Recently, the 6th peasant basketball tournament in Xiji County was held in Xiji county gymnasium, Guyuan city, Ningxia. Through the selection of villages, townships and towns, more than 200 peasant athletes from 19 villages and towns in the county have stepped onto the stadium. The venues that can accommodate more than 5,000 spectators are full, and multiple rows of plastic benches have been added, some spectators who came late stood and watched the match.
“We just love basketball too much. When I was a child, which town had a game, I ran to see it. Now I drive to watch the game. I live in a hotel in the county, and the conditions are much better than in the past.” Ma Shouyi, a 62-year-old farmer in Xitan township, Xiji County, said.
As many fans from Xiji rural areas and other cities and counties in Ningxia came to watch the competition, many restaurants and hotels in the county were full, which strongly stimulated consumption.
People in xihaigushan district have a long-standing love for basketball. A township Basketball Invitational Tournament often attracts tens of thousands of villagers to watch. Several rows of spectators sit on the ground while the peripheral spectators stand on the bench and ladder, even climb to the roof and branches. In xijiren’s own words, Xiji County basketball is “there are games in the month, teams in the village, and everyone is a fan”.
Ma Shouyi experienced the change process of running to watch the game, riding to watch the game, driving to watch the game. He told the reporter that most people in the village now drive to watch basketball matches, and the dusty basketball courts in each village, the white lines spread by hoop and rim and lime made by wood boards have been replaced by standardized basketball courts. The newly-built Xiji stadium in the past two years is equipped with professional facilities such as electronic scoreboard and wooden flooring, allowing farmers and fans to have a better experience.
With the improvement of educational conditions in Xihai Gushan village and the increasing attention of the common people to education, there are more and more local college students, who gradually become the emerging force in the farmers’ basketball court. The 20-year-old player Ma Yong stepped onto the stage of peasant basketball competition on behalf of his hometown Xinglong town for the first time. He fell in love with basketball under the influence of his parents. He was admitted to college with his basketball skills and now studied sports related majors. “In order to prepare for this competition, I strengthened my training when I was in school. I am honored to play for my hometown, because it is really not easy to get on this stage.”
In order to enhance the appreciation of the event and help farmers players broaden their horizons and improve their level, the household registration restrictions have been released in this competition, and each team can invite two “foreign aid”. Da Yifan, a student from the northern Nationalities University in Ningxia, was invited to represent Jiqiang town this time. His height of more than two meters attracted many spectators to take photos with him, but he felt that there were many players on the court who were better than him. “I have never played basketball games with so many audiences and so many players. The basketball atmosphere in the countryside here is so good.”
Some spectators who were busy with spring ploughing or failed to enter the stadium also watched the game online through the live broadcast pictures and passionate commentary of several peasant basketball anchors. The live broadcast account of “anchor” Hai Zhengxiang has more than 200,000 fans. It has changed from a farmer to a full-time anchor and sold basketball with goods. He said that in addition to local fans, there are also fans from Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai and other places watching the live broadcast. According to statistics, on the opening day of the event, several anchors attracted more than 470000 spectators.
This peasant basketball game is also equipped with professional narrator guests and executive teams. Bai Ziyan, deputy secretary general of Ningxia Basketball Federation, once explained CBA (China men’s basketball professional league) and other events, and served as an narrator in this peasant basketball game. There is also a professional referee team who came with him to help the competition, which is also to help Xiji local referees improve their level.
Chen Zhiwei, vice president and PE teacher of No. 2 Middle School in Xiji county, served as the referee of this competition. He has held basketball matches for students and farmers for more than ten years. He is a referee growing up in Xiji and has also taken the national first-class referee certificate. “I have learned a lot with the professional executive team this time. Now the level of peasant basketball players is getting higher and higher, which also forces our referees to make continuous progress.” He said.
(Xinhua News Agency reporters Ma Sijia and Tang chengzhuo)