the mixed pairs' strokeplay championship

07:30concrete - feltgolfnecessary sudden-deathimmediately after the end of competition at the course played last

final rounds of the mixed pairs' strokeplay championship

pairingsmixed pairs are regrouped in accordance with the results of the qualification rounds. The qualification round scores are carried to the final.

13:30concrete - feltgolfnecessary sudden-death

immediately after the end of the mixed pairs' finalafter the competitionmedal ceremony for mixed pairs' strokeplay championships at the courses

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2019 - FIFTH DAY OF COMPETITION – FINAL DAY OF INDIVIDUAL MATCHPLAY CHAMPIONSHIPS

07:30start of individual matchplay finals for the best 32 men

09:00start of individual matchplay finals for the best 16 women

necessary sudden-deathimmediately after the end of each match, continuing at the next of the 18 lanes chosen for the individual matchplay finals

after the competitionmedal ceremony for individual matchplay championships at the courses

20:00closing ceremony (subject to change)

Participants

The following participants will attend the World Championships 2019, the total number of participants (players, coaches and officials) is 252, devided over 26 countries.

Click here to see the names of the particpants.

Press Release

Official press conference 16th WMF Minigolf World Championships in Kunshan (CHN)

The first official press conference of the 16th WMF Minigolf World Championships took place on Saturday, July 13th in Kunshan, China.

The championships will be held near Kunshan in the ancient water town Zhouzhuang on October 18th– 27th. WMF President Dr. Gerhard Zimmermann represented WMF in the press conference and was one of the three speakers.

In his speech Zimmermann thanked the local organizer Kunshan Invengo Network Industrial Park Co., Ltd. for their cooperation and huge efforts for the minigolf sport, referred to big development possibilities for minigolf sport as an acknowledged official sport in China.

He also described the current strategies of World Minigolf Sport Federation to support the national minigolf development in China by combining sport, education, media and business.

A lot of media representatives and government officials were present at the conference and Chinese media has already published a lot of news from the press conference.

Gallery

Invitation

Minigolf World Championships

October 23rd-27th, 2019 at Invengo IOT Business Park in Zhouzhuang, PR of China

Press here to read the invitition

Field

Feltgolf

In the following we can announce you the order of the feltgolf lanes including the lane lengths, with rights to changes reserved.

7 lanes have no green, so if you want to see it like that, the course par is 29. All greens are 180 cm wide (normal size). Lanes have steel frames. The slopes will be rather low and around 2,5 m long.

Concrete

The concrete lanes will have a painted surface and usual frames from round steel tube. Lane 7 will have a circle inclining to the hole everywhere and the way to the circle will be covered with artificial grass.

Results

Follow live scoring during the World Championships 2019:

LIVE Results Teams and Strokeplay

LIVE Results Mixed Pairs

LIVE Results Matchplay

Startlists:

Startlist first competition day Men

Startlist first competition day Women

Startlist second competition day Men

Startlist second competition day Women

Startlist third competition day Men

Startlist third competition day Women

Startlist fourth competition day Mixed Pairs

About the Championships

NANJING, July 13 (Xinhua) -- For the first time outside Europe, the 16th Minigolf World Championships will be hosted in Zhou Zhuang, one of China's most famous water towns, from Oct 23 to 27 this year, featuring more than 300 golfers from over 40 teams across the world.

The championships, authorized by World Minigolf Sport Federation (WMF), will feature four events of individual stroke play, individual match play, group stroke play and mixed stroke play.

Golfers will compete on the concrete course and the felt golf course at the same time with each course consisting of 18 holes. One stroke equals to one point. The winners are those who hit the golf into the hole with the least points.

Minigolf was originated in the United States in the early 1900s and became a popular global sport later, according to Gerhard Zimmermann, president of the WMF.

Zimmermann hoped that the China Mini-Golf Association will be set up within two years and the China Mini-Golf Championships will be held in three years.

About Invengo

Some of you might wonder who our partner Invengo is, in organizing this first time ever outside Europe World Championships. We are working closely together with Invengo and her CEO Justin Lee. Invengo is a company mainly working in RFID technology. Please find below a little more information about Invengo:

Invengo™ – The global RFID technology provider

Incorporated in 1999 (founded in 1993), Invengo Information Technology Co., Ltd is a leading provider of RFID technology and solutions. Based in China, with an expanding world-wide operation. Invengo went public in August 2007 and is listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, China (SSE: 002161). Equipped with it’s 20 years of experience in RFID, Invengo is fully dedicated enabling efficiency in applications such as ticketing, identity management, supply chain management, authentication, asset management and brand equity.

Click here to visit the website of Invengo.

