The Aurah Supporters of the Church of God, who had played a leading role in the success of the international games through their passionate support at the 2002 Busan Asian Games and the FESPIC Games and at the 2003 Daegu Summer Universiade, volunteered for the 13th World Soft Tennis Championships held in Anseong City. This event was held on the largest scale ever for seven days from September 7 to 13 at the newly constructed International Soft Tennis Courts in Anseong, and was attended by over 500 athletes and officials from about 40 counties including 16 countries in Europe. The Aurah Supporters of the Church of God, who volunteered for this event by the special request of a person in charge of the event, operated their headquarters throughout the games and provided an ideal support, welcoming the athletes and officials from each country at the airport when they arrived, cheering them at the games, interpreting for them and seeing them off at the airport when they departed.

The athletes and officials, who arrived in Korea to participate in the event, were welcomed by the Aurah Supporters at the Incheon International Airport. The Aurah Supporters waited for the athletes and officials from each country at the airport, waving each country’s flag, and welcomed them with bright smiles when they arrived, presenting them a bunch of flowers and a necklace made of candies. The athletes and officials were surprised at an unexpected welcome by the Aurah Supporters, and greatly rejoiced, saying, “We’ve never received this kind of welcome before. We didn’t really expect to receive such a wonderful welcome. It’s so touching. We think we’ll be able to have a great time in Korea.”

ⓒ 2007 WATV

The Aurah Supporters continued offering their heartfelt support at the Opening Cere-mony as well. At the Opening Ceremony which began around 6 p.m. on September 7, the organized cheering squad consisting of about 150 Aurah Supporters showed a dynamic flashlight performance by using various cheering tools. The cheering squad livened up the atmosphere of the event by creating patterns such as “WE♥U” and “ISTF (International Soft Tennis Federation) and also a shape of a flying eagle. This made a deep impression on the persons in charge of the event, athletes, officials and the audience. The athletes and officials who were greatly moved by the unique performances took pictures with the Aurah Supporters after the Opening Ceremony. They exchanged a warm friendship with each other, shouting out, “We love you!”

Su-Jeong Park, a citizen living in Anseong city who participated in the Opening Cere-mony with her family, expressed her over-flowing joy, saying, “Actually I was worried that this international event would not be a success because it’s held in this small city with a population of 160,000. However, when I see the supporters carrying out such wonderful activities, I’m sure that the event will be a success. It is really touching!”

ⓒ 2007 WATV

The next day, on September 8, the matches started. Soft tennis is an unpopular sport despite its long history. Even though it was an international event, only a few people visited the courts. In this situation, the Aurah Supporters filled the audience seats; they livened up the event with their energetic cheering, wearing different color T-shirts for each team and waving each country’s flag. After the games, the athletes came up to the audience section and expressed their deep gratitude to the Aurah Supporters, doing dances and singing songs together.

The Headquarters of the Aurah Supporters was the busiest place during the event. The Headquarters planned out every schedule of the Supporters’ activities and operated on them. They conducted non-governmental diplomacy, positively helping in the proce-dures for the event, presenting the Aurah Supporters’ souvenirs to the athletes and officials who visited the Headquarters and donating the entire airfare for the Thai team.

Sang-ha Park, Chairman of the Inter-national Soft Tennis Federation, visited the Headquarters with Dong-hee Lee, Mayor of Anseong City, and expressed his gratitude repeatedly, saying, “At the Daegu Universiade, the athletes and officials from 174 countries highly praised the Aurah Supporters when they returned to their countries. I expect that this World Soft Tennis Championships held in Anseong will be successful thanks to the active support of the Aurah Supporters. The Aurah Supporters have changed the culture of cheering throughout the world with their systematic and passionate cheering and support. I’d like to request your cooperation at the international games to be held hereafter, too. I wish you a more prosperous future.”

On September 13, the seven-day event ended successfully. The Aurah Supporters, who were busy throughout the event, visited the International Airport again to see the athletes and officials off. The athletes and officials were glad to see the Aurah Supporters, shouting out first, “We love you,” and they expressed their gratitude to the Aurah Supporters, who cheered and supported them throughout the event, by presenting some souvenirs, which they had brought from their own country, to the supporters one by one. Especially, Naranbaatar, Sports Minister of Mongolia, who had visited the Headquarters and expressed his gratitude to the Aurah Supporters, said, “We were able to play well thanks to your enthusiastic support. Thank you very much,” and he repeatedly asked the Aurah Supporters to visit Mongolia. Javed Yousaf, Head of the Pakistan team, put a badge engraved with the national flag of Pakistan on a representative of the Aurah Supporters. His eyes welled up with tears when he said, “We’ve received so much from the Aurah Supporters during our stay in Korea. This badge is a very small gift for your great support. Please remember us whenever you see it. Thank you very much.”

The cheering and support of the Aurah Supporters continued until all the athletes and officials departed from Korea and disappeared from sight with the sorrow of parting. Even though it was for a short period of time, the Aurah Supporters from the Church of God fully shared the love of Korea, the country of Mother, with the athletes and officials who visited Korea, and made the slogan of the event, “Festival for the Unity of Mankind!” come true. Their heartfelt support and message of love will remain as a beautiful memory in the hearts of the athletes and officials forever.

ⓒ 2007 WATV