Sporting mindset promotes perfect preparation

Shi Jia made every effort to practice English after he was selected to become a volunteer escort for doping control work at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games.

He said he shoulders great pressure and responsibility in his role because he is responsible for escorting hockey players to have drug tests at the National Stadium in Beijing.

"We escorts first need to find the player when we receive the notification, then stay with him or her until the test has been completed," he said. "I have direct contact and communication with the players, which is highly demanding in terms of professionalism."

In addition to some basic qualities, volunteers should have a patient, friendly attitude, he said, adding that fluent English is essential for the day-to-day work.

He said doping control tests usually take place directly after games, so he and his peers need to practice the procedures while the players are competing on the ice.

Three to five times every day, the volunteers practice the entire sequence of procedures for informing a player that he or she is required to take a test. Meanwhile, the Games' officials will sometimes use simulated emergency situations as training exercises.

While it usually takes no more than 30 minutes for Shi and his peers to inform and escort the player to the testing station, they often spend three or four hours preparing for the task.

When games are held at night, Shi usually works until midnight.

"Thanks to the guidance of the doping control officials and our team leader, we've gained all the professional knowledge and skills needed by drug test escorts and have become familiar with the stadium to ensure 'zero mistakes'.Our work is quite special, so we are required to be on call all the time to be ready for the tests," he said.

Shi recalled that he finished his first mission－escorting a number of female hockey players to have drug tests－the day before the opening ceremony on Feb 4.

"It was very successful because we were well-prepared. The volunteers met after the task and discussed it, which helped improve our future work," he said.

Having just finished military service, Shi is a sports major at Beijing Normal University.

"Sports give me a strong mind, and army life taught me that the collective interest overrides everything else. As a volunteer, my words and behavior represent the image of young Chinese people. We have a responsibility to contribute as the nation's young generation and to embrace missions and challenges with high morale and a strong will," he said.