With the end of another college entrance examination cycle, the overlapping turmoil between the entertainment industry and the sports world has made waves again, and many celebrities have been involved in the controversy over the authenticity of national athlete certificates, which has aroused deep concern in the society about the qualification review and selection mechanism for sports students to enter higher education institutions.
Recently, Peking University released a list of qualified candidates for the special test for high-level athletes, and one of the students from Beijing No. 4 Middle School is particularly eye-catching because of his status as a well-known member of the entertainment industry in the maternal line. The focus of public opinion quickly focused on the student's record of zero points in several games, which could not help but raise questions about his qualification as a national first-class athlete and whether there was hidden water behind this honor.
According to the "Basketball Player Skill Rating Standards", even if an athlete has not actually played in the team, as long as the school team can stand out in a national competition, the athlete is theoretically eligible for the title of Class 1 athlete, suggesting that this system may leave a gray area for the improper acquisition of certificates.
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Lu Yang (pseudonym), a sophomore sports student studying at a "double first-class" university, won the national first-class basketball athlete certificate as early as his sophomore year of high school, and passed a separate sports entrance examination in his third year of high school, and successfully entered his current university for further study.
He shared that achieving the title of "National Athlete at 1" is not an easy task, as athletes are usually required to participate in specific official annual events, and the award of certificates is strictly based on the ranking of the competition: the winning team in the provincial competition will win two nominations for the National Category 1 athlete, compared to the runners-up and subsequent team members who will only be certified as a National Category 2 athlete.
It is important to note that participating in higher-level events will significantly increase the odds of obtaining a Level 1 certificate. For example, the team that wins the first place in the Northern Division and even the national finals will have a higher gold content of the award, and correspondingly, the number of places for the first-level certificate will be more abundant.
"My high school basketball team has about 20 members, but I can only report 15 people per game, and only 12 people actually play." Lu Yang comes from a strong basketball school in a northern province, and the school's men's basketball team has won the provincial championship for more than 20 consecutive years.
Because of this strong base, the province's annual quota for national first-class athletes is almost monopolized by their schools. "Our school has never been lacking in this area." Lu Yang said, his words revealed his pride and confidence in the strength of his alma mater.
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However, there are only two or three events at the provincial level that can award a Level 1 athlete certificate per year, and only the winning team can qualify, which means that a team can obtain a maximum of four to six Level 1 athlete certificates a year from provincial competitions alone.
With a team of nearly 20 people, who will have the distribution power when they win the championship and face only two first-class certificates? The answer is the coach of the team.
"I got my certificate in my sophomore year of high school, and if six or seven students in the same grade already have a first-class athlete card, these opportunities will be extended to my teammates in the first year of high school. In this way, we compete year by year, taking turns to obtain certificates according to the principle of senior priority, ensuring that almost all team members can eventually obtain the first-level certificate. But in the rest of the province, few schools have so many first-class certificates other than our own. ”
Therefore, in Lu Yang's provincial basketball team, even if a player always plays as a substitute, it is still possible to obtain a national first-class athlete certificate through this "waiting" mechanism.
"His technique is so poor, and he suddenly gets such an opportunity, which is obviously not conventional." Lu Yang admits that there is indeed some form of "exchange of interests" within this system. Some families with special backgrounds will try to send their children to local sports schools, make sure they join the school team by muffling coaching relationships, and eventually ensure that their children can earn a Class 1 athlete certificate, which is a stepping stone to a prestigious university.
Lu Yang recalled that when he was in high school, one or two such "related households" would be arranged in each class, but the number was limited, because "the number of certificates that the school can use to take care of relationships is only one or two, which are allocated by the coach at his discretion."
The other members of the team are well aware of the existence of such "related households". "His level is so poor, but he suddenly entered the team, which is obviously unreasonable. Usually let him help with some chores, and the game is almost not played, so what is he doing on the field? To lose the game? Nonetheless, if their purpose is purely to obtain a certificate, they must follow the team to official tournaments where the certificate is awarded, and they need to have a certain record of appearance, "usually with a symbolic number of minutes".
Lu Yang added that the situation is different in schools in Beijing in this regard. "There are more competitions in Beijing where schools can award certificates than we do, so naturally more students can get certificates. Beijing's strong basketball school is probably more worrying than our school about not having a first-class certificate. ”
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In the discussion sparked by the newly released list of high-level athletes passing the special test of Peking University, some netizens questioned the low score of individual team members on the list in historical competitions, and even 0 points, and then questioned the authenticity of the first-class athlete qualifications held by these athletes.
