On July 26, 2025, Yunding Rugby Park – located at an altitude of 1,600 meters in Chongli, Zhangjiakou – witnessed a global university showdown full of speed and strategy. As the CPUES Wild Wolves Flag Football Team defeated the Zhejiang University Flag Football Team in the final showdown, the first Yunding Bowl World University Flag Football Open Championship officially came to a close.

Fierce Competition Among Participating Teams

Since flag football was included as an official sport in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics in 2023, this sport – which emphasizes skill, teamwork, and inclusivity – has rapidly gained popularity worldwide. The Yunding Bowl adopted the cutting-edge "4+1" mixed-gender format for flag football, where each team’s starting lineup consists of 4 male players and at least 1 female player, highlighting teamwork, gender integration, and tactical flexibility.

Opening Ceremony of the 2025 Yunding Bowl

This year’s event brought together 11 top Chinese universities and a joint team of 4 American universities for competition, marking an unprecedented scale and high-caliber lineup. The Chinese universities include Tsinghua University, Peking University, Fudan University, Zhejiang University, Renmin University of China, Wuhan University, Beijing Jiaotong University, CPUES, Capital Normal University, Hunan Agricultural University, and Chengdu International Studies University. On the U.S. side, the "American University All-Star Team" – composed of the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), California Lutheran University (CLU), University of California, Davis (UC Davis), and California State University, Long Beach (CSU Long Beach) – assembled for the first time to compete in China.

12 Teams Competing on the Same Field

During the full-day schedule of the 2025 Yunding Bowl, all participating teams completed the group stage, ranking rounds, and finals, truly living up to the motto of "everyone plays and fights till the end". In the championship match, the CPUES Wild Wolves and Zhejiang University faced off in a thrilling showdown, with scores alternating and the game remaining tightly contested. In an offensive play during the first half, CPUES Player No. 10 Yang Cheng delivered a precise pass, assisting Player No. 4 Qu Xingshuang in scoring a touchdown – this brilliant play proved to be the game-decider. Yang Cheng contributed two passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown throughout the game, earning him the tournament’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) award.

In the end, the CPUES Wild Wolves Flag Football Team edged out the Zhejiang University Flag Football Team with a score of 19-18, successfully lifting the trophy of the inaugural Yunding Bowl.

2025 Yunding Bowl Championship Match

At the post-match award ceremony, Jack Shu, President of Zhangjiakou Yunding Snow Park Management Group Co., Ltd., presented the trophy and medals to the champion CPUES Wild Wolves Flag Football Team; Lv Yixin, Sales Director of United Airlines for Greater China and South Korea, presented awards to the runner-up Zhejiang University Flag Football Team.

2025 Yunding Bowl: Champion & Runner-Up Teams with Guests (Group Photo)

The venue for the 2025 Yunding Bowl World University Flag Football Open Championship – Yunding Rugby Park – is located in the core area of Yunding Snow Park in Chongli, Zhangjiakou. It served as the freestyle skiing and snowboarding venue for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. Today, adhering to the concept of "transforming and revitalizing the legacy of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics", Yunding not only hosts international skiing events in winter but also upgrades its year-round operations in summer, creating an international-standard rugby park and building a new platform for diverse outdoor sports and global exchanges.

This event was hosted by the People’s Government of Chongli District and co-organized by Yunding Snow Park, Yingsai Sports Management, and the Department of Physical Education & Sports of Peking University. It received strong support from numerous brand partners, including United Airlines, Override, Jingxi Manor, Thermos, Genki Forest, HILX, and Nobaday. These partners provided participants and spectators with multi-dimensional interactive experiences, infusing the event with elements of fashion, environmental protection, and social engagement, jointly creating a youthful, international, and integrated sports gala.

A Passionate Battle in the Summer Breeze

The Yunding Bowl is more than just a sweat-drenched competition – it is a cross-cultural dialogue among young people worldwide. It is both a contest and an expression; both a rivalry and a bridge of connection.

With this, the first Yunding Bowl has come to a successful end, but youth knows no bounds, and the future awaits.

In 2026, we’ll meet again at Yunding!