Curling boosts confidence of disabled students

YINCHUAN－After 9 pm, Xu Xiaoyi, a 23-year-old student with a hearing impairment, was ready to start her floor curling training－a daily routine she rarely misses.

With her eyes locked on the end of the curling sheet, Xu got down on one knee and looked for the best angle to slide the stone at the Special Education Center in Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui autonomous region.

Training alongside Xu were other students with hearing or intellectual disabilities, who are from the same floor curling team that was assembled in 2017 by the center. The team was selected from special education schools and rehabilitation institutions across Ningxia.

Floor curling, which is relatively new to China, is a modified version of the Olympic Sport and requires no ice rink. With very few restrictions in terms of disability categories, floor curling has become a good opportunity for the disabled to try winter sports.

Han Ziyi, head coach of the curling team, said compared with conventional winter sports that center on speed and agility, 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 get to the center of the house, the higher the points.

In the beginning, it was not easy for the disabled students to learn floor curling as they knew nothing about the rules and they spent three months learning all the basic sliding techniques, Han said.

Xu, who was also born with an intellectual disability, started training after being chosen by the center. She is the lead curler in her team, meaning her performance is crucial, because it sets the strategy for her teammates to follow.

Long hours of practice are required, and sore wrists and injured knees are commonplace.

After months of intensive practice, Xu has become the best curler on her team, capable of sliding the stone wherever she wants. "I really enjoy the feeling of sliding the stone. I gain a great sense of achievement when I manage to hit the target," she said.

Many of the players take a childlike joy from the sport and find it difficult to hide their emotions.

Han said that when her curlers miss a shot, the team leader's face often shows disappointment. After every game, Han said she reminds the students to pay attention to controlling their facial expressions to avoid affecting team morale.

In recent years, Han's team has won multiple gold medals in national floor curling competitions for disabled competitors. At the moment, they are preparing for a national competition in April.

Xu smiled as she reflected on her first competition in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, and receiving a gold medal on the podium. "It was fantastic," Xu said.

Playing sports has opened a window of opportunity for disabled students, and practicing for and participating in competitions has helped build their self-confidence.

However, Han says it was not always positive. During one lackluster training session she tried to motivate her charges by saying: "What job can you get if you don't practice hard enough?"

To Han's surprise one student replied, "None of us has the courage to go outside due to the fear that people will look down upon us." Han said she was shocked and saddened at what she heard, which is why she feels gratified that so many of her players are now confident and smiling on court.

Xinhua