NNU’s 61st Track and Field Sports Meet Kicks Off

On October 27th, 2023, Nanjing Normal University’s 61st Track and Field Sports Meet was held in the western district of the Xianlin Campus. NNU’s secretary of the Party Committee Chengbin Wang, President Guihong Hua, deputy secretary of the Party Committee Youlian Sun, Party Standing Committee Member and Chief Accountant Leiming Ren, Party Standing Committee Member and Vice President Lianhong Zhang and Tianjun Cheng, Party Standing Committee Member, Minister of Organization Department, and Minister of the United Front Work Department Zhongjian Chen, and Party Standing Committee Member and Minister of Publicity Department Zhe Song attended the opening ceremony. Heads of departments and schools involved in the sports meet, and NNU teachers and student representatives also attended the opening ceremony. Chengbin Wang announced the opening of the event, Youlian Sun delivered the opening speech, and Lianhong Zhang presided over the opening ceremony.

The opening ceremony of the sports meet started at 8 a.m. The national flag parade and the school flag parade marched past the rostrum in an orderly way, followed by the flower team and the bunting team. Each school’s athlete parade, as a walking symbol of NNU’s vitality, was in high spirits with their own styles. Their bright smiles and vigor, accompanied by a passionate melody, were interwoven into the bright color of late autumn. 

Afterward, all the teachers and students lined up to watch the five-star red flag rise and sang the national anthem of the People’s Republic of China in unison.

      

Youlian Sun pointed out in her opening speech that sports are a symbol of national strength and a yardstick of national health. In recent years, NNU has attached great importance to the all-round development of students, gradually improved its sports infrastructure, and extensively carried out sports competitions for all the teachers and students to create a colorful and distinctive campus sports culture and a comfortable and harmonious campus sports environment for all NNU’ers, thus strengthening both body and mind. She hoped that the athletes could follow the spirit of sportsmanship and do their best with perseverance to show their youth and highlight NNU’s spirit.

    

Athlete representative and freshman Ziyue Wan and referee representative Pengcheng Ling spoke on stage. Ziyue Wan took an oath on behalf of all athletes to respect and abide by the rules in the spirit of fair play and commitment to success. Pengcheng Ling elaborated on his great responsibility as a referee and took an oath on behalf of all the referees to officiate seriously with complete impartiality to provide a competitive atmosphere and quality service for the athletes.

With the enthusiasm of all the teachers and students, Chengbin Wang announced the opening of the 61st Track and Field Sports Meet. All those present sang “My People, My Country”, which involved the patriotic enthusiasm and striving force of all teachers and students, accompanied by a passionate melody. The teachers and students released the balloons in their hands with the loud music igniting the scene’s atmosphere.

The sports meet opened with a wonderful gymnastics team performance, which was vigorous and full of team spirit.

The students from the School of Sports Science and Physical Education made an exciting appearance with their dragon and lion dance. The “Flying Dragon and Cheerful Lion” performance, directed by their teacher Canzhong Ji, was overwhelming and powerful.

Other performances were also exciting: the graceful and vivid folk dance presented by a dance class from the School of Music, a lively and enthusiastic Latin dance prepared by the undergraduate and graduate students, a dynamic street dance performed by the members of the UNO Street Dance Club, the cheering of the cheerleaders, and the exquisite performance of the Ultimate Frisbee club. They are the collision of youth and passion, the integration of vitality and dynamism, reflecting the diversity and inclusiveness of campus culture.

Created by three teachers, Xiaoyan Wang, Li Zhong, and Pengcheng Ling, and performed by public-class sports students, the Ribbon Dragon performance skillfully integrated the inheritance of Chinese dragon and lion dance culture and the concept of national fitness in the new era. It combined national characteristics and modern creativity, creating a new visual impact for everyone.

Sports carry the dream of national prosperity and national rejuvenation. NNU will thoroughly implement General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important remarks on sports and take this sports meet as an opportunity to seize new opportunities, meet new challenges, and integrate sports culture into campus culture while guiding students to carry forward the Olympic spirit of “Higher, Faster, Stronger, and More United”, thus highlighting the youth of NNU students in the new era, supporting the dream of building a leading sports nation, and harnessing the energy of the youth for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.