"Our Spirits" play the snow and ice football "powerhouse"

Changchun, 20 Jan (CNBC) -- According to the Central Radio and Television Corporation's Voice of China News Magazine, there is such a "snow soccer" team in Changchun, Jilin Province, and the team members come together from all walks of life and gather together because of common hobbies. They are not professional players, but they won the Jilin Provincial Snow Football Championship, and they interpret their love for ice and snow sports with practical actions. The Voice of China specially planned "Our Spirit" to launch this issue: "Playing with Ice and Snow Football "Strong Team"".

In a club in Changchun, Jilin Province, a friendly snowball match is being played intensely and intensely, against members of the first and second teams from Changchun Shunxing who are preparing for the upcoming snow football match.

These players who play on the field are ordinary people from all walks of life, who come together because they love ice and snow sports.

Sun Mingyang coached the players: The first half played very well, the opponent was relatively fast, and then our overall defense was also very active, the attack was well organized, basically controlling the opponent. Hopefully, the offensive routine in the second half will be a little richer, and then more goals will be scored...

Sun Mingyang, 31, the captain of the Shunxing team in Changchun, has been exposed to football since he was a child and is a youth football coach on weekdays. What he did not expect was that after work, he accidentally became acquainted with "snow football" and became a member of the current team, and has persisted until now.

Sun Mingyang: The first contact was when I was in college, and I wanted to experience what it was like to play football in this cold winter weather. Then sign up with the team and have this opportunity to play football.

From "football" to "snow football", it is far from simple to change the venue. When playing, the players need to run in the cold weather and pass the ball in the slippery field. Sun Mingyang said that near the game day, he and his players often have to train in the weather of nearly minus 30 degrees Celsius, and the "warm baby" has become an indispensable item when everyone plays football.

Sun Mingyang: Snow soccer will be more intense than grass soccer, because the field will be more slippery. At its lowest, it was almost minus 30 degrees Celsius. It is indeed a test for the body, because sometimes the ears may be frozen, and there will be some frostbite on the feet or hands. Therefore, each team member has some cold-resistant equipment, including hats, bibs, gloves, and things like warm babies are fully equipped.

Unlike 11-a-side soccer, snowball generally uses a 5-a-side format and plays only 40 minutes. Due to the small size, small number of people and short time, teamwork is particularly important. Sun Mingyang said that although the players have their own work, as long as there is time, everyone will invariably come to the sports field to train and play snow football, regardless of occupation or age.

Sun Mingyang: Because after all, I usually have to go to work during the day, I can only use my spare time to train. We regularly organize some training and competitions, run into each other and communicate with each other. Everyone on our team maintains this kind of training outside of work, including going to the gym or doing some other way to maintain this sport.

Nowadays, Sun Mingyang has become a "celebrity" in the snow football circle, and under his influence, many people have also become fans of snow football, and Liu Guobao is one of them.

Liu Guobao is engaged in track maintenance work, and has a cautious and calm personality on weekdays. But as soon as he stood on the pitch, he became enthusiastic and cheerful. Liu Guobao said that due to work reasons, he often needs to work outdoors, and the experience of playing snow football not only makes his life richer, but also makes him more able to withstand the test of cold than others, and has more motivation at work.

Liu Guobao: I usually check the safety of each line, and then in the winter, like others may feel cold, I feel that it is not very cold, because I am used to it. That is to say, the quality of their will has also been improved, and they will also pay 100% of their ability to work in their daily work.

Like Liu Guobao, the players of the Changchun Shunxing team have found the joy of ice and snow sports on the court. When talking about his team, Sun Mingyang is always full of confidence.

Sun Mingyang: Snow football everyone participates with this hobby, through more communication with teammates, more discussions about some things in life, and ways to twist everyone into a rope, showing a combat effectiveness and spiritual outlook of the team. Our team is a team that can win battles, can fight hard battles, very united, very harmonious team.

From the end of 2020 to the beginning of 2021, the Changchun Shunxing team led by Sun Mingyang defeated many professional teams and won the title of Jilin Provincial Snow Football Championship, which was also the first provincial championship won by their team. The hard work in the cold wind finally bears fruit at the moment of holding the trophy.

Sun Mingyang: (During the game) I encountered some strong opponents, because many of them came down from the professional team, and everyone can play, so there is actually a certain difficulty in the game. But we were also well prepared before each game, including the analysis of the opponents. We won 4:3 in the final, so it was tough to win, the score was closer, and in the end we had two minutes left to kill the opponent.

The Beijing Winter Olympics are about to open, and a series of snow football events are about to start this year. In the new year, Sun Mingyang hopes that he can lead the team to more championships and take advantage of the east wind of the Winter Olympics to chase after the victory.

Sun Mingyang: I hope that our Chinese athletes can achieve a better result in the Olympic games. Then I also believe that with everyone's efforts, the team will get better and better, strive to win more championships, and add more glory and glory to the team.

The members of the Changchun Shunxing team are also unable to hold back the excitement in their hearts, hoping that they can move forward in the ice and snow like the athletes on the Winter Olympic Field.

Sun Liang: I hope that our Winter Olympics will be a complete success, and then I also hope that athletes will play in the Winter Olympics and compete at a high level!

Liu Guobao: I hope that all athletes can get better results, win more gold medals for the country, and wish the Winter Olympics a complete success!