On September 4, the Ice Hockey Competition of the 17th Games of Zhejiang Province officially kicked off in Hangzhou Century Star Ice Arena. This is the first time that the Games of Zhejiang Province has included winter sports.

In recent years, the Sport Bureau of Zhejiang Province has innovated the model that “the provincial team was held by the city”, successively set up the team of winter sports including short track speed skating and ski jumping, and provided the excellent blueprints for the cultivation of Zhejiang ice & snow sports talents. Four athletes from Zhejiang attended Beijing Olympic Winter Games to achieve the historical breakthrough in Zhejiang’s participation in the Olympics.

This event set up ice hockey, figure skating, short track speed skating and other winter sports, to further boost the development of ice & snow sports in Zhejiang. It also invited three international judges and two national judges who were the judges of the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022.

Zheng Dandan, the deputy director of the Sports Department of the Sport Bureau of Zhejiang Province, stated: “Although this competition has a small range, it is hoped that more young people can participate in winter sports through continuous development to lay a foundation for the integration of sports and education in winter sports events.”

Next, Zhejiang Province will carry out the in-depth implementation of the cross-border & cross-event talent selection and the cultivation of reserve talents for ice and snow events, promote the preparation and participation of “Summer & Winter Olympic Games”, and strive to create the gold business card of Zhejiang “Dream Team” that is able to win more gold and silver medals. Looking forward to the Olympic Winter Games Milan 2026, Zhejiang Ice & Snow Sports is expected to have a stronger performance.