By Rick Brown
Contributing Writer
Nestled between two baseball fields and behind the inline court at Skyline Vista Park, 2595 W. 72nd Ave. in Westminster, lays a brand new sporting attraction. Topspin, or as it is known to the Laotians as “Tuj Lub,” is a sport of skill involving a stick, some string and a giant rubber top. The mayor of Westminster, Nancy McNally, came out to the grand opening event on Sept. 14 to help dedicate it to the community of Westminster. Members of the Hmong American Association of Colorado including Zoo Tzufeng Ly, Somxai Vue, and  ang Chee, attended the ceremony to help dedicate the Topspin courts to the growing community of Laotians in Colorado. McNally first saw the sport two years ago at a festival  here there was a Topspin tournament. It was during this time that fellow City Councillor Mary Lindsey and Mc-Nally decided that Westminster needed some Topspin courts.“Somxia Vue  nvited Mary Lindsey and I to a festival two years ago and we knew there was going to be a Topspin tournament,”  cNally said. “We watched and got so involved that an hour and a half passed and we could not believe it because we loved watching. And we knew that we would have a Topspin court here in Westminster.” With a growing population of Laotians in Westminster and the surrounding areas, it only made sense to start introducing their culture to Colorado. “This is a century old game that began in China,” Chee said. “When I was a young child, I use to play from dawn to midnight. After the sun went down we use to light lanterns so we could see the court. We had to do that because at my age there was no electricity in Laos.” Chee estimates that the Laotian populations of the Broomfield, Westminster, Arvada, Thornton, and Northglenn number somewhere in the 3,000s, with Thornton holding the biggest group. McNally received help from Hmong children wearing ceremonial clothing with the ribbon cutting that officially opened the courts. “This court will bring all the different Laotians together,” Tzufeng said. “Currently we have three different groups here in Colorado. We built this with the hope that it will bring more Laotians as well as unite the ones here already.” After the ribbon was cut the children ran onto the courts with their stick and ball to begin play. The Topspin court looks like the same platform used for the long jump in track and field, except for the sand pit at the end. The long narrow track is sectioned off and a line or a circle is placed in each section. There are two teams, the first team will take their tops and spin them in the first section. The second team will then line up about 10 feet away and, using a stick with a string wrapped around their top, tries to knock the spinning top over. “This is the only court in America and it is a very big honor to us,” Vue said. Vue, the former president of the HAAC, helped with the preparations and details with Mayor Mc-Nally as well as Rick Dahl, Park Services Manager for Westminster. “This is a great day for the community as well as the Hmong Association,” Tzufeng said.