The 1st South Asian Beach Games are scheduled to be held in Hambantota

Hambantota

Hambantota is a coastal city in the south of Sri Lanka. It is the capital of the Hambantota District...

, Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

 between 8 to 14 October 2011. The opening ceremony will be held at the Hambantota Beach Stadium, located in Hambantota district. 359 athletes from eight South Asia

South Asia

South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...

n nations will compete.

Host city selection

Sri Lankan bid for Hambantota was selected over bids of Bangladesh

Bangladesh

Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...

 and the Maldives

Maldives

The Maldives , , officially Republic of Maldives , also referred to as the Maldive Islands, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean formed by a double chain of twenty-six atolls oriented north-south off India's Lakshadweep islands, between Minicoy Island and...

 by the South Asian National Olympic Committees in an unanimous decision.

Logo and the Mascot

The logo was launched on 20 January 2011 in Galle

Galle

Galle is a city situated on the southwestern tip of Sri Lanka, 119 km from Colombo. Galle is the capital city of Southern Province of Sri Lanka and it lies in Galle District....

.. The Mascot represents a character called "Salu Paaliya" which is one of the 12 Palis. Palis are characters which represnets various dance forms. It is believed that the "Salu Paaliya" has comical actions and the power to heal which is ideal for the Beach Games as the Mascot.

Sports

Marathon swimming and sailing were to be contested in Arugam Bay while the remaining sports will be contested in Hambantota. However later organizers decided to move the events closer locations, Tangalle

Tangalle

Tangalle is a town on the southern coast of Sri Lanka located in the Hambantota District. It has a mild climate, in comparison to the rest of the district, and sandy beaches....

 and Tissamaharama

Tissamaharama

Tissamaharama is a town in south-eastern Sri Lanka. It used to be the capital of the Sinhalese Kingdom of Ruhuna as early as the 3rd century B.C. Only few buildings from that period can still be seen today. The large artificial Tissa Wewa lake, which was a part of a sophisticated irrigation...

. 26 events in 10 sports are currently scheduled to be held. Triathlon

Triathlon

A triathlon is a multi-sport event involving the completion of three continuous and sequential endurance events. While many variations of the sport exist, triathlon, in its most popular form, involves swimming, cycling, and running in immediate succession over various distances...

 and beach bodybuilding

Bodybuilding

Bodybuilding is a form of body modification involving intensive muscle hypertrophy. An individual who engages in this activity is referred to as a bodybuilder. In competitive and professional bodybuilding, bodybuilders display their physiques to a panel of judges, who assign points based on their...

 were dropped from the program due to a lack of participants.

• 3-on-3 basketball(2)
• Beach football (1)
• Beach handball
  Beach handball
  Beach handball is a team sport where two teams pass and bounce a ball, trying to throw it in the goal of the opposing team. The game is similar to team handball, but is not played in a sports hall but on sand instead...
  
   (1)
• Beach kabbadi (2)

• Beach netball
  Netball
  Netball is a ball sport played between two teams of seven players. Its development, derived from early versions of basketball, began in England in the 1890s. By 1960 international playing rules had been standardised for the game, and the International Federation of Netball and Women's Basketball ...
  
   (1)
• Beach Volleyball
  Beach volleyball
  Beach volleyball, or sand volleyball, is an Olympic team sport played by two teams of two players on a sand court divided by a net.Like volleyball, the object of the game is to send the ball over the net in order to ground it on the opponent’s court, and to prevent the same effort by the opponent....
  
    (2)
• Marathon swimming
  Marathon swimming
  Marathon swimming, or ultra-long-distance swimming, is a class of open water swimming. Unlike the use of the term for foot-races where the distance is well-defined, the distance of a marathon swim varies from event to event. Tides, surface currents and wind-chop are major determinants of...
  
   (2)

• Lifesaving
  Lifesaving
  Lifesaving is the act involving rescue, resuscitation and first aid. It often refers to water safety and aquatic rescue however it could include ice rescue, flood and river rescue, swimming pool rescue and other emergency medical services. Lifesaving also refers to sport where lifesavers compete...
  
   (6)
• Tent pegging
  Tent pegging
  Tent pegging is a cavalry sport of ancient origin, and is one of only ten equestrian disciplines officially recognised by the International Federation for Equestrian Sports. Used narrowly, the term refers to a specific mounted game with ground targets...
  
   (8)
• Windsurfing
  Windsurfing
  Windsurfing or sailboarding is a surface water sport that combines elements of surfing and sailing. It consists of a board usually two to four metres long, powered by the orthogonal effect of the wind on a sail. The rig is connected to the board by a free-rotating universal joint and comprises a...
  
   (1)

Participating nations

A total of eight countries participated at the 2011 South Asian Beach Games.
(19) (4) (90) (56) (36) (56) (110)

Schedule

This is the schedule of events for the 2011 South Asian Beach Games.

OC

Opening ceremony

●

Event competitions

1

Event finals

CC

Closing ceremony

October		8th Sat	9th Sun	10th Mon	11th Tue	12th Wed	13th Thu	14th Fri	Events
Ceremonies		OC						CC
3-on-3 basketball			●	●	2				2
Beach football		●	●	1					1
Beach handball					●	●	1		1
Beach kabbadi			●	●	2				2
Beach netball						●	●	1	1
Beach volleyball			●	●	●	●	2		2
Lifesaving					3	3			6
Marathon swimming				2					2
Tent pegging			2	2		2	2		8
Windsurfing			●	●	●	1			1
Total Events			2	5	7	6	5	1	26
Cumulative total			2	7	14	20	25	26
October		8th Sat	9th Sun	10th Mon	11th Tue	12th Wed	13th Thu	14th Fri	Events

Medal table