The picture shows Hu Haitao showing the award certificate of the 11th National Paralympic Games and the 8th Special Olympics. Courtesy of respondents
Chengdu, March 10 (China News Network) Title: Wind-chasing teenagers in the silent world play their own music on the ice and snow
Author: Han Jinyu
On March 10, on the primary pistes of the Jianfeng Dry Snow Ski Resort in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, 15 children dressed in equipment slid down from the top in turn, slowing down, squating, and braking in parallel... All actions flow smoothly. "Turn a little more dexterously and pay attention to the center of gravity." Cao Jian, a ski instructor on the side, wrote this sentence on the white writing board with a pen while drawing with gestures.
If it weren't for such details, you probably wouldn't have noticed the difference between this group of kids. This is a ski team composed of students from The Special Education School in Xindu District, Chengdu, and the first ski team for the hearing impaired in Sichuan Province, including 9 hearing impaired students and 6 Peizhi students.
Cao Jian used a white writing board to explain the technical essentials to the team members. Photo by Wang Lei
Training in the silent world
It takes more sweat
A few years ago, in the context of China's upcoming Winter Olympics and Paralympic Winter Games, the Chengdu Xindu District Disabled Persons' Federation came up with the idea of forming a paralympic ski team. In November 2018, the first hearing-impaired ski team in Sichuan Province was officially established.
Before serving as the head coach of this ski team, Cao Jian had been teaching skiing for nearly 20 years, but when facing this group of children, Cao Jian felt the difficulty of teaching for the first time.
"The main thing is the difficulty of communication, and they can only understand it by constantly demonstrating." Cao Jian said that in his usual training, he would carry a white writing board with him to convey the technical essentials to the children. "I wrote two wordpads before, and this is the third one." Cao Jian sighed.
Cao Jian explained the technical essentials to the team members. Photo by Wang Lei
In general ski training, the instructor will correct the student's wrong movements during the skiing process, but for this group of children, it takes more time to learn than others. "Because after he went out with this action, if he did it wrong, you called him in the back, and he couldn't hear it, so he could only slide down and explain it." Cao Jian said.
He also thought about using sign language to express it, but the numerous skiing terminology still made Cao Jian difficult. "Because some sign language cannot be expressed, the instructor can only rely on the instructor to constantly demonstrate the action, slide down the slide and climb up the hill again and again, and the children must pay more time and effort than normal children to complete the action standard."
In order to allow the children to have sufficient training, Cao Jian combined daily training with intensive training in accordance with the standards of professional sports teams. Children switch between classes and training, and every Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons are the daily training time after class, and intensive training is generally arranged on holidays or winter and summer vacations.
Skiers in training. Photo by Wang Lei
In order to form a tacit understanding with the children, Cao Jian will repeatedly use the same body language to express his meaning until the students understand. "I downloaded two sign language apps and usually practice some sign language." Cao Jian said that over time, he and the children have also formed a unique tacit understanding, an irregular gesture or a lip shape, they know what they mean.
Looking at the children who flew down from the top of the snow field, Cao Jian silently wrote four words on the whiteboard - "your wish". The seemingly ordinary dry snow ski resort at his feet has attracted Gu Ailing, Su Yiming and others to train here, and now, this field has "bred" new dreams.
Hu Haitao in training. Photo by Wang Lei
The dream of a silent world
It's like the wind when it slides
"It feels like the wind when you rush down."
Perhaps it was the pleasure of speed that made Hu Haitao feel the "sound" of the wind blowing in his ears, and as long as he mentioned skiing, his face would be irrepressibly excited.
Hu Haitao, 15, was diagnosed with hearing impairment at the age of 1 and has lived in a silent world ever since.
In October 2018, the Xindu District Special Education School selected 10 hearing impaired students to participate in ski training based on students' physical coordination and communication comprehension ability, and Hu Haitao was among them. Who knows that when he first came into contact with skiing, he showed amazing talent.
"This kid is very disciplined, has a strong sense of perception, and then has a good explosive power." Cao Jian said that at the beginning of learning, the children were more afraid of the acceleration of rapid sliding, and would unconsciously slow down the speed of skiing, but Hu Haitao was not afraid, he had a sense of speed, and would not be afraid of the acceleration of sliding down the slope.
Hu Haitao is training. Photo by Wang Lei
After less than 3 months of training, Hu Haitao won the bronze medal in the men's hearing group 100m final at the 10th National Paralympic Games and the 7th Special Olympics Mini Ski Competition, filling the gap that no disabled athletes in Chengdu participated in the winter event and zero medals, achieving a historic breakthrough.
Speaking about the race, Hu Haitao said he had a chance to finish first in the 500m event, but because he was not familiar with the rules of the race, he stopped before he reached the finish line. When he found that the coach and teammates were still waving and cheering, he reacted, so he cheered up again to the end, and finally won the fourth place.
After two years of hard training, Hu Haitao participated in the 11th National Paralympic Games held in Xi'an last year, winning two silver medals in the mini ski event.
"I like Gu Ailing, she's awesome!" Looking at the big jump platform not far away, Hu Haitao's eyes shone with light.
Yang Changrong in training. Photo by Wang Lei
Children of the silent world
Skiing makes them braver
In the ski team, there is the youngest girl, 11-year-old Yang Changrong. Her chubby face is always smiling, and in Cao Jian's words, she is the "pistachio" in the team.
"The first time I learned to ski, I wasn't afraid and I felt very happy." On the ski slope, the small Yang Changrong is like a smart bird, shuttling through the snow field, even if she falls, she will immediately get up.
"She's very comprehensible." This is Cao Jian's evaluation. "Just two months after training her, she competed in the Chengdu Junior Ski Championships and finished second in the 10-year-old category." Cao Jian said.
In Cao Jian's view, the sport of skiing itself is a brave sport, and in the process of learning, children are not only to get results and medals, but more importantly, to gain bravery and build confidence.
Bravery, self-confidence, persistence, some changes are gradually showing in children.
After winning the first award, Hu Haitao brought a large bag of snacks to the school and generously shared it with teachers and classmates. He began to actively search online, learn about skiing, and later try snowboarding.
In a class, Yang Changrong bravely stepped onto the podium to share his dreams. "I love skiing and want to race like an Olympic champion."
For the future, Cao Jian said that he hopes that the ski team members can participate in more competitions and become more optimistic, confident and cheerful.
Although they could not hear the friction between the snowboard and the snow, nor could they hear the cheers of the spectators outside the track, they tried to play their own music in this world of ice and snow.