Sports draw thrill-seekers
Youth embrace extreme events that once had only niche status
No longer the preserve of risk-taking adrenaline junkies, extreme sports are shaking off their niche status to become increasingly popular lifestyle choices within China’s fitness mainstream.
Whether it’s scaling walls, skateboarding on halfpipes or dirt-jumping on bikes, China’s fashion-conscious young urbanites are embracing the thrills and spills of extreme sports, many of which now come with an Olympic seal of approval as well as street kudos.
At Wanlong Ski Resort in Zhangjiakou, Hebei province, hip-hop beats boom through the valley as a group of snowboarding enthusiasts practice their spectacular maneuvers — leaping over stumps, flipping off ledges and traversing through the trees.
As China promotes winter sports among the public in the build-up to the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, snowboarding is witnessing a spike in participation rates as both amateurs and pros flock to the resorts around Beijing and the surrounding Hebei province to take on the slopes.
He Wei, a professional snowboarder and organizer of the group at Wanlong, describes the sport as “white opium” — a description somewhat in keeping with its edgy image.
“It’s so addictive and contagious once you get into it,” said He after competing at the Banana Open, a World Snowboard Federation slopestyle event, at Wanlong earlier this month.
“The sense of freedom you feel as you traverse through the mountains and woods helps alleviate urbanites’ pressure of working and living in concrete jungles.
“The outfits and gear are really cool, which draws people’s attention and attracts newcomers,” added He, dubbed “Tiger” by his friends for the bold moves he pulls off on the board.
The oohs and aahs of spectators transfixed by the high-flying tricks at last week’s FIS Snowboard Halfpipe World Cup at Genting Ski Resort, a Beijing 2022 venue, were testament to the sport’s aesthetic appeal.
“When I first started training in the early 2000s, snowboarding was considered an unorthodox event and almost nobody snowboarded at the resort where I trained,” said Zhang Yiwei, a member of China’s national halfpipe snowboard team.
“The video highlights of foreign boarders performing tricks in their stylish gear to pop music at the X Games really opened the eyes of my generation back then, and now it has become so popular that almost every resort hosts more boarders than skiers every day.”
Olympic approval
Snowboarding’s inexorable rise has also been boosted by the build-up to the 2022 Winter Olympics, but the International Olympic Committee’s decision to increase the number of extreme sports events in the program of the Summer Games has caused an even bigger ripple in China.
The General Administration of Sport of China, the country’s top sports governing body, has been running a talent-selection program with Beijing Sport University to draft and develop talents from around the world in surfing, climbing, skateboarding and BMX freestyle, four sports added by the IOC in August 2016 to the program of 2020 Tokyo Games.
In a bid to fill a talent shortage in these sports, the program has targeted foreign athletes of Chinese ancestry and Chinese citizens living abroad to build teams representing China in Tokyo. The initiative is being facilitated by stipends and policies to encourage changing nationality if necessary.
Plucked from auditions held from August to October, about 1,500 hopefuls have made it to the qualification tests this month, with an expert panel consisting of coaches, fitness trainers and psychologists to further assess the candidates.
Afficionados say the move is evidence of the national sports authority’s changing attitude toward extreme sports.
“It shows the governing body’s appreciation of these niche sports which used to be considered ‘underground’ activities enjoyed by some extreme enthusiasts in a lessthan-organized fashion,” said Wang Wei, president of the Beijing Extreme Sports Association, a non-governmental organization founded in June 2016.
In a country where Olympic success still carries major clout, extreme sports’ recognition by official bodies should result in increased resources and funding for the sector, said Wang.
The quadrennial Chinese National Games has added sport climbing to its 2017 edition program to help the discipline gain more exposure and stimulate grassroots participation.
In front of a cheering crowd at Huayan Climbing Park in the Jiulongpo district of Chongqing, 126 amateurs and pros from 26 provincial teams put on a show of strength, endurance and precision on rock cliffs during a competition at a newly built permanent venue for the sport.
Zhong Qixin, a world champion in speed climbing from Jiangxi province, believes the official backing will make a big difference.
“Building upon the existing passion for the sport, the Olympic recognition will only make it more attractive,” said Zhong, a four-time world champion between 2007 and 2012.
“More and more climbing parks and indoor clubs are now opening downtown in cities around the country. It’s becoming more accessible and more children have picked it up as a way to toughen up,” said Zhong, who can scurry up a 15-meter-high wall in less than six seconds.
