Fujian 2023 Harmonious Countryside Basketball Tournament (informally known as the "Village BA") ended on the 12th in Jinjiang. There were four venues distributed in the townships around Jinjiang-Dongpu Village in Yinglin Town, Xikeng Village in Yonghe Town, Pan Jing Village in Dongshi Town, and Xiaoxia Village in Dongshi Town. Since the opening on July 6th, the tournament drew tens of thousands of spectators. The down-to-earth "Village BA" has now become an "A-lister" and a grand event gathering all neighboring villagers to enjoy the fun.
Why does the "Village BA" choose Jinjiang? What does the "Village BA" bring to the countryside? Let’s take a look and find answers.
Basketball Stronghold
The opening match was held in Dongpu Village and the court here was one of the most popular of the tournament, attracting tens of thousands of spectators at its peak.
In fact, this is not the first time that Dongpu Village hosts such a large-scale basketball event.
As a famous "basketball village", Dongpu Village’s history with basketball can be dated back to the 1950s and 1960s. In recent years, with the continuous improvement of economic conditions, Dongpu Village has built basketball parks, international standard well-lit basketball courts, and has successively held more than 10 high-level events. In 2019, the 14th "Jinbang Cup" College Basketball Tournament held in Dongpu Village set the record with the highest number of viewers of online live basketball games at that time.
The rural basketball atmosphere of Dongpu Village is a microcosm of the vigorous development of grass-roots basketball in Jinjiang.
Xu Zizhu, director of Jinjiang Municipal Bureau of Sport, said that long before the popularity of the countryside basketball tournament, Jinjiang’s grass-roots basketball has been carried out well throughout the villages.
According to statistics, by the end of 2022, Jinjiang City has 1,694 basketball courts, including 1,516 basketball courts, 54 basketball halls and 124 3×3 basketball courts. At present, there are more than 1 million hoops enthusiasts in Jinjiang, and at least 1,000 basketball games are held every year.
Chen Zongshu is a PE teacher at Gutian No. 3 Middle School in Ningde City and the leader of the team from Hetang Township, Ningde City. During his days in Jinjiang, he was impressed by the local basketball atmosphere. "Jinjiang is not the only place such grass-roots basketball tournament is thriving in Fujian. The physicality of players, the enthusiasm of spectators, and the professionalism in organizing the tournament are worth learning."
Genetic Code
Compared with other areas, the local basketball sports in Jinjiang has been characterized as increasingly industrialized and specialized.
The fast growing popularity of basketball sports here has led to the emergence of basketball sports agencies like Fujian Yiding Sports Development Ltd. Cor., Jinjiang Jinzhuan Sports Organization and Service Company etc., providing full services like the organization of sports events and live streaming online, which further help to promote the whole industry including the umpires, commentators, live streaming, cheering squad, and the stadium management.
The organization of Village BA Basketball Tournament this time was undertaken by Jinjiang Jinzhuan (Feiyuntian) Sports Organization and Service Company, the first private enterprise on sports event service in Jinjiang. "The Village BA has gone viral in Jinjiang-big or small, there could be about 100 events per day at most. There had been a busy season, but now the business runs all the year round."said Shi Jinzhuan, the manager of the company.
The "Village BA" also plays an important role in the training and selection of backup basketball players. So far, quite a few talented local basketball players have been promoted to teams of city level even national level, of colleges and universities, like Gong Songling (national basketball player), Zhu Shilong (well-known CBA coach), and so on. Last year, three young men(Zhang Jiaxu, Weng Jinliang, and Wu Chongqi) were also recruited successively into U18 National Youth Men’s Basketball Team.
As to Shi, the local basketball sports in Jinjiang area has made an successful integration of local culture and commerce, which provide more opportunities for talents. It is also the genetic code for the local basketball sports and its vitality.
To build a "sports city", it matters a lot to have all types of sports events, big or small, locally held. In the second half of this year, a series of events like 2023 International Basketball Exhibition, International Basketball All-Star Games are going to be held here, with the aim to enhance the positive impact of sports event and to realize the effective integration of all resources in sports event, local industry, culture and tourism.
"Basketball sports has been well received by people in Fujian, especially in Jinjiang area. The skills of local basketball players have always been in the lead nationwide.The ‘Village BA’ is sure to have a bright future."said Liu Yudong, Chairman of Fujian Basketball Association.
Rural Revitalization
The Village BA basketball league originates from the countryside and the bustling night life emerges in the competitions.
On the evening of July 12th, 30 stalls were planned in the open space next to the Basketball court of Dongpu Village, Yinglin Town, for the merchants to participate in the agricultural products exhibition festival. As the competition began, more and more vendors appeared with their small carts. Roughly estimated, there were about 300 vendors setting up stalls that night.
"We often participate in different kinds of food festival activities, but it is the first time to combine with the "Village BA", which is a good form." Cai Lian, Manager of Xiao Min Sea Worm Jelly, introduced to the guests while greeting them, "there is about 1,600 yuan of turnover every night. In the opening and final competition, more people crowded into the streets, with turnover of at least 2,000 yuan."
The flourishing food festival also appears in Dongpu Village.
On July 5th, the day before the opening of "Village BA", the first edition of entertainment and food carnival in Yonghe Town (Xikeng) commenced, covering an area of 10 acres. On July 6th, the "Village BA" kicked off, and plenty of people poured into the streets. Lin Xiaohu, Deputy Director of Xikeng Village Committee, urgently sought another open space and expanded the venue to 18 acres. "We originally organized 60 stalls in the open area around the basketball court. With the popularity of the Village BA, the number of stalls increased more than double. We preliminarily calculated that there was an average of 11,000 people per night, up to 13,000 people. Every stall had an average turnover of 3,000 yuan every night."
The development of sports events promoted the revitalization of rural areas and made villagers more prosperous.
Lin Yingpo, Deputy Director of Agricultural Zoning Center of Jinjiang City, said that for the first time, we have combined agricultural products with basketball competitions and planned to invite online celebrities to showcase Jinjiang local agricultural products on live telecast. Characteristic agricultural products would attract more and more people in this grand event.
The development of countryside basketball games has also stimulated such industries as accommodation, culture, tourism, insurance, clothing. While enjoying the competition, many people also choose to travel the countryside, such as beautiful seaside landscapes of Huwei Village, famous old streets of Jiapai Village, historical Haichao Temple and revitalization bases of Hailuo Village.
The "Village BA" connects sports with cultural display, economic and commercial development, rich leisure life of the countryside, and demonstrates its diverse functional value in the rural revitalization strategy, and its positive significance is very great.
The "Village BA" makes rural farmers in Jinjiang realize gradually common prosperity of material and spiritual life.