Tainan shipyard builds human foosball pitch for staff and tourists

Tainan shipyard builds human foosball pitch for staff and tourists

2023-01-09

The human version of table football has reached Taiwan! Foosball, or soccer played on a table, is popular round the world. In recent years, a new version swept the globe, where the players are human! And a shipbuilding company in Tainan is now in on the fun. They built a human foosball pitch in their shipyard. It’s open to employees as well as tourists.

Foosball, or table football, is a childhood favorite. And now the life-size version has landed in Taiwan!

The goalie kicks the ball in to start. Both teams keep their eyes glued on the ball as it rockets back and forth. An entire match plays out inside this shipbuilding hangar.

A ship maker in Tainan built this human foosball pitch using wooden pallets and steel poles for the players to hang onto. The players love it.

Human foosball player
It’s so fun! Everyone’s dripping with sweat. It really does get you tired, you feel like you’ve been working out.

The company executives wanted to use the ample space in the shipyard to build a game space. The pitch is also open to visitors.

Chang Hung-wen
Shipbuilding company CEO
As a shipyard, we have a lot of these wooden pallets, so then we had a brainwave and thought we could make a big, life-size version of the American table football game. So then we could bring these disused pallets back to life, and make it so tourists can experience the fun for themselves.

According to the company, they already have many bookings from groups of tourists. Tainan companies and families have a new option for exciting days out.

造船公司打造"小型真人手足球檯"

2023-01-09

台南安平區一家造船公司，利用造船廠裡多餘的木棧板，打造一個小型的真人足球檯，提供給遊客玩耍，業者說現在已經有不少客人預訂場地，打算員工旅遊來舉辦比賽等，全台唯一的真人版手足球場地，話題性十足。

小時候常玩的手足球遊戲檯，現在台灣也有真人版。

由守門員發球，雙方人馬緊盯足球不放，你踢我擋玩得好起勁，竟然在造船廠踢起小小足球賽。

由台南造船公司設計的真人足球檯，利用木棧板拚起一個小型足球場，上面還有鐵欄杆讓玩家手可以扶著，防止跌倒，大家玩得好開心。

[[員工]]
“真的很好玩。大家玩得滿身大汗的，這個比較感覺真的比較會累啦，有運動到的感覺。”

造船公司利用造船廠空間，突發奇想營造一個遊戲空間，也開放給遊客玩耍。

[[造船公司執行長張鴻文]]
“我們透過造船廠其實有很多樣子的木棧板，所以後來我們就靈機一動，就是把美式手足球的桌檯的一個遊戲，把它放大成真人版。那透過我們這樣廢棄的一個木棧板，來去做一個再生，就是讓它們全部就是可以讓遊客可以體驗，自己可以下去玩這樣子的一個娛樂。”

業者說已經有不少遊客預訂場地，要來舉辦比賽，變成員工旅遊或家庭旅遊的團康遊戲。

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A draft bill by the KMT calls for cash handouts of NT$10,000 to be distributed to the public before the Lunar New Year. However, one KMT lawmaker says that issuing payments that soon is impossible.

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The legislature’s position is that it will absolutely do its best. As to whether payments before the holiday are possible, I’m not sure.

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At the national security meeting held on Dec. 31, Tsai made a clear decision that a portion of the surplus would be split between emergency-use funds and payments to the public. She also requested that the Executive Yuan draft a plan for the money and then announce the plan when appropriate. We’ve been doing all the work involved with this one step at a time.

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After five weeks of hard work campaigning, Enoch Wu failed to secure the Zhongshan-Songshan constituency seat in the Taipei legislative by-election. However, his supporters encouraged him not to give up, and to continue the fight in 2024 at the next legislative election.

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Speaking to reporters Wu made no specific mention of whether he’d run again in 2024. However, in a post to Facebook he wrote: “Our work won’t stop due to a failed election. We still have lots of work to do and policies to promote. I ask that everyone continue to support us as we proudly move forward.” The post has been seen as confirmation that Wu will run again.

Wu lost to rival Wang Hung-wei from the KMT by only 5,780 ballots, and in Zhongshan District Wu came out ahead by 840 ballots. Overall the two differed by only 4.99% of the votes – a much narrower win over Wu than that had by Chiang Wan-an in the previous legislative election. In a radio program following the election results, Wang had remarked that Wu was a formidable adversary.

Enoch Wu
Defeated Taipei by-election candidate
My adversary defeated me yesterday, so I congratulate her. Our defeat this time around means we didn’t do a good enough job.

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Ninety-year-old Lee A-tao beams from ear to ear and gives us the thumbs up. Her son, daughter-in-law and a dedicated team of nurses have brought her for a visit to her beloved hometown.

Son of Lee A-tao
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Daughter-in-law of Lee A-tao
Earlier, when Grandma was in her 70s, she always went to swim at Tofu Cape.

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Grandma has been living in our nurses’ home long-term. It’s been too long since she came back to visit her hometown. After chatting with Grandma, we hoped to help her make her dream come true.

Lee lived in the town of Nanfang’ao for many decades, and loved to walk along the harborside admiring the sea. She was also a keen wild swimmer. But in recent years, she developed heart disease and moved to the hospice at Taipei Veterans General Hospital Su-Ao Branch. She hadn’t been home to Nanfang’ao for two years, until her nursing team decided to help fulfill her wish to go home once more. This special vehicle was arranged, and an entourage assembled, so that Grandma could make a daytrip.

Lee was happy and animated as she took in the familiar harbor view, as well as a newly built bridge, thanking the team again and again. Some of the nurses shed a tear or two.

Lu Shu-hua
TVGH Su-Ao Branch Hospice head nurse
I’m so happy that many of our colleagues have voluntarily taken part in this trip today.

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The care which the nurses have for older people is really touching.

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The industry has been affected by the reopening of international borders, of course, as well as the 10-day Lunar New Year holidays coming up, and Peace Memorial Day national holiday. So looking at the first quarter, industries based on domestic demand will have more desire to hire staff, creating more growth in domestic industries than in export industries.

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The storyteller holds a bee in one hand and a bear in the other. She brings their voices to life vividly and the story roars along.

These little children are watching everything closely. They can see the performer isn’t reading from a script at all, she memorized the story, using lots of different voices and impressive storytelling techniques. Currently a sixth-grader at Sanxing Elementary in Yilan, Peng Yi-hsin has nystagmus, meaning her eyes move involuntarily. She is almost blind in both eyes, but she won’t let that get in the way of her dreams.

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I might be slower than other people. At least I take longer than others. Other people know something as soon as they look at it, but I have to touch it. I use Braille.

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Her attitude is very positive and constructive, and she doesn’t give up, in any area. She’s an excellent role model for the other children.

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