Shandong youth show enthusiasm for winter sports

Children in Yantai, Shandong province, responded warmly to the local education authority's promotion of ice and snow sports after getting some experience.

When the central government called for more participation in light of the Beijing Winter Olympics, the education bureau of Yantai's Fushan district began offering free classes in winter sports since 2019 to pupils in kindergarten through junior middle school.

"My son took an ice skating class in the first half of last year and he liked the sport, so he is taking classes regularly," said Tang Jingyi, a mother.

More than 10,000 students in the district have taken classes to experience winter sports, including short-track speed skating, ice hockey, figure skating and curling over the past three years, the bureau said.

Ice and snow sports have been added to the compulsory classes of physical education at the district's primary schools.

Seven primary and junior middle schools in the district are rated as national-level schools characterized by ice and snow sports. Nine schools have organized ice hockey teams.