On September 8, the final stage of the surfing competition of the 14th National Games kicked off in Riyue Bay, Wanning, Hainan, and 50 athletes from 13 surfing teams from various provinces across the country will compete for 2 gold medals. This is the first time that the "surfing project" has entered the National Games, and it also means that the first surfing gold medal in the history of the National Games is about to be produced in Wanning Riyue Bay.
Photo courtesy of the organizer / Photo by Zhang Jun
It is understood that this surfing competition is one of the 35 major events of the 14th National Games and is the first time that Hainan Province has hosted the National Games. The competition is consistent with the Tokyo Olympic Games and is divided into two sub-events: men's short board and women's short board.
The preliminary round ended on September 2, and the final kicked off on September 8, with all competitions expected to end on September 11 and an award ceremony. In addition to the Anhui team only sent two male athletes, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Hebei, Henan, Liaoning, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, Zhejiang 12 teams, all sent two men + two women to the final.
Although there are only two gold medals in the surfing competition of this National Games, this is the first gold medal in the surfing event established in the history of china's National Games, so it is of great significance. The morale of the teams is high, and they strive to win gold and silver. According to the preliminary results, Hainan, Liaoning, Henan and Shanxi are the popular teams to win gold, but who will end up with the gold medal depends on the situation of the field and the live performance of the athletes.
As the host of the surfing competition of the National Games, Hainan Wanning has ten beautiful bays, and Riyue Bay is one of the few seas in the world with high-quality fixed-point wave types and beach wave types, with an average wave height of 1.5-2 meters per year, which is suitable for surfing all year round, and is known as one of the world's top ten surfing resorts.
According to reports, since the establishment of surf teams in various provinces across the country in 2017, they have been stationed in Wanning Riyue Bay for training and competition all year round, and at present, Riyue Bay has cultivated and trained a large number of surfing champions and excellent coaches. Relevant data show that the superior surfing conditions of Sun Moon Bay have attracted more than 2,000 world's top athletes from more than 40 countries around the world to participate. As of 2020, More than 20 Surf Clubs have been born in Sun Moon Bay, receiving 300,000 visitors a year.
Wang Yun, deputy director of the Aquatic Center of the General Administration of Sport, said that surfing started late in China, and this competition will give full play to the diversified functions and comprehensive values of the National Games, cultivate and discover surfing competition talents for the surfing competition of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, enhance the comprehensive strength of China's surfing sports, and make new contributions to the construction of a healthy China and a sports power.
He Jingping, secretary of the Wanning Municipal Party Committee, said that Wanning City will take the holding of the surfing competition of the National Games as an opportunity to build a sports tourism product system with surfing as the core around the series of surfing events, actively build Wanning Surf Town, shape the IP brand of "Passion Coast, Surf Wanning", build the brand of the National Surf Training Base, and promote the deep integration of Wanning sports and tourism and culture.
It is understood that the competition was hosted by the State General Administration of Sports, and co-hosted by the Hainan Provincial Department of Tourism, Culture, Radio, Television and Sports, and the Wanning Municipal People's Government. Li Ruilin, director of the Aquatic Sports Management Center of the State General Administration of Sports, Cao Kang, first-level inspector of the Publicity Department of the General Administration of Sports, Xu Xianghong, deputy director of the Department of Tourism, Culture, Radio, Television and Sports of Hainan Province, and He Jingping, secretary of the Wanning Municipal Party Committee, attended the opening ceremony, which was presided over by Wang Sanfang, deputy secretary of the Wanning Municipal Party Committee and secretary of the Party Group of the Municipal Government. Provincial surf teams, referee representatives, volunteer representatives, and relevant personnel of the Competition Commission lined up to attend the opening ceremony.
Source: China News Network