Brisbane Olympics "4-for-2" Countdown! IOC Members Visit JOY's Super Factory – Chinese Smart Manufacturing Is the Biggest Confidence Behind Promoting Heyball into the Olympics
On March 20th, Qiao Yuanxu, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of JOY Billiards; Gunilla Lindberg, Secretary General of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC), former IOC Vice President, and current member of the IOC New Events Evaluation Committee; Gustavo Satio Harada, ANOC Director of NOC Relations; Ishaun Singh, President of the World Pool Association (WPA); Carlos Antonio, President of the Confederacion Panamericana De Billar (CPB); along with international officials attending the "Liber win Cloth · JOY Cup" 14th Heyball Masters Grand Final, and over 60 athletes from more than 30 countries including the UK, Australia, Switzerland, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, France, and Egypt, gathered at the Laolongtou Scenic Area in Shanhaiguan District, Qinhuangdao City, to participate in the traditional "Dragon Heads-Raising Day" festival celebrations.
Accompanied by Chairman Qiao Yuanxu, the delegation walked slowly from Ninghai City to the Chenghai Tower, overlooking the magnificent scenery where the Great Wall meets the sea. The event featured captivating performances of competitive dragon dancing intertwined with traditional intangible cultural heritage dragon dances, the vibrant energy of Changli Yangge, the resounding rhythm of Taiping Drum, and the melodious Funing blowing songs, creating a rich "Chinese atmosphere." These performances, characteristic of Qinhuangdao, drew continuous praise from the foreign guests, allowing them to immerse themselves in the charm of traditional Chinese culture.
After the tour of the scenic area, the group visited the newly completed JOY Billiards Culture and Sports Industrial Park. The park is positioned as a high-end, fully automated, quasi-unmanned factory. Its long-term vision is to develop into a world-class billiards hub integrating office space, production, warehousing, industrial tourism, and event hosting. With a total investment of 350 million RMB and a total construction area of approximately 76,406 square meters, the facility will achieve a single-shift production capacity of 70,000 units upon operation, significantly bolstering the confidence in the "Promoting Heyball into the Olympics" initiative and contributing to the prosperity of the regional sports industry, as well as the nation's goals of building a strong sports industry and manufacturing power.
Stepping into the core production area of the industrial park, visitors were greeted by an intelligent industrial aesthetic. The precisely designed woodworking processing lines, eco-friendly automated paint spraying lines, and fully robotic smart production lines amazed the officials and players, who repeatedly exclaimed "Unbelievable!" This intelligent production base serves as a vivid illustration of JOY's industrial upgrade. This smart factory, spanning nearly 100 acres, embodies JOY's "high-end manufacturing" strategy and serves as a "technological calling card" for the Chinese billiards industry in global competition. As international officials and players touched the JOY tables and experienced the industrial precision conveyed by the automated production lines, they witnessed not just the rise of a single enterprise, but a snapshot of a traditional industry leaping towards intelligent manufacturing.
As a member of the IOC's New Events Evaluation Committee, Gunilla Lindberg's visit to China carried a dual mission: to witness the "Liber win Cloth · JOY Cup" 14th Heyball Masters Grand Final globally, and to undertake the strategic task related to the selection of new events for the Brisbane Olympics. This veteran sports diplomat, who has held key positions including IOC Vice President and has been deeply involved in the global expansion of the Olympic movement, aimed to provide crucial analytical input for determining whether Heyball could become an official Olympic sport. Currently, the Brisbane Olympics have entered the new event selection phase, with Heyball emerging from 35 candidate sports to reach the final "4-for-2" selection stage, competing alongside skateboarding, sport climbing, and surfing. With the completion of JOY's world-class super factory, Heyball's advantages for inclusion have become fully evident. The goal of promoting Heyball into the Olympics is within sight! This is the confidence behind the initiative and a prime example of how new quality productive forces showcase Chinese smart manufacturing to the world.
This inspection tour highlights Heyball's transformation from a "folk game" to an "international competitive sport": from its grassroots popularity in China, to official recognition by the WPA, and now to standing on the "exam stage" of Olympic event evaluation. Gunilla Lindberg's visit serves as a benchmark, measuring the sport's distance from the Olympic stage while witnessing the transformation of China's sports industry from a follower to a rule-setter on the global stage.