About Zhouzhuang

Zhouzhuang is a town famous for its canals in Jiangsu province, China. It is located within the administrative area of Kunshan, 30 km southeast of the city centre of Suzhou. Zhouzhuang is a popular tourist destination, classified as a C- scenic area by the China National Tourism Administration. It is one of the most famous water townships in China, noted for its profound cultural background, the well preserved ancient residential houses and the elegant watery views. It has also been called the "Venice of the East"  

In the Spring and Autumn period (770 BC-476 BC), Zhouzhuang Suzhou was a part of the fief Yaocheng and called Zhenfengli. After being donated to Full Fortune (Quanfu) Temple by Zhou Digong, a very devout Buddhist, in 1086 during the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127), Zhouzhuang got its present name.

Want to visit Zhouzhuang Ancient Town?

• Entry fee is 100 yuan per person for a day (appr. €13). This ticket gives you entry to the ancient city area for 3 consecutive days and all the sights noted below. Without purchasing the ticket, you cannot enter the area before 20.00 hr. in high season (or 19.00 hr. in low season). After these times entrance is free. There is an organized boat ride down the narrow canal. It costs 40 yuan (€5,20) per head, or 100 yuan for a boat, which can be used by 1-6 people. The boat ride lasts 20 minutes. Note that the boat ride service lasts until 8pm, so you may consider a ride in the evening after the other attractions have closed. The day trip (before 4pm) and night trips (4-8pm) have different routes.

Things to see...

• Double Bridges (Shuang qiao)
  Zhouzhuang is surrounded and divided by lakes and rivers. Many stone bridges cross the rivers, showing distinctive views of the watertown. The Double Bridges, which are Shide Bridge and Yongan Bridge, are the most famous and are considered the symbol of Zhouzhuang. Built in the Wanli era (1573–1619) of the Ming Dynasty, the Double Bridges are located in the northeast of the town. Shide Bridge is east-west and has a round arch, while Yongan Bridge is north-south and has a square arch. Crossing the two crisscross rivers (Yinzi Creek and Nabeishi River) and connecting at the middle, the Twin Bridges look like an old-style Chinese key. In 1984, 38 canvases of the notable painter, Chen Yifei, were exhibited in a New York gallery of Armand Hammer, chairman of Occidental Petroleum Corporation. "Memory of Hometown", which depicted the Double Bridges, was one of the items on display and has gained the world's attention for Zhouzhuang. The painting was chosen to be the first-day cover of the United Nations' postage stamp in 1985.

• Fuan Bridge
  Located at the eastern end of Zhongshi Jie, Fuan Bridge was built in 1355 during the Yuan Dynasty. The unique trait of the Fuan is the consummate combination of the single-arch bridge and the bridge towers.

• Shenting House
  Built in 1742 and located at the southeast side of Fuan Bridge, Shenting House was the private property of the descendant of Shen Wansan, the first millionaire of Jiangnan (South of Yangtze River) in the early Ming Dynasty. The whole architectural complex is of the Qing's style and occupies an area of more than 2,000 square meters (half an acre). Over 100 rooms are divided into three sections and each one is connected by arcades and aisles. The first is the water gate and the wharf, where Shen's family moored boats and washed clothes. The middle part includes the gate tower, the tearoom and the main hall. Bricky gate tower carved with lively and ingenious figures which tell the historic stories or show the good wishes, make it a rare artwork. Tea room and main hall are places for serving guests, and the furnishings here are all very elegant. The last section is the two-storied dwelling which consists of several buildings which are quite different from the main hall, more comfortable and refined in pattern and atmosphere. The painted sculpture of legendary Shen Wansan is in Datang Tower; cultural relics including ancient folk instruments are exhibited in Xiaotang Tower and Back Hall.

• Zhangting House
  It was built by Xu's family in the Zhengtong era (1436–1449) of the Ming Dynasty and bought by Zhang's family in the early Qing Dynasty. Located to the south of the Double Bridges, Zhangting House has more than 70 rooms and takes up about 1,800 square meters (less than half an acre). With Ruojing River flowing through, Zhangting House is a dapper and graceful residential house; has a tranquil courtyard and pond. Deep halls all represent the life of the quondam owner.

• Milou Tower
  Once called the De's Tavern, Milou Tower perches next to Zhenfeng Bridge which is at the southwest corner of Zhouzhuang. It is famous for being a rallying place of the literators in old times.

• Chengxu Temple
  Standing on Zhongshi Street which is opposite to Puqing Bridge, Chengxu Taoist Temple was built during 1086-1093 of the Song Dynasty and also known as Sanctity Hall (Shengtang Hall). After several periods of expansion, it is one of the most famous Taoist temples in Wuzhong Region. In an area of 1,500 square meters (1,800 square yards), Shengdi and Doumu halls, Yuhuang, Wenchang and Shengdi pavilions are pieces of Taoist architectures.

Local foods...

• Wansan pork
  The most famous and delicious local food of Zhouzhuang is Wansan pork hock, named after Shen Wansan, the richest man in the late Yuan and early Ming Dynasty in Jiangnan.

• Sanwei Glutinous rice balls
  Sanwei Glutinous rice balls are commonly called soup gluten. In the area of Jiangnan, rice balls are a delicious dish that every family would make at home.