Sports and fitness venues have been opened to the outside world, and a number of government agencies, enterprises, and institutions in Zhejiang have been established

Recently, multiple cities in Lishui, Zhejiang Province have released a list, stating that a group of government agencies, enterprises, and institutions will open and share sports fields, parking lots, conference rooms, and other venue resources for free. Among them, the opening of sports facilities is a key focus. The local hope is to revitalize existing resources and solve the problem of "where to go for mass fitness".

Opening up venues and facilities for government agencies, enterprises, institutions, or schools is not new. As early as 2000, Ningbo had attempted it; Since 2015, Shaoxing, Hangzhou and other places have been exploring the opening of sports facilities in primary and secondary schools to the public. In 2021, Zhuji in Shaoxing, Songyang in Lishui, and Qingyuan began piloting the opening of sports facilities for government agencies, enterprises, and institutions. By last year, related work had gradually spread within Zhejiang Province. However, the opening of venues also faces difficulties such as "crowing but not being seated". How to do a good job in management and service guarantee still needs to be continuously explored.

The badminton hall of Songyang County People's Court is open to the public. Respondents provide pictures

Open the door

"There are too few sports venues in Songyang," Pan Qing, the director of the Sports Center of Songyang County Culture, Radio, Television, Tourism and Sports Bureau, complained while starting the conversation. He counted to the reporter with his fingers - a simple basketball court, an air volleyball court, and a goal court. "The only other venue is the school," Pan Qing said.

Over the years, Songyang has also built a number of new sports venues. Last year, Songyang added 5 public gyms and also built cage style football fields, community multifunctional sports fields, and sports parks in some rural areas and communities. However, this is still far from enough, and we need to use our brains to activate existing assets. Pan Qing thought that many units had some sports venues within them, so he chose several units with open conditions and dense surrounding personnel to test the water. He found that the effect was good, and gradually promoted it in administrative institutions and state-owned enterprises throughout the county.

In Pan Qing's words, the doors of relevant units have been opened wider and more standardized. He told reporters that currently, 32 government agencies, enterprises, and institutions have been officially opened in Songyang County, covering 47 venues such as basketball, volleyball, and football. The public can make reservations for venues by phone or through the "Zheli Office", and after registration, they can enter relevant units to participate in sports. For example, the Songyang Court has opened a badminton court and a basketball court, which are open to the public every weekend; The playground, tennis court, and gym of Songyang County Fire Brigade are open at different times every day. After making an appointment, visitors can also visit and learn about relevant fire safety knowledge. At the same time, the county also guides more than 80 grassroots sports commissioners, social sports instructors, etc. to provide professional guidance and other services.

At present, Songyang County has officially opened 32 government agencies, enterprises, and institutions, covering 47 venues such as basketball, volleyball, and football. Respondents provide pictures

Except for Songyang, the opening of venues in other cities is also in full swing. Qingyuan has formulated the "Management System for Sports Venues of Government Agencies, Enterprises and Institutions", which specifies requirements for opening hours, appointment methods, environmental hygiene, etc. Currently, 30 sports venues and facilities in 21 units in the county are open to the public, with a daily opening time of no less than 2 hours. In Zhuji, 50 units have been piloted and opened up, and intelligent sports equipment has been added to 17 locations with high pedestrian traffic. This can help exercise personnel achieve intelligent private education, real-time monitoring, personalized training, and provide data reference for the development of national fitness plans.

In Zhejiang, such "opening the door" has become a trend. In June this year, the Zhejiang Provincial Sports Bureau held a work symposium specifically for the opening of sports venues and facilities in government agencies, enterprises, and institutions. At the meeting, it was proposed that such open sharing can greatly alleviate the problem of insufficient supply of sports facilities, improve the utilization rate of sports facilities, and enhance communication and vitality through sports events. As of the end of 2022, the number of sports facilities in government agencies, enterprises and institutions in Zhejiang Province has reached 17572, accounting for approximately 8% of the total number of sports facilities. In the first batch of pilot cities such as Songyang, Zhuji, and Qingyuan, it has been basically achieved that all venue facilities should be fully utilized.

Fine management

Behind the opening of government agencies, enterprises, and institutions, there are some difficulties that cannot be ignored. The opening of venues still faces challenges such as being well received but not well received in the actual operation process. For example, the total number of open courts is still relatively small, and the courts are mainly basketball courts, with a slightly singular type; Some venues have a short opening time and sometimes open and close, making the experience difficult to express satisfaction.

In Pan Qing's view, social awareness is currently the biggest challenge. He told reporters that some venues did not achieve the expected results. For example, based on the opening hours, some venues can accommodate an average of about 30 people for exercise and fitness every day, but in reality, only about 10 people are available. Wu Jinliang, Deputy Secretary General of Qingyuan County Sports Federation, stated that the actual utilization rate of the venue is only 40%, which is a certain gap from the original expectations. The reporter interviewed some local residents in Songyang, Qingyuan and other places randomly, and most of them said they were not aware of this.

Outside the open venues in Qingyuan County, eye-catching signs have been set up. Photo by Zhu Lingjun

On the other hand, digitalization is also a focus of attention in various regions. As one of the specific scenarios of digital reform in Zhejiang Province, there is still considerable room for optimization in the digital application of open venues. In places such as Songyang and Qingyuan, telephone is still the main appointment method. During the journalist's interview, I once heard locals complain about the difficulty of making reservations - most venues only accept group reservations, and individual reservations require competing with others; There is no specific appointment time slot, and only the complete open time slot can be reserved each time. Guo Zewei from the Sports Department of the Education and Sports Bureau of Zhuji City believes that currently, many data and information have not been fully integrated, and the system is still being iterated and upgraded. Next, Zhuji will continue to make efforts in digitalization, "making the system more refined" and improving user experience.

In the long run, the opening of venues needs to be broader and deeper, and it is also necessary to adapt to local conditions, and make more efforts in introducing multiple resources and innovating opening forms. For example, commercial sports resources in places such as Qingyuan and Songyang are relatively scarce. Wu Jinliang proposed that for some popular sports venues, they may adopt a low-cost opening policy in the future, and then obtain some income through equipment leasing to subsidize the additional expenses caused by venue opening.

In contrast, Zhuji's economy is more developed, and there are also many sports and cultural enterprises in the local area. Zhuji's idea is to leverage the advantages of social institutions in terms of funding, venue, technology, and operation to combine comprehensive and limited openness. Guo Zewei explained that for example, guiding sports professional training institutions to open up idle resources during their free time to society in the form of public welfare or semi public welfare, timely implanting relevant activities, supporting naming competitions, and achieving a win-win effect of increasing institutional traffic and benefiting the public. The enthusiasm of local social institutions is very high, and there are already 10 units in the first batch of trial implementation of limited openness.