Interest in winter sports heating up at school

Beijing has named 52 primary and secondary schools as the first batch targeted to bring winter sports onto campuses ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in China.

According to the Beijing Municipal Commission of Education, nearly 140,000 students have taken skating and skiing lessons in the past two years.

The authority will cooperate with the capital's Sports Bureau to design winter sports syllabuses and in giving professional instruction to students.

In Chaoyang district, related curricula have been set up in six primary and secondary schools, according to the commission.

The city government will give further support to winter sports by providing financial backing this year.

Thirty-one pilot schools in Haidian district opened up winter sports curricula. A school in northwestern Beijing, Dongbeiwang Central Primary School, has included floor hockey－an ice-free version of ice hockey－into their school sports curriculum.

The city will also establish high-level school clubs to promote the popularity of winter sports.

The authority also advised building more ski runs based on seasonal features and site conditions. In Haidian and Yanqing districts, schools are being encouraged to create outdoor ice rinks when winter weather conditions allow, while in summer, synthetic ice was a good choice for campuses to open up skating practice curricula.

The advanced winter sport teaching facilities were also discussed as school options to address the difficulty of promoting winter sports on campus, according to the commission.

Beijing will put more effort into raising the number of qualified winter sports instructors, improve school curriculum designs and hasten construction of winter sports venues to add more flavor to the upcoming Winter Olympics in China, the commission added.