Tianshannet-Xinjiang Daily (Reporter Ren Jiang) news: It will not be long before Zhou Xiaofeng checks the weather forecasts every day – the weather is getting colder and colder, and soon the temperature will be suitable for icing the rink. Once the ice rink gets ready, the ice hockey training for this year will commence.

Zhou Xiaofeng serves as coach of the ice hockey team of Fuyun County Amateur Sports School in Xinjiang. Sitting at the foot of the Altai Mountains, Fuyun County is known as the Second “Pole of Cold” in China, with the average temperature in January down to minus 37 degrees Celsius and a record low of minus 51.5 degrees Celsius. While the county is known for youth ice hockey, it’s hard to believe that the sport was brought over to the county less than 10 years ago. Yet ever since then, ice hockey has become part of the story about passion and perseverance in the small border town.

Photo shows the ice hockey team of Fuyun County. (Photo provided by Fuyun County Party Committee Publicity Department)

From northeast to northwest: a journey of ice hockey across China

Fuyun County is rich in ice and snow resources throughout the long winters, and localities are no strangers to winter sports. Zhou Xiaofeng, a native of Fuyun County, became linked to ice and snow from childhood. She took up speed skating as a pupil when she was selected into the school’s sports team. In 2003, she was admitted to Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps Competitive Sports School and became a speed skater. Later, she worked as a coach. In 2009, she returned to her hometown and became a speed skating coach at the amateur sports school.

At the end of 2013, Zhou Xiaofeng was sent to the Winter Sports Management Center of Qiqihar City in Heilongjiang Province to receive one-month training on ice hockey. She was entrusted with the task of introducing ice hockey to Fuyun County when pairing-assistance officials from Heilongjiang took note of the passion and athletic talent of local children for winter sports. In Qiqihar, a city famous for its highest level of expertise in ice hockey, Zhou Xiaofeng had gotten more and more involved with the sport. “Ice hockey is a fiercely competitive sport that demands extraordinary speed, skills, and coordination. It is fun and suitable for young people,” she said.

To make dreams come true requires hard work. As soon as she returned, Zhou Xiaofeng set about establishing the first youth ice hockey team in Fuyun County. However, it’s not easy to start from scratch. Recruiting the first players for the team was one of the greatest challenges. When registration was opened on November 23, only a few children came to sign up. “Most people had no idea about ice hockey, and some parents even thought that the sport was too aggressive and could lead to fighting,” recalled Zhou.

Thanks to the strong support from government authorities and the efforts of Zhou Xiaofeng and her colleagues, the first youth ice hockey team in Fuyun County was set up in January 2014, which was also the first ice hockey team in Altay Prefecture. The team members were selected from more than 2,000 school children.

Photo shows the ice hockey team of Fuyun County in training. (Photo provided by Fuyun County Party Committee publicity Department)

A decade of passion and perseverance

When the ice hockey team was finally set up, it was described by some as “a mixed formation”. Indeed, the team consisted of more than 50 children of different ages (ranging from 8 to 16) and sizes, but they got one thing in common – curiosity and little knowledge about ice hockey. These children were physically fit and passionate about winter sports, but many of them didn’t even know what ice hockey was.

Zhou Xiaofeng started coaching with basic skating moves, and the children practised bit by bit. Over time, she found that what she had learned during the one-month training in Qiqihar was far from enough. So, she watched and delved into ice hockey training and competition videos time and again, improving herself while coaching the children. The seeds of love for ice hockey sprouted in the hearts of Zhou Xiaofeng and the children.

Starting out is always challenging. Zhou Xiaofeng and her colleagues iced the rink themselves, but there were no rink partitions, and the players didn’t have protective gear, sticks, or dedicated ice hockey skates. They had to slide on ice wearing speed skates to “get a feel”. When the personnel of Charles B. Wang Ice Hockey Project Hope brought the first batch of uniforms and protective gear to them, the children jumped for joy and couldn’t wait to try them on. Although the protective gear originally designed for adults didn’t fit so well, the children went wild, and some even intentionally fell on the ice to see whether it would hurt. These scenes are etched vividly in Zhou Xiaofeng’s memory.

The ice hockey team’s door remains open to any child who is interested in the sport. The team generally trains on weekends and during winter and summer vacations. Additionally, Zhou Xiaofeng puts much effort into promoting ice hockey on campus to spark children’s enthusiasm. Interested children can take part in the training for free and join the team. Over the years, seven to eight hundred children have received training on the team.

Now, the ice hockey team has much better training equipment and facilities. This is largely attributed to increased funding of Fuyun County for building outdoor ice rinks with professional partitions and purchasing youth specific protective gear. A number of professional coaches from Heilongjiang Province have been invited to provide training, helping improve the skills of the team members and broaden their horizon.

Photo shows the ice hockey team of Fuyun County in Training Tournament. (Photo provided by Fuyun County Party Committee Publicity Department)

Photo shows the the ice hockey team of Fuyun County in the game. (Photo provided by Zhou Xiaofeng)

Pursuing dreams with zeal and determination

“I always tell my team that they should stay true to their dreams and work hard to turn them into reality, whether it rains or shines,” said Zhou Xiaofeng.

As ice hockey was still a novelty in Xinjiang, the ice hockey team of Fuyun County had no chance to participate in formal competitions in a span of eight years. “We trained for years without knowing when we would have the chance to compete, feeling a bit ‘solitary’,” said Zhou Xiaofeng. As ice hockey is gaining popularity in Xinjiang, youth teams have been established across the counties and cities of Altay Prefecture. Zhou Xiaofeng and her ice hockey team no longer feel “solitary”. During the 2022 Beijing Olympic Winter Games, the youth ice hockey competition in Altay Prefecture was resumed, and the Fuyun County ice hockey team won two championships in the primary school group and junior high school group. During the first regional Winter Games in Xinjiang at the end of 2022, the Fuyun County team finished runner-up twice. The county’s ice hockey team has gained fame near and far.

Over the past decade or so, the ice hockey team has seen tremendous changes. Tangjiaerke Tuerxunbieke, the team leader, is one of the first players and one of the few children who have been on the team since the beginning. The once small boy has now grown, surpassing Zhou Xiaofeng in height, and is set to take the college entrance examination next year. However, this also means he will leave the ice hockey team. Years ago, the boy lived with his relatives in town in order to receive training. Speaking of this, Zhou Xiaofeng is proud: “Whether he will play ice hockey or not in the future, the days he has spent with the team will always be an invaluable asset for his life.”

Identifying top-notch athletes and sending them to higher-level teams is what every primary-level coach wishes to do. For Zhou Xiaofeng, however, that is far from easy. Ice hockey is still in its early stages of development in Xinjiang, lacking even a region-level team as seen in other parts of the country. Children like Tangjiaerke have to leave the ice hockey team after high school, no matter how much they love this sport. Zhou Xiaofeng feels regretful about this, but she is still filled with passion for her work. She said, “I’m grateful that they love ice hockey, even if it’s just a hobby.”

At present, some other schools are seeking support from Fuyun County Amateur Sports School to set up their own ice hockey teams, reflecting the growing popularity of the sport in Fuyun County. The chances are that there will be a girls’ ice hockey team this year. A dozen girls now receive regular training, including Zhou Xiaofeng’s daughter. In a short time, Fuyun County will be shrouded in ice and snow. And the ice rink will come alive once again, with the coaches’ instructions and the children’s shouts mingling with the sounds of skates sliding across the ice.