China Skis: Olympics Brings On Boom In Winter Sports
Jan 28, 2022, 11:40 AM
An athlete trains at The National Cross-Country Skiing Centre on January 28, 2022 in Zhangjiakou, China. (Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images)
(Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images)
BEIJING (AP) — The Beijing Winter Olympics is tapping into and encouraging growing interest among Chinese in skiing, skating, hockey and other previously unfamiliar winter sports.
It’s also creating new business opportunities.
Schools are adding winter sports to their curriculums.
'I even got sent a newspaper from Fiji with me on the front of it!'@daveryding admits it was a 'mainstream' moment for skiing after his emotional win in Kitzbuhel.
Read the exclusive interview with the British skier through the link in the video.@TeamGB | @GBSnowsport pic.twitter.com/4CCnaOV5YP
— Olympics (@Olympics) January 28, 2022
Parents are opening their wallets to support hockey teams and pay for skating lessons.
Shopping malls are adding skating rinks, while farm villages near ski runs are building inns and restaurants to serve well-heeled city folk.
History for Great Britain! 🇬🇧
Dave Ryding is the first British winner in the 55-year history of the Alpine skiing World Cup. @TeamGB pic.twitter.com/rJiNcIVxxq
— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) January 22, 2022
A farmer-turned-skiing coach who works at a resort on Beijing’s outskirts says the sport “boosted my income to another level.”
But despite enthusiasm for winter sports, Beijing’s Olympics will have no foreign tourists or ordinary spectators under a “zero tolerance” strategy for COVID-19.
