Tianshannet-Xinjiang Daily (Reporter Pairezhati Abudu) news: “Notice movement in your legs, extend your legs, and hold on.” On the cement road in front of a school building, about a dozen students started speed skating training, defying the temperature down to zero degree Celsius in early winter. It was the speed skating team of Ziniquanzi Township Middle School in Fukang City of Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture.

Speed skaters train on the cement road in front of the teaching building of Ziniquanzi Town Middle School in Fukang City of Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Photo provided by Ren Chao)

Ziniquanzi Township Middle School established its speed skating team in the early 1980s and was designated as a national ice sports demonstration school in 1995. Up to now, a total of seven national elite athletes, eight national Level-I athletes, and 130 Level-II and Level-III athletes are from this school.

How has this dream team become what it is today?

The encounter between children with potential and the talent spotter

“When it comes to the speed skating team, a not-to-be missed name is Zhang Yuzhu, a good judge of talent,” said Ji Hongjun, Secretary of the Party Branch of Ziniquanzi Township Middle School on November 14.

“Zhang Yuzhu is the second-generation coach of the school’s speed skating team,” continued Ji Hongjun. In its early days, the speed skating team faced multiple challenges, including lack of equipment, funding, venues, and workforce, as the township-level school could barely provide sufficient resources for speed skating training. Zhang Yuzhu didn’t give up though, he did everything he could to overcome the difficulties: making skateboards, ski harnesses, and other equipment by himself, bringing water with carts to ice the rink, spending his meager income buying skates and uniforms for the team members. Thanks to his hard work and dedication, the speed skating team made rapid progress.

Ren Chao, the current coach of the team, follows the tradition of tenacity and perseverance, engaging more and more children in the sport of speed skating.

“I had never imagined that I would be linked to ice and snow sports,” admitted Hu Zixuan. The 15-year-old girl took up speed skating in fifth grade. She spent two to three months practicing basic movements such as pedalling, staying upright, and squatting on the ice. It was not easy. She fell many times, bruising her legs. Sometimes she couldn’t hold back her tears, but after a while, she would wipe away her tears and continued to practice. With the support from her coach and family, Hu Zixuan kept at it, and her effort has paid off. After some four years of training, she came in eighth place in the 2020 Speed Skating Competition for Ice Sports Demonstration Schools.

“Our goal is to make every student at our school capable of roller skating and ice skating,” said Ji Hongjun.

Speed skating team trains on ice in Ziniquanzi Town Middle School in Fukang City of Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Photo provided by Ren Chao)

A proven track record

In Ziniquanzi Township Middle School, a lush playground bordered by red polymeric running tracks was particularly eye-catching. “The new playground was built in 2021, and it’s now used for roller skating training. Before that, the children had to practice on the cement road on campus,” said Ren Chao delightedly, gazing at the playground.

In July 2017, Ren Chao, a graduate majoring in speed skating, joined Ziniquanzi Township Middle School as a physical education teacher. He selected a number of promising students to receive systematic training. “Speed skating is a school tradition. Students start learning roller skating in the third or fourth grade and ice skating in the fifth grade. In addition to the 15 members of the speed skating team, about 40 students learn roller skating and speed skating on Saturday,” introduced Ren Chao, saying that when they graduate from the school, many of the students are proficient at both roller skating and ice skating.

Every winter, a 270-meter-long ice track is the most popular place on campus. It is built by Ren Chao and his team little by little using pipes and buckets. Ren Chao said, “In the past, we had no specialized ice resurfacing equipment. As the earthwork playground was uneven, we needed to pour water at a constant speed and couldn’t move too fast. Sometimes we had to use barriers around the playground to prevent water runoff.”

Over the past six years, Ren Chao has devoted himself to coaching the speed skating team, and the team members have all trained hard. Their concerted effort has paid off with a proven track record. In January 2019, the team took home two golds, three silvers, and one bronze at the Shuixigou Speed Skating Competition of the Xinjiang Section of the National Youth Sports Winter Camp. In January 2020, it grabbed six golds, four silvers, and eight bronzes at the Xinjiang Annual Speed Skating Competition. At the Changji Prefecture Speed Skating Competition for Schools with Ice Sport Program (Schools with Winter Sport Program) in 2021, the team clinched the top spot in the middle school category. Apart from an “Outstanding Coach” award, other honors the team took home included eight firsts and five second places, with scores in two aspects reaching the standard for Level-I athletes. Ren Chao himself has been honored an “Outstanding Coach” multiple times.

 Ren Chao, the coach of the speed skating team at Ziniquanzi Town Middle School in Fukang City of Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, corrects students' speed skating movements. (Photo provided by Ren Chao)

Aspiring to shine on a bigger stage

Speed skating demands high levels of speed, flexibility, techniques, and physical agility, and it involves diverse movements and strategies such as starts, leg extension, gliding, and sprinting.

The 15-year-old Ma Haijuan is enrolled in Class Two in the ninth grade. She is also a “superstar” on the speed skating team. Although she started training only two years ago, she stands out on the field thanks to her diligent practice and remarkable explosiveness. She completed the 400-meter speed skating event in 40 seconds in the competition for Ice Sports Demonstration Schools. In 2022, Ma Haijuan was selected into the Xinjiang Speed Skating Team.

“Once the ice rink is ready, we will start training hard in preparation for the competition for Ice Sports Demonstration Schools at the end of the year,” said Ren Chao.

Winter sports have a history of 30 years at Ziniquanzi Township Middle School. Looking to the future, Ji Hongjun said that as a national ice sports demonstration school, it will increase investment in venue construction, skills training, and other essential areas. The primary goal is to discover and nurture more talented children in winter sports. Ji Hongjun expressed his hope that the students would excel in both national and international competitions and take their skating abilities to new heights.