On the evening of April 12, the 16th Athletic Games of Hubei Province was opened at the Yichang Olympic Sports Center. With more than 1,700 athletes, coaches, and attendants, the delegation participated in 57 competitions in the early stage, and won a total team score of more than 2,600 points and 66 gold medals.
On the afternoon of April 12, Yan Hong, Deputy Mayor of Jingzhou, paid visits to basketball players (men’s U17), gymnasts, and track and field athletes on half of Jingzhou in the 16th Athletic Games of Hubei Province (Youth Sports Division for Sports Schools), debriefing them about preparations. She urged everyone to pay attention to safety in competitions as well as in daily life and traveling, and encouraged them to show their best and good sportsmanship as athletes from Jingzhou.
Wu Xiaofeng, a member of the Leading Party Members’ Group and Deputy Director of the Jingzhou Culture and Tourism (Sports) Bureau, said that from the opening to the closing ceremonies, more than 200 athletes from the delegation of Jingzhou would participate in nine categories including swimming, aerobics, and farming, with competitiveness for gold metals in the basketball tournament as well as track and field events, swimming contests, among other categories. Team members were also well prepared for competitions for ethnic minorities and farming. During the games, athletes from Jingzhou will achieve both superb performance and sportsmanship by showcasing an uplifting, fighting spirit.
The 16th Athletic Games of Hubei Province has three categories: youth sports, mass sports, and social clubs, with 111 sports and 2,108 events. There are expected to be 2,267 gold medals, and more than 30,000 participants. 17 emerging sports such as skiing, skating, ice hockey, equestrianism, sailing, paddleboarding, fencing, archery, skateboarding, rock climbing, baseball and softball, and marine modeling will be included for the first time.
“In 2021, we formed a team to participate in the U13 Football Tournament in Huanggang for the first time and won a second place,” said Ren Hongbo, the coach of the team on behalf of Jingzhou in the Men’s U15 Football Tournament of the 16th Athletic Games of Hubei Province (Youth Sports Division for Sports Schools). Through a few games, the team has gradually improved, and will strive to secure a place in top 4 after the next four games.
Yang Aochen, a member of the team on behalf of Jingzhou in the Men’s U15 Football Tournament of the 16th Athletic Games of Hubei Province (Youth Sports Division for Sports Schools), said, “Our team kept on improving through the first few games. In the future, we will strengthen coordination between strikers, midfielders, and defenders, and work together to make more scores on the field!”