The 14th National Winter Games opened in Hulun Buir, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on February 17th. That evening, at the Inner Mongolia Ice Sports Training Center, the Ode to Chinese Sportsmanship was performed by 8 students from Beijing Sport University (BSU) with more than 100 dancers as the grand finale of the opening ceremony.

On February 17th, BSU students performed at the opening ceremony

Why can a recitation performance be the highlight of the ceremony and move the audience deeply?

An arduous but glorious task

It was in early January 2024 when Beijing Sport University was assigned to perform in the opening ceremony of the 14th National Winter Games. The students were occupied with their final exams, but they still squeezed out two hours each day for rehearsal.The opening ceremony was only one month to go and the Spring Festival was also approaching.

Head of the faculty visited the performers

Practice what they’ve learnt

All the performers are from the School of Journalism and Communication majoring in Sports Events. They are professionals with rich experience and know well about sports.They have three Level 3 referee certificates on average and served as commentators for over 500 major sports events, including those from the Beijing Winter Olympics.

Zheng Shanshan, one faculty member who led the team, said that to further understand the inner power and values of sportsmanship, the students were engaged in group studies, watched documentaries and interviewed sports champions during their preparations on campus. These efforts helped the students better understand what they were going to present and be fully prepared for the opening ceremony performance. “Practice what they've learnt and speak what the heart thinks,”commented Zheng Shanshan.

Performers at rehearsal

From exhaustion to perseverance

The performance was reduced to 4 minutes from 5 minutes and 20 seconds due to the adjustment of the opening ceremony. Meanwhile, the performers needed to work with 100 dancers on stage. Challenges ensued.

The first challenge was posture. Apart from daily practice, the students spent one hour practicing the standing posture and one hour for dress rehearsal every day. The daytime temperature averaged minus 20 degrees Celsius and no one had any complaints about the coldness.

Voice cracks also posed a challenge. The students had to rely solely on their voices to ensure that the 100 dancers could hear them clearly in the venue without microphones. That brought them cracking voices. However, as trained professionals, soon they handled it well.

Performers at rehearsal on stage

An unforgettable experience

Hailar, located in the northernmost part known for its cold climate in China, was where the opening ceremony was convened. Five minutes outside could lead to a frozen face. That was what most students first felt when they got here.

The students even spent their Spring Festival holiday on rehearsal. They were in their early 20s and it was their fist time to spend the traditional holiday away from hometown. On New Year's Eve, each student called their parents via videos.They thought they would feel sad for not being at home, but they ended up happily showing the dumplings they made, introducing their friends, and sharing the joy of New Year's Eve with their family members.

For the students, there were many unforgettable experiences, but what stood out was the warmth of the locals and the personal growth they experienced. “Despite the coldness of the city, there are countless kind-hearted taxi drivers who were concerned that we might not be able to find our way and offered their contact information in case we couldn't get a ride,” one of the students recalled. “We went out to buy New Year's goods only to find the shops closed. However, a driver shared his own New Year's goods with us.”

On New Year's Eve, faculty member and students came together to make dumplings for the Spring Festival.

Promote Chinese sportsmanship: strive forward with mission on shoulders  

The performance was a complete success with recognition from all sides. BSU performers completed the task with high quality. Recalling the busy schedule, Zheng said, “What we did is not just a performance for the opening ceremony. It's also about developing talents for the nation. Such an experience can help the students understand who they are, whom they are speaking for and how should they make their voices heard. They can leverage their professional strengths to promote the development of a major sporting nation in real terms. Their performance can help spread Chinese sportsmanship to the rest of the world.”

The performers said, “The words are full with the power of patriotism. This is the essence of the Chinese sportsmanship that moves people and the reason why the performance could become the highlight! The relay baton of national development and rejuvenation has been handed to us! We will shoulder the mission and strive forward with dedication!”

Reports from Chinese mainstream media on the performance