"Double reduction" and the Olympics accelerate the popularization of niche sports
Rock climbing, skateboarding, ice hockey... "Cool play" sports "circle fans" youth
This summer, Wang Jiapei took his daughter Chen Kemeng to the climbing gym the most.
This spring, Chen Kemeng has always wanted to try rock climbing after seeing a rock climbing competition on TV entertainment.
After the summer vacation, Wang Jiapei took the child to the climbing gym to experience a lesson. When he saw that his daughter was very interested, he signed up for her.
During the summer vacation, Chen Kemeng did not take a vacation for classes three times a week. Wang Jiapei said: "I have never seen a child with such great interest and passion."
As some niche sports become well-known to the public, more and more young people appear in this group. In addition to rock climbing, many parents have signed up for their children to learn cool sports such as skateboarding and ice hockey.
Practitioners believe that the reason for the hot sports training is that on the one hand, skateboarding, surfing, and rock climbing have become official Olympic events for the first time at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics; on the other hand, the country has introduced a "double reduction" policy to accelerate the development of the sports industry. Mass sports may usher in new opportunities.
"Cool Fun" Sports Fan Youth
Jun Ran, a fifth grader, is an "veteran" rock climbing.
When she was in the first grade of elementary school, her mother Zhaojing saw that she was very interested in rock climbing, so she signed up for a rock climbing club.
Jun Ran has been "playing" for more than 4 years.
Jun Ran loves rock climbing very much, and she never arrives late or asks for leave for climbing lessons twice a week.
In school, she will seize all the time to complete the homework of the day, so as not to delay the evening rock climbing class.
Zhaojing still remembers that when she signed up for Junran's rock climbing club, she was able to improve the physical fitness of her children.
4 years of rock climbing has not only brought Jun Ran a better body, but also expanded her abilities in all aspects, allowing her to make friends with similar interests and have the courage to try more new things.
In Zhaojing’s view, rock climbing can first exercise the child’s coordination. This is not a sport that can climb up vigorously. It requires the coordination of the children’s limbs; rock climbing is also helpful to the child’s memory. Each route has a different path. Rock points, remember these points in order to successfully complete the rock climbing; it also exercises the child’s willpower. On the rock wall, the child often gets injured and draws small holes, but she often simply handles it to stop the bleeding and continue climbing. Not squeamish.
This view is also recognized by practitioners.
Siliang (screen name) is the principal of Climb On Gym in Beijing. Since the opening of the climbing gym in August 2020, more than 400 students or rock friends have joined his climbing gym. He believes that rock climbing first has It helps children’s sensory integration training. At the same time, rock climbing is a sport that requires thinking. Every route needs to be thought about how to complete, so it also contributes to the development of the brain. In addition, it is necessary to constantly overcome fear during rock climbing. A way for children to challenge themselves, "Extreme sports is a process of competing with oneself, which can better cultivate willpower."
Liu Hong is the mother of two children, and she is planning to enroll her daughter in an ice hockey training class.
Liu Hong said that her daughter has liked roller skating and ice and snow since she was a child. After she took her child to try an ice hockey class, her daughter was not tired at all during the trial class for more than two hours. She was very excited throughout the whole process. "But she is actually quite tired. You need to wear a lot of clothes in ice hockey class, and you have to move constantly. After a class, your body is soaked." Liu Hong believes that sports can cultivate children's willpower, and she hopes that her daughter can increase toughness by learning ice hockey.
Zhang Jia signed up for a skateboarding training class for her children.
Zhang Jia is a cool single mother. In the eyes of her friends, she is an entrepreneur who wears suits all the year round and is vigorous and resolute.
She hopes that through skateboarding, children will continue to challenge themselves, “If you want to skateboard well, you have to keep practicing, falling and getting up before continuing. I hope he will have the consciousness of not being afraid of failure since he was a child.”
"Double reduction" and the Olympics bring new opportunities for niche sports
Today's sports fever is not unrelated to national policies.
In July this year, the Central Office and the State Council issued the "Opinions on Further Reducing the Burden of Students' Homework and Off-campus Training in Compulsory Education."
The "double reduction" policy directly refers to subject-based off-campus training, requiring that subject-based training is not allowed on weekends, holidays, and winter and summer vacations.
In this way, more children can get out of schoolwork and enter the playground.
On August 3, the State Council issued the National Fitness Program (2021-2025), which once again added a fire to the sports boom.
Siliang said: "The double reduction policy and the release of the "Comprehensive Fitness Plan" can allow more children to return to sports, art and other hobbies, and can call on more people to move, especially bringing new opportunities for niche sports."
