Dien Chau promotes grassroots sports movement

(Baonghean) - In recent years, participating in provincial sports tournaments, Dien Chau athletes have performed quite well, putting the district in the top of the province in grassroots sports, from which many athletes have been selected to join the provincial teams. This is thanks to the district's focus on promoting grassroots sports and focusing on high-performance sports.

A match at the 2014 Dien Chau District Workers-Farmers-Soldiers Volleyball Tournament.

Every afternoon, at the Dien Chau District Cultural - Sports Center and stadiums, cultural houses in communes and hamlets, sports activities take place vigorously. Groups of young people participate in badminton, table tennis, shuttlecock kicking; the elderly practice health exercises... creating an exciting atmosphere after a stressful and tiring day of work. Mr. Dinh Van Hung - Deputy Director of the District Cultural - Sports Center shared: "In recent years, the physical education and sports movement has received attention and focus from localities in Dien Chau and has grown stronger and stronger. It has become a habit that after work, everyone spends some time exercising and improving their health."

Dien Hoang commune currently has 18/18 hamlets with standard cultural houses, all of which have soccer fields and 2-3 volleyball and badminton courts, helping to maintain and develop the sports movement of the people in the commune. Very regularly, every morning and every afternoon, the cultural grounds of the 18 hamlets are bustling with people of all ages practicing physical exercise and sports. The whole commune has over 1,390 households, of which nearly 695 families practice sports regularly, accounting for more than 50%, of which 440 families have achieved the title of Outstanding Sports Family. Mr. Le Xuan Binh - a member of the volleyball team of hamlet 15 said: "After stressful hours of production work, every afternoon, my whole family is present at the hamlet's stadium to play volleyball and badminton.

Participating in regular sports not only ensures health, but also creates a new atmosphere to help everyone in the family work and study more effectively". Mr. Ho Kim Cuc - Chairman of Dien Hoang Commune People's Committee added: "To promote the sports movement of hamlets and communes, in the meetings directing the movement "All people unite to build a cultural life in residential areas", the criteria for striving to achieve cultural families and sports families are stated. Besides, every year, the commune organizes 5 or more sports competitions between hamlets, so the movement develops vigorously and achieves high efficiency".

According to the Department of Culture and Information of Dien Chau district, the whole district currently has more than 93,000 people participating in sports regularly, accounting for 33.4% of the population. Each person chooses a sport suitable for their age and health to practice. The quality of sports activities in communes and towns has been significantly improved and gradually deepened. The whole district of Dien Chau currently has nearly 22,000 families achieving the title of Sports Family (accounting for over 31%), nearly 100 sports clubs in football, volleyball, badminton, table tennis, tennis, aerobics, etc.

Up to now, 25/39 communes and towns have a synchronous system of cultural and sports facilities, 1 district stadium, 50 commune-level stadiums, 9 high school football fields, more than 660 volleyball courts, nearly 700 badminton courts and 1 gymnasium, more than 300 table tennis tables, 2 tennis courts and a system of cultural houses covering from commune to hamlet, creating favorable conditions for cultural and sports activities in the district. Along with that, each year the district organizes more than 10 district-level sports tournaments, including a number of traditional tournaments, with scale and quality. The tournaments have created an exciting and confident spirit, thereby discovering and providing athletes for the district's teams and talented athletes for the Provincial Sports Training Center.

Along with the development of mass sports, the District Culture and Sports Center invests in and focuses on key sports. In addition to traditional sports considered to be Dien Chau's strengths such as pole pushing, athletics, volleyball, and football, the district has recently developed a number of new sports such as shuttlecock kicking and petanque. The District People's Committee has many policies and guidelines showing its interest and care for the cause of physical education and sports in general and high-performance sports in particular, such as regulations on regimes and policies for athletes, coaches, and referees, clearly defining the reward levels for each type of medal and each tournament; and appropriate investment in training facilities, equipment, and tools.

Thanks to that, every year, Dien Chau province wins 30-40 medals of all kinds in the provincial sports competitions, and all athletes participate in the national tournament. At recent provincial sports festivals, Dien Chau has always been in the top of the province. For example, at the 7th provincial sports festival held in May 2014, Dien Chau delegation ranked 3rd with 13 gold medals, 6 silver medals and 14 bronze medals. Every year, Dien Chau provides 8-9 athletes for the teams of the provincial Sports Training Center. "These high-achieving athletes, after retiring and returning to their localities, will become positive factors promoting the development of the district's sports movement," affirmed Mr. Dinh Van Hung.

Minh Quan