On December 18th, Yanqing Shijinglong Ski Resort was bustling with many ski enthusiasts, and their enthusiasm for sports broke the winter cold.
Shijinglong Ski Resort
On a high-class slope on the westernmost side of the ski slope, the 2021 Beijing Junior U Series Ski Championships are fiercely competing.
The scene of the 2021 Beijing Junior U Series Ski Championships
On the slope near the starting point, there stood a well-equipped referee, who stared intently at the young players galloping through the flag gate in front of him, sometimes skillfully cleaning up the gullies and floating snow on the slope that had been slid out of the snowboard, and sometimes quickly maintaining or repairing the flagpole that had been knocked out... He is the national alpine ski referee Song Dawei, who will also serve as a referee in the alpine skiing competition at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
Song Dawei in the game
The 47-year-old Song Dawei has nearly 14 years of alpine ski referee experience, and his job is to teach volleyball and skiing lessons as the director of the Physical Education Department of Beijing Union University. Since 2007, he has been exposed to alpine skiing, he fell in love with the sport, not only learned to ski on his own, but also qualified as a referee, and in 2008 formed the Beijing Union University Ski Team.
Song Dawei instructed the ski team to conduct balance training
"At that time, alpine skiing was still a sport that could only be seen on TV for college students," Song Dawei said, "and the first batch of ski teams only recruited 4 college students." But he maintains the existence and development of this team with love. After the successful bid for the Beijing Winter Olympics, ice and snow sports have entered more public vision, more and more enthusiasts have been on university campuses, and ski teams have also grown. Today, there are 20 members of the team, and the results of the competition have gradually improved, and they have won the championship in the finals of the 2018 National Collegiate Ski Competition.
David Song glided on the track
In tandem with the ski team, Song Dawei's refereeing work has accumulated more and more experience in participating in the Winter Universiade, the International Snow Federation Points Race, the National Ski Championships and other events. After 2017, he participated in the selection of referees for the Beijing Winter Olympics, and in 2021 it was officially determined that he would serve as the referee of the alpine skiing competition at the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022.
Putting on the black referee uniform, Song Dawei felt the responsibility on his shoulders
Alpine ski refereeing is very complex and meticulous, and a large event often requires hundreds of referees to work together. Song Dawei often serves as a line referee in the competition, working on the slopes, responsible for leveling the track, cleaning the slopes, replacing and repairing the flag poles, etc.
David Song installed flag doorposts on the track
"My job sounds simple, but it's not." Song Dawei introduced, "The professional pistes of alpine skiing are often very steep, and the line referees should be able to come and go freely in the middle of the mountainside, and the requirements for skiing technology are the highest, in addition to having sufficient physical fitness and hardiness, as well as the ability to react in time and deal with unexpected situations in tense events." ”
Song Dawei once had the experience of working continuously for 7 hours in a low temperature environment of minus 36 degrees Celsius, "Although wearing thick professional thermal equipment, in less than an hour, his whole body was frozen, his hands and feet were numb, and he persevered to the end by willpower." ”
The line referee watched the racers speed by the track
The National Alpine Ski Center in Xiaohaituoshan, Yanqing, has one of the most difficult alpine ski tracks in the world, and Song Dawei participated in the Winter Olympic Test Event in February this year and has a preliminary understanding of this track.
David Song sat on the cable car to the start of the pistes
David Song has twin sons who have just entered the third grade of primary school and have been exposed to alpine skiing. "I used to concentrate on my work, didn't accompany them well, and only took them to learn to ski until I was more than six years old, but I didn't expect them to have some talent. I hope they will become alpine skiers in the future. ”
David Song at work
Speaking about the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics, Song Dawei said: "I may have two or three months to leave my family, and I hope that the children can live happily and grow up healthily. I also hope that they will have the opportunity to see their dad on TV. ”
At the end of the game, night falls, the moon rises, and Song Dawei put away his equipment and slides down the snow tracks
"To be a referee for the Beijing Winter Olympics is a supreme honor for me. A competition is a 'battle', and I hope to contribute to the event with the most exquisite technology, the most tenacious spirit and the best service. Beijing Winter Olympics, I'm ready! Song Dawei said.
David Song (1st from left) poses with referee colleagues on the slopes
Source Beijing Daily
Photography: He Guanxin
Text: and Guan Xin
Edit: And GuanXin
Producer: Li Jihui
Process Editor Wu Yue