Hockey Night in China!

Hockey is a growing sport in China. With the upcoming Winter Olympics of 2022, there has been an upsurge in both interest and government funding for this sport. In Beijing alone, there are at least 5 new ice skating venues. Last night, I made the trek to one of the venues from their last Olympic events, to check out the situation.The rink is a work in progress. Multiple rinks are connected by winding ice pathways. Just beyond the rinks, stands a huge work-in-progress ski jump reminiscent of the ski jump from Calgary’s Canada Olympic Park.Racing around the rink, was a young boy. He stood out primarily because he reminded me of so many of the 6 or 7 year old skating at the Powell River Recreation Complex. His skating skills were miles beyond the other skaters, and he stopped with great flourish, sending sprays of ice all over the teenagers meandering around the rink. With a good laugh, off he went.Chatting with his parents, who stood at the perimeter of the arena watching his every move, I learned that he loves his hockey and he plays as often as he can. There are about 100 teams in his Beijing ice hockey age group. It’s a lot of driving to and from the various arenas, so his mother quit her job to support him in his athletic dream of making it to the Olympics. “He is our only child, she said, “So in China, we put everything we have into our child. He is our dream…” With great flourish, I presented her with my card explaining the hockey camps we have in Powell River. I mean, whom else could he learn from but the greats of hockey? The winter Olympics will be held in Beijing in 2022…look for this little guy.