Compared with sports such as football and basketball, niche sports such as rock climbing and skateboarding have not entered China for a long time.
Taking rock climbing as an example, the "Analysis Report of China's Rock Climbing Industry in 2019" released by the China Mountaineering Association shows that there are 382 rock pavilions in China in 2019.
The "Report" also shows that although the number of young members of Iwakan in 2019 has an upward trend compared with 2018, it still remains in the minority.
Less than 5% of the members are more than 200 people, and 35% of Iwakan has only 10-29 young members, which is the largest number range.
Four or two have been in rock climbing for 10 years. From the beginning there were not many rock friends, and now more and more professional climbing gyms appeared. He felt that more and more people knew about rock climbing and began to understand rock climbing. "Rock climbing and other sports will be more Many places have been recognized by everyone".
At the just-concluded Tokyo Olympics, competitive rock climbing became an official Olympic event for the first time, which changed many people’s misunderstandings about rock climbing. “People no longer think of it as a “death” adventure, and more parents are willing to let their children learn. Try this sport".
Like rock climbing, skateboarding also became an official event for the first time in the Olympics, which has attracted more and more young people to participate in it.
On AliExpress, the cross-border export B2C platform, the number of skateboard products doubled year-on-year, and sales and buyers increased nearly 50% year-on-year.
A domestic brand that specializes in electric skateboards just entered AliExpress in May this year, and has been on the top of the category rankings in July.
On Taobao.com, Xiao Zhou, the owner of a skateboard shop, said that the sales of skateboards have been good since last year. At that time, the online store had a turnover of several hundred thousand yuan.
The Wangjing campus of Beijing Force Street Skateboarding Club was evaluated as the “No. 1 in Wangjing Sports Training Hot List” on social platforms, and gathered a large number of young people who like skateboarding, “from 4 to 20 years old”.
Xu Yang, the head of the club, said that this summer, with the implementation of the "double reduction" policy and the enthusiasm of the Olympic Games, the training class ushered in a large number of young students.
He clearly felt that the entry of skateboarding into the Olympic Games has also accelerated parents' recognition of the sport of skateboarding.
"Let skateboarding'out of the circle' and celebrities will drive." Xu Yang said that many young people will come here to learn when they see their favorite celebrities skateboarding.
Parent Ma Le is planning to sign up for a skateboarding training class for his child. "After the'double reduction' policy, the child can have more spare time and it is good to learn a sport he likes."
"Cool play" sports industry needs further regulation
Compared with other sports, "cool play" sports such as skateboarding and rock climbing require higher safety guarantees, so safety is also what parents care about most.
Liu Hong said that when choosing a training course, her first consideration is the safety of the venue and the qualifications of the coach.
Four or two introduced that the threshold for opening a climbing gym is relatively high. First, a high-risk certificate is required to open a climbing gym. The rock walls, protectors and other facilities in the gym must also meet the requirements. "Professional facilities are required, and instructors must have professional qualifications." .
In Xu Yang’s skateboard club, all coaches must have a qualification certificate. “The national referee certificate is a basic requirement. To obtain this certificate, you must first have a coach’s certificate. Only with the coach’s certificate can you go to the national level referee certified by the China Extreme Sports Association. According to Xu Yang, many coaches in the club have participated in the competition and won rankings. “In this way, the professionalism and safety of the trainees can be ensured as much as possible.”
"But there are still a lot of bad places." Siliang saw that some practitioners abandon professionalism and safety in order to make money. "For example, some shopping malls and parks will have less formal entertainment facilities for experiencing rock climbing. Not only do such venues lack professional guidance, some even do not have protectors, which poses great safety hazards."
Similar problems exist in the skateboarding industry. Xu Yang said that as more and more people like skateboarding, some skaters have also started training. “But these skaters have not received professional training, and they cannot teach young people scientifically. How to skateboard, there will also be safety hazards."
The ski industry is always ringing the safety alarm.
At a ski training venue in Chaoyang District, Beijing, the parent who is waiting for the child to dismiss, said that because skiing needs to be performed at a lower temperature, the child is more likely to be injured. When reporting for the class, she inspected multiple venues. , The coach is not qualified enough, she will not consider it.
"Especially in winter, when children actually get on the ski slopes, the ski resorts are required to have complete safety facilities so that parents can rest assured."
Siliang hopes that relevant departments can increase the review of unqualified climbing venues, so that the sport can develop healthily in safety and regulation.
China Youth Daily and China Youth Daily reporter Zhang Min Source: China Youth Daily