Chinese+Sports+and+Recreation

 __**Chinese Sports**__ In the United States children usually play sports for fun. They don’t do that in China where children with Olympic potential are sent to training camps or boarding schools. Training camps are places where children as young as age four train for the Olympics. The importance of training camps in China can be understood when one sees how possible children to compete are chosen, what they have to do, and the results of their hard work. One father of a training gymnast said, “If my children don’t get picked to carry on in gymnastics,” Li says, “I’ll move them to diving.”(Boarding Schools) This quote shows how badly theses people want their children to do well in a sport. He is planning for the worst; if his kids don’t do well in one sport he will just move them to another. “I’ve trained until I cried many times,” one small boy says as he takes time out from gym practice. “Sometimes we have to stand on our hands for half an hour.”(Boarding Schools) In this quote the little boy is saying that his training is very difficult but he isn’t saying I want to give up. He knows how important this is to his family and his country. This kind of dedication might not be found in all the Olympic athletes in the United States. “When I see Chinese athletes winning gold medals overseas, I’m so moved I can hardly describe it,” Li says. “I’d like my daughters to win a gold medal to win glory for the country.”(Boarding Schools) In China winning the Olympics is all for pride. It is a huge accomplishment to win a medal in the Olympics eyes, the parent’s eyes, and the eyes of the grandparents and possibly great-grandparents. The Chinese training camps are like the saying “all great things have to be worked for”. All these young athletes are willing to work for this. They are not just doing it for themselves, but for their loved ones and their country.

Bibliography __Boarding Schools Generate China's Sport Stars __. 2009. Louisa Lim. 22 Feb. 2009 . __China on way to sport system transformation __. China View. 22 Feb. 2009 .  __Countries/Gymnasts Qualified for 2008 Olympics __. 17 May 2008. 22 Feb. 2009 . 