Sports
The state has good sporting facilities which include two major stadia – the City Stadium in George Town and the Batu Kawan Stadium in Southern Seberang Perai. The Penang International Sports Arena (PISA) in Relau has an indoor stadium and an aquatics centre.
Penang has 4 golf courses, namely the 18-hole Bukit Jambul Country Club (on the island), the 36-hole Bukit Jawi Golf Resort, the 36-hole Penang Golf Resort and the 18-hole Kristal Golf Resort.
Sports clubs in Penang include the Bukit Mertajam Country Club, Penang Club, Chinese Recreation Club (CRC), Penang Sports Club, Penang Rifle Club, Penang Polo Club, Penang Swimming Club, Chinese Swimming Club, and the Penang Squash Centre. The Tanjung City Marina which can accommodate up to 140 yachts and boats of various sizes is located at the historic Weld Quay. The Penang Turf Club, established in 1864, is Malaysia's oldest horse racing and equestrian centre.
The international dragon boat festival is held in Penang annually since 1979 around the fifth day of the fifth moon of the lunar calendar. The Penang International Dragon Boat Festival (PIDBF) which leads the development of the sports successfully held the World Club Crew Championship 2008 at Teluk Bahang Dam. Normally, the state will hold two races in a year, the Penang International Dragon Boat Festival in the month of June and Penang Pesta Dragon Boat race around early December.
The Penang Bridge Marathon is a popular annual event. The full marathon route starts from near Queensbay Mall, to the Bayan Lepas Expressway, then on to the 13.5 km length of the Penang Bridge, and finally back to the starting point for the finish. This event hosted 24 000 runners in 2010.
Penang also hosts the unique Chingay procession which began with its first parade in 1919. It is held in celebration of the birthdays of the Chinese deities or in the procession of the Goddess of Mercy (Guan Yin). The procession can be seen yearly on Christmas night or during Chinese festivals such as Chinese New Year or other major events in Penang.
One of Penang most popular sport is football. Penang has a total five football team: three league football team and two defunct football team, all three football team playing in FAM League (third level division): Penang FA, Kepala Batas FC and Penang Water Supply Commission FC. USM FC and NTFA FC is a defunct football team which was based in Penang. Penang FA is the most successful team having won four Malaysia Cup, two Super League, one FA Cup and one Charity Shield.
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Famous quotes containing the word sports:
“Come, my Celia, let us prove
While we may the sports of love;
Time will not be ours forever,
He at length our good will sever.”
—Ben Jonson (1572–1637)
“I looked so much like a guy you couldn’t tell if I was a boy or a girl. I had no hair, I wore guys’ clothes, I walked like a guy ... [ellipsis in source] I didn’t do anything right except sports. I was a social dropout, but sports was a way I could be acceptable to other kids and to my family.”
—Karen Logan (b. 1949)
“Even from their infancy we frame them to the sports of love: their instruction, behaviour, attire, grace, learning and all their words aimeth only at love, respects only affection. Their nurses and their keepers imprint no other thing in them.”
—Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592)