Health Qigong and Tai Chi teaching competition

The Confucius Institute at Newcastle University (NUCI) held a Health Qigong and Tai Chi teaching and exchange competition at Lindisfarne Hall, Newcastle University, on the evening of Tuesday 29 September. Led by Associate Professor Li Rensong of Xiamen University's Department of Physical Education, a full-time NUCI instructor, 53 local entries competed across six events. All participants were students of NUCI's Health Qigong and Tai Chi courses.

The six events covered Wu Qin Xi, 10-form Tai Chi, Tai Chi Kung Fu Fan, Liu Zi Jue, Ba Duan Jin and 24-form Tai Chi. The competition was judged by Associate Professor Li Rensong, a national-level Health Qigong social sports instructor and the only International Level B Health Qigong referee in Fujian Province, together with Yu Feixia, founding director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Central Lancashire, and Peter Hornby, both senior coaches of the British Health Qigong Association.

Launched in 2023, NUCI's Health Qigong programme has grown from a single cultural class into a series of courses spanning four libraries and four university evening classes. The competition marks a new stage in NUCI's international Chinese education.