The height of fashion
The accessibility of venues and its appeal to fitness fanatics have paved the way for more urban Chinese to dip their toes into extreme sports from the relative safety of their entry levels.
Almost every day at 8pm, an adrenaline-pumping rush hour begins at the O’le Climbing Gym located in southwest Beijing’s Sihui area, near the capital’s Central Business District.
Urbanites ranging from students to office workers scale a 12.5m-high artificial rock wall, wrenching themselves upwards with harnesses as a pop-music soundtrack blares in the background.
Xu Xiaonan, a half-year membership card holder of the club, which opened in 2008, has embraced the energy-sapping exercise as a way to toughen her mind and body after a long day at the office.
“It looks so masculine and difficult but it’s quite accessible from the beginner level where you can start from doing strength exercises on the ground and then graduate to shorter walls,” said Xu, who took up climbing in 2015.
Offering affordable fees of 65 yuan ($10) for a one-day admission and 240 yuan for a one-on-one training session of 1.5 hours, the club has attracted over 500 regular members and demand is soaring.
“I’ve noticed that this place is getting more crowded in peak hours and the club has opened a second gym in northeast downtown Beijing. More and more people seem to be taking up climbing,” said Xu.
According to the mountaineering administrative center of the General Administration of Sport, there are at least 100,000 amateur climbers in the country now and 200 registered athletes.
Although the number pales in comparison to other mainstream sports like running and badminton, the governing body envisages a sharp increase, with more facilities being built in schools, fitness clubs, shopping malls and public parks around the country.
“The popularity will only go up as the public, young and old, look to more individual and fresh choices of fitness activities. Climbing caters to the growing need for accessible and affordable participation,” said Li Guowei, an official from the center in charge of sport climbing.
Risky business
Despite the momentum, a lack of education in safety and insufficient facilities have hamstrung extreme sports in China, with one recent highprofile incident in particular exposing the risks.
Wu Yongning, known for climbing skyscrapers barehanded without safety equipment, died in November after slipping off a 62-story building in Changsha, Hunan province while live-streaming his daredevil stunt.
Wu’s camera, which he placed on another part of the building, captured the moment that he struggled to get back up on the ledge, lost his grip and plummeted 20 meters to his death. His body was later found by a window cleaner.
The video recording the 26-year-old’s fall went viral online, triggering heated debate on the safety of some extreme sports such as roofriding, parkour and wingsuit flying.
In April 2013, Wang Zijian, a parkour runner from Luzhou in Sichuan province, was killed when he apparently misjudged the height of a bridge as he jumped off it.
Parkour practitioners overcome obstacles, usually in urban spaces, by climbing, jumping, flipping and various other risky maneuvers to get from one point to another. The term is also known as “free running”. In China, parkour is called pao ku, which literally translates as “running cool”.
Without designated facilities in urban areas for such activities, more training in risk prevention, first aid and equipment management is needed within China’s young extreme-sports community, say insiders.
“My mom, she hates it that I do (extreme sports). She calls me every day, asking me to be careful or persuading me to do ‘girls’ stuff’ like piano and ballet,” said Chen Yanni, the sole female contender at a recent parkour contest in Beijing.
“But I like it to be different and this sport gives me a chance to be what I want to be. Still, it’s risky and it’s crucial to be prepared with safety precautions every time you run.”
Beijing skateboarder Yu Yang used to practice regularly at the St Joseph’s Church square near the capital’s landmark Wangfujing shopping street. However, he and his friends have been forced to train elsewhere, and finding a new venue is proving problematic.
“We’ve been constantly coming up against square maintenance staff and others, who find our activities annoying and dangerous. We are really in desperate need of safer training facilities,” the 25-year-old said.
In addition to official government efforts, amateur clubs should set up supervisory groups and impose safety standards to run training and competitions in more secure and orderly environments, said Sun Jie, a national parkour champion and founder of the Urban Monkey parkour club in Beijing.
“Only by doing things responsibly and safely can we progress from seemingly ‘disorganized street stunt men’ to extreme sportsmen, and attract funding from sponsors at the same time,” he said.
It shows the governing body’s appreciation of these niche sports which used to be considered ‘underground’ activities enjoyed by some extreme enthusiasts in a less-thanorganized fashion.” Wang Wei, Beijing Extreme Sports Association president