In recent years, the number of events, players and venues has increased significantly.
Ice hockey is heating up (Sports stands)
On April 15, Xu Jihao (middle) was in the competition.
Chen Xi photo
Core reading
On April 15, the 2019 International Ice Hockey League kicked off in Beijing. University ice hockey teams from various countries communicated with each other and grew up together through competitions.
In recent years, China’s ice hockey has developed rapidly. By the end of 2017, the ice hockey field had reached more than 200 pieces. The number of teenagers registered in China Ice Hockey Association exceeded 12000, and more and more children became interested in ice hockey.
Players with an average height of nearly two meters and a strong figure are go by like the wind on the court. The constant collision makes the audience feel the strong smell of gunpowder. On April 15, the opening battle of the 2019 International University Ice Hockey League was held in Beijing. The ice hockey team of Harbin Institute of Physical Education from China competed with the ice hockey team of Betts College of Arts and Sciences in the United States.
Age distribution
One of the players who represented the United States Batz college team was Xu Xiaohao, a Chinese student. In this international University Ice Hockey League, he participated as the co-captain of the ice hockey team of the United States Bates College.
Xu Zhenhao, 23 years old this year, began to contact ice hockey when he was 6 years old. However, when he was 12 years old, he failed to find a youth ice hockey team of his own age in Beijing. Xu Zhenhao can only train ice hockey teams in other places during the winter and summer vacations and holidays. In 2015, in order to balance his studies and interest in ice hockey, Xu Zhenhao applied to study at the US Bates College, with excellent strength, he became the first Chinese to enter the ice hockey team of the school since its establishment.
Xu Jihao’s experience of ice hockey reflects the dilemma faced by Chinese ice hockey. Taking Beijing as an example, the data shows that there were 105 schools participating in the national primary and secondary school ice hockey league in 2018, 94 primary and secondary schools and only 11 middle schools.
It is understood that the age distribution of puckster in our country is unbalanced. As the main hockey participating group, teenagers are concentrated in the age group below high school, while factors such as high academic pressure lead to a small number of high school students and college students playing ice hockey, therefore, there is a lack of corresponding Ice Hockey League, which makes it difficult for ice hockey to develop continuously and ice hockey talents have faults.
Number of participants
Strong antagonism and appreciation have brought high attendance and audience rating to ice hockey. It is one of the most popular collective projects in the Winter Olympics. It has registered more than 30 million puckster worldwide and covered 3.9 billion people. With the successful bid for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, the development of China’s ice hockey has accelerated, and China’s ice hockey has ushered in spring.
The head of national ice sports development (Beijing) Co., Ltd., which organized the International University Ice Hockey League, said: “We found that many ice hockey teenagers can hardly continue their dream of ice hockey after entering junior high school. Therefore, in the future, we will promote more middle schools and universities in China to establish ice hockey teams by creating various competitions, help children continue their ice hockey dreams, and lay a solid foundation for Chinese ice hockey, promote the improvement of the overall level.”
With the spring breeze of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, more and more parents begin to understand the ice hockey project and are willing to cultivate their children’s interest in ice hockey. At present, ice hockey has developed steadily from north to south in our country. In addition to Harbin, Qiqihar, Jiamusi and other cities, the number of first-tier cities such as Beijing and Shanghai participating in ice hockey has also increased. In Beijing, due to the holding of many ice hockey events, more and more teenagers and children are interested in ice hockey.
Development opportunity
A junior ice hockey coach said that at this stage, he mainly trains players of the age group 2008-2010. He said that in recent years, it is obvious that more and more children play hockey. Under the background of organizing the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, many schools in Beijing are very supportive of children playing ice hockey. The number of competitions has also increased a lot compared with the past. Now children can not only participate in Beijing league, but also participate in district-level and school-level league matches.
According to statistics, there were only 50 indoor rink nationwide in 2015, and by the end of 2017, the number of national ice hockey venues had reached 214. In 2015, there were less than 2,000 teenagers registered in China Ice Hockey Association, and at the end of 2017, there were 12000 teenagers. In just two years, China’s ice hockey has developed rapidly.
The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics provided an opportunity for the development of ice hockey in China. A few years may not be enough to make Chinese ice hockey reach a very high level, but it can make the soil for the survival and development of ice hockey get qualitative improvement and promotion.
He Yong