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Tuesday, June 18, 2019, 11:50
Zhejiang shapes up as games hub
By Shi Futian
Tuesday, June 18, 2019, 11:50 By Shi Futian

Eastern province builds a reputation in sporting excellence with huge investments in facilities

Students take aim during archery training at Xiasha Middle School in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. The school is renowned for producing top talent in the Olympic sport. (SHI FUTIAN / CHINA DAILY)

Sport is king in Zhejiang.

For decades, the eastern coastal province has been renowned for producing superstars like swimmer Sun Yang, while the capital city Hangzhou cements its reputation as a world-class host as it prepares to stage the 2022 Asian Games.

But Zhejiang is about more than just gold medals and the glory. Massive investment in grassroots facilities as part of the National Fitness Program has mobilized its population on a scale that is virtually unrivaled elsewhere in the country.

Hangzhou Xiasha Middle School, a hotbed of archery, is a shining example of this policy. Since 2012, it has spent over 560,000 yuan ($81,000) on upgrading a training venue and equipment, resulting in a steady stream of eagle-eyed arrow enthusiasts.

“It’s no certainty, but if there’s a chance I want to become a professional archer,” said student Xu Ting. “I started my training three years ago and the school provides us with free equipment and expert coaches.

“I can easily balance schoolwork and training. The sport also teaches us life lessons, such as confidence, persistence and self-discipline. Now, I’m already a second-level athlete.”

China’s athletes are measured by a five-level evaluation system, so that is pretty impressive for a ninth-grader.

Xu’s rapid progress is not unusual at the high-achieving institution. Over the years, Xiasha has become a conveyor belt of talent for city, provincial and national-level archery teams.

“We hope our efforts are helping to grow the sport of archery in Hangzhou,” said school principal Jiang Zhiming.

“Each year, we organize three public competitions that are open to local residents, from third-graders to 80-year-olds.

“Among the 1,500 students in our school, over 300 choose archery as an optional course. The cream of the crop will be recommended to join the Hangzhou archery team.

“There are a total of 12 optional sports courses for our students to choose from, including basketball, soccer and athletics.

“We aim to provide students with more opportunities to take up sport, because we believe health is more important than academic performance.”

Figures from the Zhejiang Sports Bureau back up that philosophy.

The province has built 226 national and international sports schools as well as 566 junior sports clubs. About 40 percent of residents exercise regularly, with an average of 2.19 square meters of sports facilities available to them — significantly higher than the national average of 1.66.

“The principle objective of our work is to improve the lives and health of our people,” said Zheng Yao, director of the Zhejiang Sports Bureau.

“Our effort has been paying off and we’ve attracted more people to the fitness campaign. We are constantly pushing the development of the sports industry, which has already greatly contributed to the growth of our local economy.”

The growing number of sports enthusiasts in Zhejiang can be traced to the National Fitness Program for 2016-20, aimed at encouraging 700 million Chinese to exercise at least once a week.

Kids line up for soccer training at Hangzhou’s Sanyang village, as residents reap the benefits of a brand new sports center. (SHI FUTIAN / CHINA DAILY)

Mobilizing urbanites is one thing, but spreading the fitness bug to rural areas is a more challenging task.

One of Zhejiang’s major successes has been the town of Yaozhuang — population 70,000 — in Jiaxing city. An investment of 145 million yuan built a 60,000-sq-m sports park, which includes a multipurpose 4,500-seat arena, with 600 parking spots.

Opened in 2014, the arena has held numerous national and international competitions in basketball, volleyball and table tennis. When there is no competition in town, the arena is open to locals, free of charge.

“We always come to the arena to play ball, dance or do tai chi, and we also organize sports competitions for retired people,” said 67-year-old Yaozhuang native Hu Jinfang.

“It’s all free. And the arena is big enough, so it’s never crowded. There’s not only retired people like us — young people also use it after work and on weekends.”

Seeing constant activity at the complex is rewarding for Ge Feng, director of Yaozhuang Culture Station, which manages the arena.

“Over the past four to five years, the arena has become a local landmark,” said Ge. “We have held many top-level international tournaments, which have attracted more and more local people to the facilities.

“We have also facilitated the development of grassroots sports organizations, including basketball, table tennis, badminton and even dragon boat racing.

“We are focusing on the health of local people, making sure they can enjoy sports every day, join activities every week and have competitions every month.”

Zhejiang’s fitness push is also reaching smaller communities than Yaozhuang.

Last year, Xijingtang village of Ningbo spent around 2 million yuan on building a 3,500-sq-m sports complex that includes a basketball court, a table tennis room and badminton courts.

Most of the village’s 1,668 residents make regular use of the facilities.

“Before we had the sports complex, villagers would just sit at home or play cards for a whole night after dinner,” said Weng Libin, head of the village.

“Now, both young and old are willing to come out and exercise every day.”

Fitness for all does not come cheap, and that is where the sports lottery comes in.

Since 2002, around 2 billion of the 7 billion yuan raised by Hangzhou’s sports lottery public welfare fund has been invested in the city’s sports scene.

Sanyang village, with a population of around 2,000, is one of the beneficiaries and now boasts a new 8,000-sq-m sports center that includes a soccer pitch, basketball courts and a fitness park.

The total investment was 1.8 million yuan — with 200,000 yuan from the lottery fund.

“The sports lottery has been an important way of supporting the national fitness program in our city,” said Wang Li, deputy director of the Hangzhou Sports Bureau.

“The money is from the people and it will be spent on the people — that’s always been our principle.

“The money from the sports lottery has been used to upgrade venues and facilities, organize fitness activities and fund grassroots sports organizations.”

Hangzhou’s sports lottery has also helped fund the 2022 Asian Games, including venue construction and promotion.

One of those venues is Hangzhou’s Public Body-Building Center — an 88,000-sq-m complex to be opened in 2020 that cost 486 million yuan to build. About 150 million yuan of that outlay came from the sports lottery.

The center will be able to host competitions for swimming, badminton, basketball, table tennis and several other sports. After the Asiad, it will be open for public use.

“The sports lottery greatly helped the preparations for the 2022 Asian Games,” Wang added.

“With the help of the lottery, we have also held many Asiad-themed sports, charity and promotional activities to create a great atmosphere to welcome the Games.”

shifutian@chinadaily.com.cn


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