The saying “No sports, no Tsinghua” can best interpret the sportsmanship of the centennial Tsinghua. Beijing Kaiwen Academy (KWA) inherited and further developed this sportsmanship. Now sports education has become one of KWA’s three major features. On April 28, 2018, KWA held a grand spring sports meeting at a time when flowers were in full bloom and spring was at its best. At the sports meeting, KWA teachers and students shared the joy of sports.
Although the sports meeting lasted for only half a day in the morning, it was not short of exciting events. Two weeks ago, KWA Sports Group teachers scientifically and rationally arranged the competition events and timing according to the physical conditions of students in different grades. Thanks to the teachers’ efforts, the sports meeting was more like an interesting sports carnival.
Players on the court tried their utmost to win while their classmates cheered them on the sidelines. Glittering sweat beads flowed down their rosy cheeks. The bright smiles of the youngsters illuminated the whole spring campus.
KWA advocates that every child should have a sports hobby. Students in Grade 1-3 participated in more interesting events, such as Kangaroo jumping, dodge ball, catching flags, parachute game, etc. Students in Grade 4-5 participated in a 50-meter race, tug-of-war, throwing sandbags, relays, basketball, etc.
Events for KWA secondary school students were more competitive, including exciting badminton doubles, three-on-three basketball games, and tug-of-war and relays for which teamwork was the key.
Despite the large variety of events, the sports meeting went on in an orderly manner, thanks to the teachers’ guidance and everyone observing sports etiquette. By adhering to the “friendship first, competition second” sports spirit, KWA students learned about friendly competition and teamwork, and also experienced the excitement of sports competition.
“Today’s activities have not only given students who love sports the opportunity to display their talents, but also inspired those students who were not much of a sports fan to take on physical exercise. This is the exciting thing about sports. To allow more students to participate in this sports meeting, we have chosen basic, routine events. In the future, we hope to add more diversified sports to include our school team events such as golf, fencing, and ice hockey,” Paul, head of the Sports Group, told us after the sports meeting ended.
Sports education is one of KWA’s three major features. In a week, in addition to traditional physical exercise classes, KWA students get to attend more than ten co-curricular sports courses for events such as baseball, tennis, fencing, jiu-jitsu, golf, and cheerleading. The school has sports competition venues and teaching facilities that meet the world’s top event standards, such as the blue track built to IAAF Golden League specifications, the tennis court built according to China Open’s diamond court standards, the golf driving range, and the indoor/outdoor baseball stadium. In addition, since its founding, KWA has spared no effort in cooperating with international quality sports education resources and platforms. So far, the school has already had world-class partners including the U.S. Major League Baseball (MLB), China Open, the U.S. IMG Academy, and the U.K. Manchester City Football Club.
KWA Academic Principal Wang Shi said, “We persist in our ‘interest-based professional training’ principle for all sports events. The school can provide our students with professional courses and excellent international resources, so that they can ‘have a hobby, develop a habit, and exercise to keep fit.’ We believe that this will help students achieve better in their studies and benefit them all their lives.”
KWA student Xia ZeYuxiu appeared in the “Eight Minutes in Beijing” part of the closing ceremony of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics 2018. This was KWA students’ debut on the international stage. We are firmly convinced that “A powerful country comes from its powerful youth.” As China vigorously develops its sports programs, KWA students will have more opportunities to compete in national or even world-class sports arena.