2nd November, Guangzhou: The 16th Asian Games, part of the worldwide Olympic movement and governed by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) held its first official press conference for the world media at the Main Media Centre.

The Asian Games are the second largest sports event in the world after the Summer Olympic Games. According to Mr Chen Shaokang, Executive Mayor of the Athletes' Village, October 25, 2010 marked the start of the pre-opening period of the Athletes' Village.

By November 1, it has received the advance teams of NOC delegations from Japan, Iraq, Thailand, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Kazakhstan, Bahrain, Vietnam.

The official opening is scheduled for November 12 and approximately 10,156 athletes and 4,202 team officials from 45 countries and regions will stay in the Village during the Guangzhou 2010 Asian Games.

The Athletes' Village is located in north central of the Asian Games Town, adjoining the Technical Officials' Village and the Media Village in the east and west respectively, bordering the Asian Games Town Gymnasium in the south and having the Asian Games Park and the Beach Volleyball Venue in its southeast corner.

Built on a 329,024 square meter land space and with a total floor area of 591,332 square meter, it stands at the core of the Asian Games Town Division and is the most important Games-time services area.

The Village provides a Games-time residence for the athletes and serves as the headquarters for NOC delegations, the venue of the Chefs de Mission meetings and the place where Chefs de Mission representatives are received and Team Welcome Ceremonies, flag-raising ceremonies and a variety of cultural activities are held.

It plays an important role in the Games arrangements for security, accommodation, catering, transport, protocol, religious services, medical services, recreation, entertainment and cultural events.

The Athletes' Village consists of the Public Zone, the Residential Zone and the International Zone. Athletes and team officials and visitors will enter the public zone first after their arrival in the Athletes' Village.

It includes the Welcome Centre, the Guest Centre, the Media Centre, NOC parking lot, the Arrivals and Departures Terminal, shuttle bus parking lot and the Transport Plaza.

The Athletes' Village provides shuttles and delegation vehicles to meet the transport needs of athletes and team officials upon their arrivals and departures and at the time of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, trainings and competitions.

As the weather in November is perfect for a tour around Guangzhou, six sightseeing and shopping routes are operated between the Village and the Asian Games Cultural Village, Lianhua Mountain, Xiangjiang Safari Park, Tianhe CBD and a few other places.

The Residential Zone includes apartment buildings, the Athletes' Dining Hall, the Services Centre, the Physical Recovery Centre and the Mayor's Office.

Source: GAGOC.

30th October, Guangzhou: The 16th edition of the Guangzhou Asian Games 2010 Tenpin Bowling Championship is all set to roll at the Tianhe Sports Complex located in the eastern district of Guangzhou from November 11 to 24.

Guangzhou is the second city in China to host the Games after Beijing in 1990. A total of 476 events in 42 sporting disciplines will be contested by athletes, making it the largest event in history of Asian Games.

The Guangzhou Asian Games will feature 42 sports, including 28 Olympic sports and 14 non-Olympic sports. Some non Olympic games which will make their debut in the upcoming Asian Games includes Dragon Boat, Twenty20 cricket and dance sport.

Guangzhou was awarded the right on July 1, 2004. Guangzhou came after the withdrawal of several cities like Amman, Kuala Lumpur and Seoul. The games will also be co-hosted by Dongguan, Foshan and Shanwei, Guangzhou's neighbouring cities.

The opening ceremony will be held on November 12, 2010 on Haixinsha Island in the Pearl River. Opening ceremony will begin at 20:04 (local time) and Asian Games closing ceremony will be held on November 27, 2010, with the performances to begin at 20:06 (local time).

Tenpin Bowling Championship will commence with the official practices over two days on 13 and 14 November. Competition will kick off with the Men's Singles event over the Short oil pattern divided into two squads on 15 November and the Women's Singles on 16 November.

The Men's and Women's Doubles over Long oil pattern will be staged in the next two days, 17 and 18 November followed by the Trios event over two blocks of 3 games each on 19 and 20 November.

The Team of Five, again over two blocks of 3 games each will be contested on 21 and 22 November. The top 16 men and top 16 women based on the 24-game total in the All Events standings will advance to the Masters Finals.

Only a maximum of two men and two women in the All Events standings from each NOC are eligible for the Masters Finals which will be played over two blocks of 8 games each Round-Robin Matchplay format.

The top 3 men and top 3 women will qualify for the stepladder finals with the second-seed matched up against the third-seed in the first match. The winner of this match will meet the top seed for a one plus one title match.

Asian Bowling Federation will provide daily coverage on site with LIVE scores from 11 through to 24 November here.