A disability never means 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 with Xu were all students with hearing or intellectual disabilities, who are from the same floor curling team that was assembled by the Special Education Center in 2017. They are 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 the disabled 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.
It was not easy at all in the first place, as these students knew nothing about floor curling, and spent the first three months learning all the basic sliding techniques, said Han.
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.
Adult teenagers
These students look like 20-year-old adults, but intellectually, they are like ten-year-old teenagers. 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 this journey, they have become increasingly confident.
Players were once resistant to the monotonous daily practise. One day Han asked angrily: “What job can you get if you don’t practise hard enough?” One student responded: “None of us have the courage to go outside due to fear that people would look down upon us.”
“I was shocked and then sad when I heard that,” said Han. She feels relieved now that her students smile more often.
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