Jing'an creates new highlights in urban sports: Suzhou River presents its first paddleboard racing paddleboarding | Suzhou River Bay | New highlights
"Last year, my dad took me to watch a rowing competition in Suzhou River. I thought it would be great to come here and play paddleboarding one day, but my wish really came true." 8-year-old You You, who was playing paddleboarding, had a dark skin and a bright smile in the sunlight. On June 10th, on the occasion of the 71st anniversary of Comrade Mao Zedong's inscription "Developing Sports and Enhancing People's Physical Fitness", the 2023 "Suhewan" Shanghai Paddle Open was held in the Jing'an section of the Suzhou River, marking the first appearance of the paddle competition in Suhewan.
"Paddle" describes tranquility and elegance, embellishing Su River Bay. The main venue of this competition is located in the Butterfly Bay water area of the Jing'an section of the Suzhou River, with different competition events such as racing, skills, relay, and parade, attracting nearly 300 participants from the Yangtze River Delta region to participate. Among them are not only professional paddle boarders, but also young employees from many enterprises in the Suhewan functional area of Jing'an District. They have moved from the park lake where they usually train and compete to the Suzhou River, experiencing the unique charm of the competition.
The key is to participate, not to lose love
Under the blue sky and white clouds, the originally leisurely paddle sports can also perform passionate racing. The colorful paddles scattered along the race track on the river, outlining the splendid wings of Butterfly Bay.
In the 200 meter race, Jiang Lei, with his strong physique, took the lead in crossing the finish line. Jiang Lei used to be an athlete in the Guizhou Province Canoe Team. After retiring, he accidentally came into contact with paddleboarding and unexpectedly got married. Not only is his current job related to paddleboarding equipment, but he is also a contracted athlete for a certain paddleboarding brand and has won the championship in the national paddleboarding competition. "I usually train at Dianshan Lake and use my spare time to develop a training plan for myself. For the first time, I went to Suzhou River for a competition, and there were urban landscapes around and citizens cheering on the shore. I felt quite excited. Rowing in the city's river had a different experience. The narrower the river, there were some back and forth small waves, which further tested my control ability and made it more enjoyable."
The intense competition is played with the heartbeat, and for most players, they still participate because of their love. Yuyou came into contact with paddleboards while playing kayaking in Changfeng Park. When she saw the coach demonstrate, it was quite simple. She also begged her father to enroll her in a training class. "After getting on the paddle board for the first time, I realized it wasn't easy. I needed to have balance skills. At first, I practiced kneeling while rowing, but later when I practiced standing while rowing, if my balance control wasn't good, I would fall into the water. I've forgotten how many times." Yoyo's current wish is to have her own paddle board. "Dad said I'll buy it after I finish my L3 exam. I'm currently an L2 and I need to continue working hard!"
Event staff member Zhang Jingjing is a coach at the Changfeng Park Shuguo Water Sports Center. She told reporters that the threshold for paddling is low, and people can participate from the ages of four to five to over sixty. "Many athletes are very excited to know that they can paddle in Suzhou River, and registration is also very popular. Rowing here is not only about speed, but also about emotions." Early in the morning, Zhang Jingjing saw from her social circle that a friend from Chongqing posted that she was in Shanghai and also came to participate in this competition. "It's amazing. The farthest athlete this time came from Guangxi. Because of their love, they all came thousands of miles to Suzhou River to compete."
"Golden Waterway", sports sharing
Focusing on the goal of building Shanghai into a world-renowned sports city and an international sports event capital, the newly created Suhe Bay Paddle Open fully utilizes the high-quality water and coastal resources of Suzhou River, presenting a more charming Suhe Bay to the audience and bringing a brand new landscape of sports.
By the end of 2021, the 42 kilometer shoreline of the central urban area of Suzhou River will be connected, making both sides of the Suzhou River a good place for citizens to relax and relax. The Jing'an section of Suzhou River has accumulated industries, gathered talents, and had a pleasant landscape. Since the 14th Five Year Plan period, Jing'an District has been striving to build a world-class waterfront central activity area and a world-class "urban reception hall" that integrates "water, culture, green, and people", steadily promoting the high-quality development of the Suzhou River Bay functional area.
Utilizing urban landscape resources and integrating sports events in core business districts and important landmarks is a consistent feature of Jing'an in creating a regional sports business card. For many years, Jing'an District has participated in hosting Suzhou River sports competitions such as the Canoe Marathon World Cup and the Shanghai Rowing Open. In recent years, with its convenient and easy to learn, fashionable and dynamic, outdoor socializing and other "labels", paddleboarding has rapidly grown into a new "top stream" among young people. This competition is the first time that Chinese paddleboarding events have appeared on the "golden waterway", and the vitality of sports and urban charm have once again intersected and collided with Suzhou River, which witnesses the century old historical changes of Shanghai.
People's cities are healthy for the people, and there is a place for everyone to exercise for fitness. With the opening up of public spaces along the "One River, One River", the Suzhou River has transformed into a practical place for the important concept of "People's City". Not only water sports events, but also important carriers for citizen sports and leisure along the Suzhou River. The high-quality waterfront fitness activity space in Jing'an is constantly expanding - along the 6.3 kilometer long waterfront, four citizen fitness trails along the river are integrated with the waterfront landscape, allowing citizens to take walks and exercise along the river, enjoying the beauty of the Suzhou River; The public space under the Gonghe New Road Bridge, which integrates basketball court, running track, skateboard court, and thunderbolt stage, will soon be opened, allowing the general public to feel firsthand that urban public resources are not only close but also useful.
With the holding of coastal sports events, historical and cultural landmarks such as the former site of the Shanghai General Chamber of Commerce, Sihang Warehouse, Tianhou Temple, Shenyuli, Butterfly Bay Park, and Fuxin Flour Factory have also ushered in a wave of citizen check-in. According to the plan, the competition will collaborate with the commercial district, park, and buildings in the Suhe Bay functional area in the future, focusing on building coastal sports and life festivals. It will open up sports equipment, experiences, training and other exchange activities to citizens, and integrate and interact with leisure, shopping, and consumption themed activities in the coastal area. And with sports as the link and events as the carrier, we will build a sports alliance in the functional area, expand the "Suhewan Moments" based on sports, and promote healthy interaction and sustainable development between events, enterprises, and the functional area.
To ensure the safety and order of the competition, relevant functional departments in Jing'an District closely cooperate and work together. The competition venue is equipped with a command center, medical station, water rescue team, and patrol boats to ensure the safety of the competition. On the waterfront along the track, the organizing committee deployed more than 300 security forces to maintain safety and order along the track, bridge deck, and surrounding areas. More than 200 student volunteers from Xingjian College volunteered for the competition, creating a safe, comfortable, and civilized viewing environment for citizens, showcasing the high-quality natural and cultural style of Jing'an's "Suhewan Waterfront Business Cluster Belt" with clear water, beautiful banks, livable and business friendly.
