Floor curling opens window for disabled
Print Edition
FLOOR curling training is a daily routine after 9pm for Xu Xiaoyi, a 23-year-old student with a hearing impairment.
To prepare for an upcoming national contest in April, Xu, with her eyes locked on the end of the curling sheet, got down on one knee and looked for the best angle to slide the stone at the Special Education Center in Yinchuan, capital city of northwest China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.
Training alongside Xu were several students with hearing or intellectual disabilities. They belong to the same curling team assembled by the Special Education Center in 2017. They were selected from special education schools and rehabilitation institutions across Ningxia. As a simpler version of curling, which takes place on ice, floor curling is still a new sport in China. With very few restrictions in terms of disability categories and environment, floor curling has become a crucial window for disabled people to try winter sports.
Han Ziyi, head coach of the floor curling team, says compared with conventional winter sports that center on speed and difficulty ratings, floor curling focuses more on strategy and precision.
Players take turns sliding stones across the curling sheet toward the house, a circular target marked on the sheet. The closer the stones rest to the center of the house, the higher score that team gets and the team with the highest score wins the game.
Xu, who was born with an intellectual disability, started to receive systemic training after being chosen by the Special Education Center as a professional athlete. As the first curler of the team in every event, her performance is crucial, because it determines how her teammates slide the stones afterwards.
Players have to practice countless times every day, and sore wrists and injured knees are commonplace. After months of intensive practice, Xu has become the best curler of the team.
“I really enjoy the feeling of sliding the stone. I gain a great sense of achievement when I hit the target,” said Xu.
These students look like 20-year-old adults, but intellectually, they are like 10-year-olds. Their facial expressions show their emotions with no filter. Han told reporters that every time curlers miss a shot, the leader’s face would immediately show that he is disappointed. After every game, Han always reminds the students to pay attention to their facial expression management to avoid affecting team morale.
Over recent years, Han’s team has won multiple gold medals in national floor curling competitions for disabled competitors. Xu cannot help but smile as she reflects on her first contest in Hangzhou and receiving a gold medal on the podium. “It was fantastic,” said Xu.
Playing sports has opened a window for these students with disabilities, who rise beyond their physical limitations and explore their potential in every practice and event. In this journey, they have become increasingly confident.
Players were once resistant to the monotonous daily practice. One day Han asked angrily, “What job can you get if you don’t practice hard enough?” One student responded, “None of us have the courage to go outside due to fear that people would look down upon us.”
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