Xinhua News Agency, Hong Kong, December 20 (Reporter Wei Hua) Yang Yang, the first gold medalist of the Winter Olympics in mainland China, walked into Hong Kong Baptist University with the Champion Fund team on the morning of the 19th, with the theme of "Lighting up the Future - Career Development of Athletes in the New Era", communicated with a number of sports people, and interacted with teachers and students on the spot.
Yang Yang, the founder of the Champions Fund, recalls that when she first joined the IOC more than 10 years ago, the first meeting she attended was to discuss athletes' career development projects, which made her realize that athletes' career development is not only a problem of China's sports training system, but also a global issue. Yang Yang said that if the career development of athletes and the relevant planning after their retirement can be done well, it will attract more young people to join the ranks of sports, so it is related to the sustainable development of sports.
"When we are athletes we have a very clear goal, we know how to work hard and we are passionate every day. But when I stepped back, I suddenly had no goal, and we were not familiar with life or many industries, and it brought a kind of fear. When those feelings come, people are very anxious. This is a big reason why we launched the Champion Fund. Yang Yang said.
Fok Kai-kong, Vice President of the Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China, introduced some of Hong Kong's experience in helping athletes transition, saying: "Whether an athlete wants to be full-time or not is often the choice of parents. We need to think about how to ensure the overall development, education and future direction of athletes. The SF&OC not only leads the team to go out to compete, but also shoulders the mission of promoting the all-round development of sports in Hong Kong. Thanks to the support of Hong Kong society and schools, we have policies and resources to help full-time athletes, and more and more people are willing to participate in the sports industry. The Hong Kong SAR government invests a lot in sports every year, but how to allocate resources more accurately and purposefully is a topic worth exploring. ”
Sun Xiaofeng, Secretary-General of the Champion Fund, said in his introduction to the current situation and needs of mainland athletes' career development that the development of athletes after retirement is becoming more and more diversified, but most of them are still limited to traditional fields. He said that according to the survey, the most important issue in the career development of retired athletes in the mainland is the development of prospects and career planning, and it is necessary to provide career planning guidance during the transition period to help athletes clarify the direction of career development after retirement. In terms of capacity improvement, it is now necessary to explore how to help athletes increase their value and tap their work potential and social adaptability.
At the meeting, retired athletes such as Olympic champion Jiao Liuyang in swimming, Cheng Ka-ho, former captain of the Hong Kong Wushu Team, shared their stories of transformation after retirement, and many guests also exchanged views on the challenges and opportunities faced by athletes in their career development.
Yang Yang said: "As sports people, we must realize that our value is not only in the arena, but also outside the arena where we can play a lot. Sport is a way of life, and we hope that the influence of sport can play a more important role in promoting social development. We have a lot of ideals that we need to do step by step. ”