Most budding gymnasts fail to make the grade
By Wang Qingchu |
March 2, 2011, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
MOST of the children at a renowned gymnastics school in central China, which trained four world champions, will never make it as professionals and have difficulty in returning to normal schools, according to a report in The Beijing News yesterday.
Parents send their sons and daughters to the school from the ages of four to seven but only 10 percent of them will join provincial professional teams after five years of training, the report said.
Problems arise when they don't make the grade and have to return to normal schools, the newspaper said.
One former pupil, Xu Di, who is now nine, left after his coach decided he didn't have a future in gymnastics.
"He has been away from normal school for three years and is way behind others in courses," Xu's mother said.
"Around 80 percent of the 140 students were sent to study gymnastics because their parents were too busy to look after them," said a teacher surnamed Kong.
Typical of the pupils are six-year-old Yang Ke and his sister Yang Piao, who were sent to the school by their busy parents and return home only once every few months.
Training takes up most of their time. The young gymnasts are put through a rigorous stretching routine and only rest after every three hours. Training takes up most of their day and they don't study any other courses except Chinese and math.
But asked if it's tough, most of the children will say: "No, it's fun."
The gymnastics school, named after world champion Li Xiaoshuang, in Xiantao City, Hubei Province, is one of the most prestigious in the country.
The government of Xiantao, which is known as the "village of gymnastics," has invested more than 300 million yuan (US$46 million) in expanding the school.
Parents send their sons and daughters to the school from the ages of four to seven but only 10 percent of them will join provincial professional teams after five years of training, the report said.
Problems arise when they don't make the grade and have to return to normal schools, the newspaper said.
One former pupil, Xu Di, who is now nine, left after his coach decided he didn't have a future in gymnastics.
"He has been away from normal school for three years and is way behind others in courses," Xu's mother said.
"Around 80 percent of the 140 students were sent to study gymnastics because their parents were too busy to look after them," said a teacher surnamed Kong.
Typical of the pupils are six-year-old Yang Ke and his sister Yang Piao, who were sent to the school by their busy parents and return home only once every few months.
Training takes up most of their time. The young gymnasts are put through a rigorous stretching routine and only rest after every three hours. Training takes up most of their day and they don't study any other courses except Chinese and math.
But asked if it's tough, most of the children will say: "No, it's fun."
The gymnastics school, named after world champion Li Xiaoshuang, in Xiantao City, Hubei Province, is one of the most prestigious in the country.
The government of Xiantao, which is known as the "village of gymnastics," has invested more than 300 million yuan (US$46 million) in expanding the school.
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