China News Service, Shijiazhuang, October 6th, title: Chinese young ice hockey player witnesses the rapid development of ice and snow sports

  Author Li Xiaowei

  Zhang Shuohao, a 13-year-old boy who practiced ice hockey to "exercise his body to relieve asthma in children", has been playing for 8 years.

In the past eight years, he said that the deepest feeling is that few people understand ice hockey before, but now more and more people play ice hockey.

  Zhang Shuohao is a student of the No. 23 Middle School in Shijiazhuang City.

Since he started playing ice hockey at the age of 5, he has participated in many Beijing Youth Ice Hockey Club Leagues and was selected for the 2018 National Ice Hockey Training Camp.

In 2019, determined to "keep the goal for the national team" when he grew up, he took a solid step toward his dream: receiving a notice from the Chinese Ice Hockey Association, he joined the team to participate in an international youth ice hockey event held in Prague, Czech Republic, as the main force The goalkeeper played 8 games.

This experience confirmed his dream and made him realize the gap between China's ice hockey and European and American ice hockey powers.

  During the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday, Zhang Shuohao is still training.

Since the first grade of elementary school, his weekends and holidays are almost spent in training.

He said that when he first started to learn to play ice hockey, he had to wear nearly 10 kilograms of equipment. Now he has 20 kilograms and he has to keep squatting.

In addition, in order not to delay his studies, he has to finish his homework every Friday, "really tired."

In 2019, Zhang Shuohao received a notice from the Chinese Ice Hockey Association to join the team in an international youth ice hockey tournament held in Prague, Czech Republic.

Photo courtesy of respondents

  "In the past, ice hockey was a niche sport. In order to play, you need to go to Beijing." Zhang Shuohao said.

With the support of his parents, starting in 2015, Zhang Shuohao and his club teammates boarded the train to Beijing to participate in the Beijing Youth Hockey League, and exchanged ideas with peers from Beijing, Tianjin, and the three eastern provinces.

  Also in 2015, Beijing and Zhangjiakou won the right to host the 24th Winter Olympic Games in 2022.

With this major positive stimulus, China's ice and snow sports ushered in a huge development opportunity.

Driven by the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, the goal of "driving 300 million people to participate in ice and snow sports" is gradually being realized.

  Coming from Hebei Province, one of the host locations of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, Zhang Shuohao has felt the warming of ice and snow sports more obviously in recent years: more and more people of his age are practicing ice hockey, curling, ice skating and skiing. Ice and snow events and mass ice and snow events are also increasing.

Last year, Hebei also hosted the province's first ice and snow games. Zhang Shuohao and 59 other people from all walks of life were also named Hebei Province's "Popular Ice and Snow Stars" and became little stars on campus.

  What makes Zhang Shuohao even more happy is that in September this year, the first Hebei Ice and Snow League opened. The league set up 6 major events. Only the ice hockey youth group has more than a dozen teams from all over Hebei participating. Zhang Shuohao and his club teammates can stay at home. Participated in the game at the gate.

Today, he has participated in two races and 6 games and won all of them.

Although the quality of the competition is not as good as the Beijing League, he said he enjoys the strong ice and snow sports atmosphere.

  With the popularization and promotion of ice and snow sports, the cost of engaging in ice and snow sports is also decreasing.

Zhang Shuohao's father said that the children experienced ice and snow sports early in China. At first, many ice hockey equipment were expensive, and many of them were imported.

After several years of development, the domestic ice and snow industry has also developed, and the products can meet the needs of the primary stage, and the prices are lower.

At the same time, foreign ice hockey equipment has more sales channels, smoother logistics, and lower prices.

  The 13-year-old Zhang Shuohao is a critical period of growth.

He said that he has caught up with the good period of rapid development of China's ice and snow sports, and he believes that through his unremitting efforts, his dreams will be reflected in reality.

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