What no beer pong?

TAIPEI — Call it the "other" Olympics.

Every four years, in the summer following the Olympics, some of the finest athletes on the globe assemble for one of the world's most obscure sporting events: the World Games.

World Games athletes are often just as dedicated as Olympians. But for one reason or another, their chosen sports are non-Olympic.

Some are former Olympic sports that got bumped due to changing tastes and times (tug-of-war, softball). Some aren't taken seriously enough on a global scale (Sumo wrestling, bodybuilding).

And others sound like something from a Monty Python skit – canoe polo, korfball (that's Dutch basketball), fistball (similar to volleyball), tchoukball (don't ask, it's a ball sport).

Since 1981, World Games athletes have competed in the shadow of their far better-known Olympic counterparts. This year these games are seeking a bigger spot in the sun, with more athletes, events and spectators than ever.

Organizers say 4,800 athletes will compete in 31 sports, compared to just 1,265 athletes in 18 sports at the first World Games in Santa Clara, California.

The 2009 World Games also have a geopolitical twist: they're being hosted by Taiwan — the "other" China — a year after Beijing hosted the Olympics.

China views self-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory, to be unified by military force if need be. Of late, the two sides have enjoyed warmer relations, under a new, China-friendly president here. But there's a limit to such coziness: China still frowns on any official suggestion that Taiwan is a state. So, while 77 Chinese athletes will compete in the World Games, China boycotted Thursday night's opening ceremonies.

Due to China's sensitivities, Taiwanese athletes must also compete as "Chinese Taipei", under a special flag – even though they're on their own soil (Taiwan is not allowed to fly its national flag at World Games venues).

That's the result of a compromise struck to allow Taiwan to participate in global sports events.

Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou presided at the World Games opening ceremony in Kaohsiung — Taiwan's "second city." It's an industrial port metropolis once notorious for its pollution. But in recent years it's something of a make-over; its "Love River" waterfront area is now a tourist draw.

Kaohsiung has pulled out all the stops to raise the World Games' — and Taiwan's — profile on the world stage. It's built two new stadiums and dredged a lake that will be used in water sports. "Sport marketing is one strategy Taiwan is using to promote itself," said one World Games official.

But so far the results have been mixed. Some of the World Games' trappings seem derivative.

Take the Kaohsiung World Games' mascots — twin, pink and blue droplets named "Gao-mei" and "Syong-ge." They look like what might result if one of Beijing's Olympic mascots mated with a Teletubby.

And a much vaunted new stadium — built at a cost of $150 million — has been derided as a knock-off of Beijing's Bird's Nest.

Still, the stadium, designed by Japanese architect Toyo Ito, is Kaohsiung's star achievement. Despite an exterior that recalls the Bird's Nest, it boasts a curvy horseshoe shape. And it's the world's most "green" stadium, with 9,000 solar panels that provide 80 percent of the stadium's energy needs.

Will Kaohsiung's push win more respect for the World Games?

That remains to be seen. As of Thursday, only 60 percent of available tickets had been sold — a poor showing compared to last year's Beijing Olympics, which sold out its 6.8 million available tickets.

Below, a preview of the action, drawn from information on the official World Games' website.

So let the games — the other games, that is — begin. Here's a handy guide on what to look for.

THE UNITED STATES:

Look for U.S. athletes Jack Huzcek and Rocky Carson to dominate in racquetball, Natalie Grainger to go for the gold in squash (she's currently ranked #2 in the world), and a medal run by U.S. bowlers Chris Barnes and Stefanie Nation.

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