Icebreaker! The Hubei Provincial Games is the first ice and snow project

As a southern province, the History of the Hubei Provincial Games has never seen "snow". On January 18th, the first event of the 16th Hubei Provincial Games - social club skiing (snowboard, alpine) competition and the second Hubei Provincial Ice and Snow Conference opened in Yichang Wufeng International Ski Resort, after a fierce competition, Li Ping, a 20-year-old young player from the Yichang representative team, won the snowboard slalom men's adult group championship with his good strength, which was also the first gold medal of the Provincial Games. Since its inception in 1952, the Hubei Provincial Games have finally dug up a gold medal with "ice-breaking" significance in the ice and snow.

Hubei Provincial Transport ushered in the "debut" of ice and snow

On the top of the hill at an altitude of more than 2 kilometers in The town of Wantan in Wufeng Tujia Autonomous County, Hubei Province, clouds and mist, the provincial games flags on both sides of the road fly in the wind, dressed up to welcome Jingchu skiers.

At 10:00 a.m., the contestants gathered together, and with the order of the referee, the competition of the provincial sixteenth Games ski snowboard slalom men's adult group began, and the players swooped down from the snow-capped track in turn, and the free-running figures were like butterflies wearing flowers, which was particularly pleasing to the eye, which attracted the applause of the audience. Meng Yushuai, a 13-year-old team member, said: "The first time Hubei held the ice and snow event of the Provincial Games, we were able to participate in it, and we felt quite proud and proud. ”

After more than two hours of competition, Li Ping from the yichang Yiling District Bailihuang Gliding Club representative team won the men's adult snowboard slalom championship, this very meaningful gold medal is the most expensive "heavy" New Year's gift for him in 2022, the young man said: "This competition won the gold medal, strengthened his confidence, the future will train hard, slide to a higher level of the field." ”

The competition was hosted by the Provincial People's Government, organized by the Provincial Sports Bureau and Yichang Municipal Government, and co-organized by the Provincial Wudong Center, the Yichang Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism, and the Wufeng County Government. According to Wang Jianping, deputy director of the Provincial Wudong Center, the competition has a total of 13 cities and prefectures from Wuhan, Shiyan, Shennongjia, Xiantao and other 138 players from 18 teams, the competition lasts for two days, with alpine skiing and snowboarding slalom two events, divided into men's and women's events, adults and teenagers (A, B) group, will produce 12 gold medals. Until August, there will be three competitions: short track speed skating, figure skating and ice hockey.

The more the eight-year-old baby fell, the happier she became

With the expansion of ice and snow sports from north to south, skiing has not only become a new choice for more and more southerners to relax, but also gives many high-level southern ski enthusiasts the opportunity to embark on professional tracks. 8-year-old Suizhou team player Zhang Shuyuan put the snowboard on the snow, the height is as tall as the snow, don't look at the young age of Mengwa, but the snow technology makes many ski enthusiasts envious, in the afternoon junior snowboard group B competition, he rushed out of the intermediate steep slope with great speed, skillfully dodged the flag in a big S shape, crossed the finish line and stopped sideways, and the white snowflake shoveled out a beautiful arc, dashing freely.

Three years ago, like most southern children, Zhang Shuyuan has not been exposed to ice and snow sports, with the rise of the "North Ice South Exhibition" boom in Hubei, he studied roller skating for many years, under the recommendation of his coach, he walked into the snow for the first time, and did not expect to like this sport. "That winter, this child finished his winter vacation homework early and clamored to live on the snow to learn to ski, and his parents were very favorable." The coach said.

Generally speaking, beginners start with skiing, but Zhang Shuyuan has a good foundation in roller skating, so he tried to choose to start with difficult snowboarding, but he quickly adapted to the feeling of being in the snow at a young age, and it took only two days to stand on the intermediate slopes, and rarely wrestled. When ordinary downhilling was no longer a challenge for him, he set his sights on learning the coolest action in snowboarding - changing the edge, which refers to the alternating use of the front and back blades of the board during the skiing process, and once it is slipped, it can be slid down the slope in an S-shape.

From playing with snow to skiing, Zhang Shuyuan did not suffer less, even if he brought protective gear such as "little turtle", he would still fall blue and purple, and the most serious one, the little guy flew out directly from the steep slope, rolled several times before stopping, fortunately not injured. "But this kid is strong, he never cries, and skiing makes him extra independent." the coach said. In order to catch up with the provincial games, Zhang Shuyuan just finished his final exam last week, and he packed his luggage and set off to the snow field that afternoon: "Although it is very cold, I just like to roll in the snow." ”

A "piste" is getting wider and wider

Speaking of Yichang Wufeng, many people's first impression is that it is the hometown of famous tea, but in recent years, ice and snow sports have become another new label here. In the past two years, nearly 100,000 mountain visitors have come to the "snow". In terms of event organization, Wufeng International Ski Resort has sufficient experience, and has undertaken national ice and snow events for two consecutive years, and the ski competition of the Provincial Games is also benchmarked against professional-level events, from the layout of the venue, service guarantee to the competition organization. What is even more unexpected is that the organizers also invited 5 national referees to serve as referee chiefs and technical representatives, and soon after, they will participate in the refereeing of the ski competition of the Beijing Winter Olympics.

With the in-depth promotion of the strategy of "Expanding the North Ice South to the West and Expanding east", the unique geographical environment and geographical advantages of Yichang, Shennongjia, Enshi and other places in Hubei Province have provided good natural conditions for the development of ice and snow sports. According to data, there are currently 30 ice and snow venues in the province, 6 ice and snow venues under construction, about 2.6 million people every year, and about 5.7 million people directly or indirectly participate in ice and snow sports. With the help of the east wind of the Winter Olympics, this time our province issued the "Implementation Opinions on Accelerating the Construction of the Ice and Snow Sports South Exhibition Demonstration Zone", and laid a wide and thick "snow track" at the 16th Provincial Games, once again igniting the enthusiasm of the province for ice and snow.

In this regard, Fu Ling, director of the Group Division of the Provincial Sports Bureau, said: "The first time ice and snow sports entered the Provincial Games is an innovative attempt, which is a full demonstration of our province's positive response to the call of 'driving 300 million people to participate in ice and snow sports', and is a vivid practice of the province that is committed to creating a demonstration province of ice and snow sports 'south exhibition westward expansion and eastward expansion'. The holding of this competition not only tested the level of ice and snow projects in our province, but also further expanded the participation of ice and snow sports in our province, promoted the selection and training of young reserve talents, improved the overall level of ice and snow sports in Hubei, and laid a solid foundation for the high-quality development of ice and snow sports. ”

Text/Hubei Daily reporter Zhang Shiqiu

Photo, video/ Hubei Daily reporter Shi Gong Zhang Shiqiu

Video clip / Hubei Daily reporter Hu Yuwei