In this regard, Jin Dong (pseudonym), an experienced basketball coach in the field of sports single-move training in Henan, put forward insights from his industry perspective for many years. He believes that game scores alone are not enough to fully assess a basketball player's true level and contribution. "It's similar to a football game, where you win 8-0, should the goalkeeper who didn't score be denied?" Jin Dong emphasized that even if some statistical indicators seem insignificant, such as short playing time and no rebounds and assists, it does not mean that the players are not capable enough. Even if it's a focus on running and creating space for teammates, such a role is an integral part of the team's success and its value cannot be overlooked. He further explained that basketball is a team sport, and teamwork is the key to victory or defeat, and the role of excellent players in a strong team is sometimes not easy to directly reflect from data.
On the other hand, with the continuous improvement of the recruitment system for students with sports specialties, the space for irregularities that existed in the past is gradually shrinking, and many colleges and universities have announced the cancellation or adjustment of the enrollment of high-level sports teams, reflecting the stricter and more standardized enrollment policies.
In the current system of students with sports specialties, sports single recruitment is one of the most common ways, suitable for students who have outstanding expertise in sports but may have relatively low grades in cultural courses. In addition, students with sports specialties can also choose to participate in the selection of high-level sports teams, which requires more stringent sports skills for students. At the same time, there is also a sports unified recruitment path to enter the university through the general college entrance examination, and the majors under this path mostly focus on physical education, social sports guidance and management, etc., to serve the social sports cause. Each path has its own focus, providing a variety of channels for students with different sports specialties to go on to higher education.
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From 2024 onwards, students applying for high-level sports teams must meet the national first-class athlete and above technical level standards, which is a special recruitment channel for professional athletes who have performed well in top events such as the Olympic Games and the World University Games and have excellent cultural performance. Lu Yang pointed out that the reason why this channel is "more difficult" is that it puts forward higher requirements for candidates' cultural literacy, physical fitness, personal skills, practical experience and talent.
Starting in 2024, the admissions policy for high-level sports teams sets stricter standards in terms of cultural class results and professional tests, and tends to be uniform. Candidates' cultural course scores need to be based on the results of the college entrance examination, and at least need to reach the undergraduate score line of the province, even if it is an exceptional admission, the score is required to reach more than 65% of the undergraduate line, which has completely changed the situation that sports students only need a lower score to be admitted in the past. In terms of professional tests, all of them are included in the national unified examination organized by the General Administration of Sports of the People's Republic of China, which replaces the school examinations organized by colleges and universities themselves, greatly enhances the standardization and fairness of the examinations, and effectively reduces the non-standard operation space in the enrollment process.
Since its inception in 1987, the "high-level sports team" mechanism has become an important platform for cultivating reserve talents in competitive sports, and has sent many world-class and Olympic champions to the country. However, the mechanism also faces problems such as uneven quality of students, prominent contradictions between learning and training, falsification of technical grade certificates, and low grades in cultural courses. In view of this, many universities, including Harbin Institute of Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, and Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, have suspended the enrollment of high-level sports teams from 2024.
Nowadays, it is extremely difficult to find room for fraud in the admissions process. Taking Peking University as an example, candidates must not only have a national first-class athlete or above technical level, but also must pass a national unified sports special test. After the results of the college entrance examination are announced, Peking University will determine the shortlist based on the results of the physical education major test among the students who meet the test results in cultural courses. Jin Dong believes that every link is a challenge, and the first thing sports students face is to meet the requirements of the undergraduate level of cultural courses, which is a huge obstacle for them to focus on training. Secondly, the professional test of the unified examination is strict and transparent, and it is almost impossible to falsify, although there may be a small room for manipulation in the referee score, but with the implementation of the temporary selection system of referees, this possibility is also greatly reduced. Therefore, trying to get into a high-level sports team by shady means is an almost impossible task.
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Another report on the Beijing Youth Basketball Championship highlighted the high-profile player who helped the team seal the win in overtime in key games for Beijing No. 4 High School, and despite not scoring much, he grabbed 19 rebounds and completed 12 steals in a performance that highlighted his outstanding contribution on the defensive end, as it is often said, "his value is far beyond what the scoring stats can show."
Lu Yang admitted that although he had heard of several well-known players in the high school basketball world, he was not familiar with the player involved. However, from the perspective of formal procedures, since he can be included in the qualified list of Peking University's high-level sports teams, he should have gone through the established selection process.
"But we always have a faint feeling in our hearts that things don't seem to be so simple, but what makes people feel wrong, but it's hard to say for a while." Lu Yang's remarks reflect that while the outside world recognizes the formal selection process, there is still a trace of doubt about the problems that may be hidden behind some unusual phenomena.