Investment injection warms icy ambitions

China’s winter sports push received a massive boost on Friday with the launch of a new investment fund.

With the cost of equipment and venues posing a significant financial challenge, money is needed to make winter sports more accessible at the grassroots level as the country rolls out an ambitious plan to have 300 million people participating in ice and snow activities come the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

That’s where the Ice and Snow Sports Development Fund, which was launched by the National Winter Sports Administrative Center on Friday, comes in.

“The fundraising program will provide a major boost for ice and snow sports to become affordable at multiple levels,” Ding Dong, deputy director of the center, said at a news conference in Beijing on Friday.

“As the first of its kind in our country, we will make sure that it is managed with ultimate transparency, so that the use of each coin can be traced and monitored.”

The fund will be managed by a special team from the China Sports Foundation as an addition to its charitable fundraising umbrella.

Chinese sportswear brand Anta made an initial, undisclosed donation to the fund on Friday.

For the forthcoming 2018-19 winter sports season, the program will bankroll a training program for 230 youth ski instructors and a junior ski camp for 200 kids at five mountain resorts in southwestern China.

The fund will also subsidize the training of Chinese snowboarder Bi Ye, who comes from a disadvantaged background, to support his preparations for the 2022 Winter Games.

The program has pledged to continue to identify promising yet poverty-affected athletes like Bi and support their development, said fund supervisor Wang Hongmin.

“Besides funding facilities and events for the public, especially children to participate in winter sports, we are also committed to helping those with potential realize their athletic dreams,” he said.