Political advisers call for training of more winter sports instructors
As China steps up preparations ahead of hosting the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, members of the nation’s top political advisory body have urged professional academies and domestic manufacturers to help plug perceived gaps in the country’s winter sports expertise.
A national winter sports promotion program that aims to introduce skiing, ice skating and the like to 2,000 schools by 2020 has been hampered by a lack of qualified instructors, according to Yang Jingzhi, former deputy director of Hebei provincial sports bureau and a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.
“Winter sports require welltrained specialists to safely guide learners. At the moment, we don’t even have enough for the schools program, so the training of instructors should be a priority,” he said.
The winter sports promotion program was highlighted in a development guideline that was issued by the General Administration of Sport in November. This guideline aims to get 300 million Chinese involved in winter sports by 2022.
Yang Hua, head of Beijing Sport University, suggested that the Education Ministry source part-time instructors from sports academies in Northeast China, where winter sports have long been practiced.
“Even if they can’t be hired as full-time teachers (without the proper qualifications), they could host training clinics for students and other teachers, and the local educational commission could offer them some kind of bonus for doing so,” he said.
Retired Olympic hurdler Liu Xiang, who is also a CPPCC National Committee member, said former athletes could also play a role.
“An athlete’s career need not end when they retire or are no longer able to com- pete professionally. Becoming an instructor could be a great choice for many former winter sports athletes,” he said.
In addition to a shortage of trained instructors, winter sports development in China is also frustrated by a lack of appropriate facilities. Taishan Sports Industry Group, a Shandong-based sports equipment manufacturer, is looking to change that, however.
The company is currently testing a set of winter sports training equipment, called the ice and snow pack, which was developed with the help of a technical research team based in Sweden specifically for on-campus use.
The set includes an artificial ice rink and a skiing simulator that can easily be disassembled, transported to a different location and reassembled, according to Bian Zhiliang, chairman of the group and a CPPCC National Committee member.
“More than 100 schools in Beijing and Hebei have approached us or shown interest in purchasing or testing the products,” he said.
Starting last year, Beijing selected 18 schools in Haidian district and Yanqing to pilot winter sports training during physical education classes. The municipal sports authority earlier proposed adding winter sports to the mandatory curricula of the city’s primary and secondary schools, though a decision on the proposal has yet to be made.
Becoming an instructor could be a great choice for many former winter sports athletes.” Liu Xiang, retired Olympic hurdler (from right), Hao Guoqiang, Li Yuanyuan and Tang Changhong choose books at a bookstand in the Beijing Conference Center on Monday.
I still remember meeting her for the very first time. She was only 24 when she became a national legislator and as a textile factory worker from the south of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, she was shy and obviously nervous while making her first speech. “I was afraid of making mistakes in front of Xinjiang’s top officials. Now I am fully aware that as an NPC deputy, I’m equal to the top officials, ” she said, smiling.
Aside from a few cursory glances at her striking traditional Uygur clothes, Rehangul drew little attention from the mass of reporters, who seemed more interested in speaking to a minister. Yet it is often deputies such as her, elected by the people and from the grassroots, who know more about ordinary people’s wants and needs.
“My suggestions and proposals may not immediately affect China at the macro level but they are equally important. They are not things that have just popped into my head, but the results of much research,” said Rehangul.
Her proposals to previous NPC sessions have largely focused on employment and poverty alleviation — areas that form part of her remit in her current role as a township official.
She was born into poverty herself and understands full well how difficult life can be, but knows that in her role as an NPC deputy, she has the power to help others. One of her proposals led to the construction of a textile factory that will eventually employ 5,000 people.
During the past four years, Rehangul has had the opportunity to sit down with Premier Li Keqiang, when he joined one of the Xinjiang delegation’s discussion sessions.
She said she still felt nervous when talking face-to-face with Li, but knew it was her right and responsibility to let him know her views on how to improve people’s lives.
The NPC’s annual session should not just be about holding meetings, or delivering and discussing reports, it should involve a clash of ideas about how to make China better. Rehangul knows that if she doesn’t speak, the voices of those who voted for her will not be heard and when she does speak, every word matters just as much as those of the ministers.
Contact the writer at cuijia@chinadaily.com.cn