Enjoy the Winter Olympics| dream on the ice

The spirit of the Winter Olympics is understanding and friendship, unity and fair competition. The Infinite Charm of the Winter Olympics is not only because it can make the level of competition higher and stronger, but also because of the sportsmanship it carries, leading a group of mountain children to the ice, into the city of Beijing, and competing with the ice hockey teams with great disparity in strength; it is not only to take the children to see a better ice rink, so that they can stand higher and see farther, but also to give these mountain children, as well as more mountain children, more people on the ice a spirit of never giving up and daring to fight.

Photo by Xi Ruiyuan

A small village in the mountains set up an ice hockey team

On nine cold days, the pearl spring village in Pearl Spring Township, Yanqing District, Beijing, deep in the mountains, froze the earth. On the ice of the winding vegetable river in the south of the village, a team of children swing their hockey clubs as fast as birds.

This ice hockey team, which is made up of children from mountain villages, was named "Mountain Riwa Ice Hockey Team". In the past 2021, 14 young players walked out of the mountains for the first time and came to the city of Beijing to compete with the children in the city. "I'm going to play hockey, I'm going to win the Olympics, and I'm going to keep playing!" Li Yue, who won the honor of "Best Athlete", spoke out the hearts of the small team members.

Located about 100 kilometers from the city, Pearl Spring Village is a small village tucked away in a large mountain pass. The village's Pearl Springs Central Elementary School has only 38 students, all from the surrounding 17 villages. Although the village is not economically developed, the village is famous for its green mountains and green waters, and the natural springs are gushing with pearl-like bubbles. In the winter, the frozen Caishi River is a natural large ice rink, which naturally becomes the training ground for the ice hockey team of Pearl Springs Central Elementary School.

On the afternoon of January 19, the ice hockey team members put on helmets, neck pads, chest guards, skates, etc., and began to compete in two teams. The sound of the "da-da" ice hockey crash and the gliding sound of "da-da" are intertwined, and the team members bend down and bend their backs on the ice to gallop, and at the fierce end of the event, the cheers and cheers such as "playing", "front" and "ya" resound across the river.

"Number 3 attacks forward!" On the sidelines, ice hockey coach Zhao Jisheng's eyes were like torches. "5 years ago they didn't even dare to go on the ice, now they can play, these babies are good." The 69-year-old Zhao Jisheng is a retired teacher at the School of Physical Education and Sports of Beijing Normal University, where he taught athletics and roller skating, and has devoted a lot of effort to the ice hockey team in the past five years.

Homemade water dispenser training

"In response to the call to 'bring 300 million people to participate in ice and snow sports', the children in the winter Olympics must take the lead." At the beginning of the preparations for the Winter Olympics, Liu Dianxing, then principal, thought about forming an ice hockey team so that ShanLiwa could also run on the ice. In the winter of 2017, by chance, Zhao Jisheng was hired as a skating coach at Pearl Springs Central Elementary School.

Professional teachers have, what if there is no skating field? A bend of vegetable food river gives children natural ice conditions. At the beginning of December, the teachers open the lake to chisel the ice, the gushing spring is loaded into a large tin barrel, the barrel is loaded with rollers, and then a long iron cylinder is connected, and the small holes are evenly punched on the barrel to make an ice pourer like a shower, and the spring water falls from the "shower" inlet, which can fill the cracks and depressions in the ice, and turn the natural river surface into a relatively smooth and smooth ice rink.

With teachers, venues, and physical education classes, each student has two hours of ice lessons per week. Zhao Jisheng first taught the children the most basic skating, skating proficiency, and then selected to join the ice hockey team.

Children with better skating skills in grades two to six are selected to become defenders, wingers, strikers, goalkeepers, boys and girls. 12-year-old Li Yue is one of the few girls in the ice hockey team, with a round face, ponytails, and a thin figure, but she is the most fighting on the field.

"When I first started playing hockey, I used to wrestle, and when I slipped, I fell down, and I was very sad." Li Yue said, her big round eyes were full of not accepting defeat, and she trained hard as soon as she had the opportunity. In a municipal ice hockey league in 2021, she worked hard and won the title of "Best Athlete". "I'm not afraid to fall now, and I'll get up wherever I fall!" She said confidently.

Just as strong as Li Yue is 11-year-old Chen Shuo. When he began to join the ice hockey team, Chen Shuo always wanted to be lazy during training, and Zhao Jisheng was angry and drove him out of the ice hockey team. "After being kicked out, I didn't sleep for two nights, thinking about my own problems." Chen Shuo recalled silently. But later, Zhao Jisheng saw a line on the student's wish board outside the classroom: "I like skating the most, and I am the best at playing ice hockey." Chen Shuo. "Interest is the best teacher, and I decided to give him another chance." Subsequently, Zhao Jisheng let Chen Shuo join the ice hockey team again, and the habit of laziness in the past gradually changed, and Chen Shuo grew into a brave left winger.

Don't be afraid to lose and fight again the next year

In May 2021, the Beijing Primary and Secondary School Ice Hockey League began, and the Shanliwa Ice Hockey Team was invited to participate. It was not only the first time the children participated in the competition, but also the first time that many children came to Beijing. The Sanriva ice hockey team is in a group of 4 teams, and the remaining 3 teams are from downtown Beijing. The strength of the difference is huge, the Mountain River ice hockey team lost. But this did not affect the children to continue to compete, "this competition is a rare learning opportunity for children, which lets children know that hard training and continuous improvement can achieve maximum success." Zhao Jisheng said.

The last day of the match, the members of the Shanliwa ice hockey team were pleasantly surprised, and they visited the men's ice hockey venue at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics at the National Gymnasium. "Standing in the stadium, I felt the ice and snow so close to me. I am more determined in my heart to practice well, and when I grow up, I will become an ice hockey player and win glory for the country! Team member Yu Shilong said.

The Winter Olympics are just around the corner, and the Shanliwa Ice Hockey Team is watching the upcoming ice hockey events. Children who are one year older are also looking forward to the arrival of the new year's competition.

For more information, stay tuned to the Winter Olympics.

Client The Winter Olympics | Reporter Li Yao

Editor: Geng Yinxin

Process Editor Wu Yue