-
2010-1-2614: 25: 44 font: large, medium and small.
This is probably the most embarrassing national team in China.
In the words of Cui, director of the Third Sports Department of the Small Ball Sports Management Center of the State General Administration of Sport (hereinafter referred to as the "Small Ball Center") and secretary-general of the China Bowling Association, this national bowling team, which is composed of "non-professional" athletes and is preparing for the 20 10 Guangzhou Asian Games at the Kunming Haitang Training Base, is a team that "uses millet and rifles to fight against other people's plane cannons".
The monthly salary is only 600 yuan, the training venue is scarce, the equipment is outdated, and it is even difficult to bear the training expenses. Almost all the players are "part-time" and "voluntary" ...
Behind the embarrassment of the national team is the depression of national bowling. From the end of 1990 s to the beginning of this century, the bowling fever that once swept the whole country and the extremely hot bowling market have disappeared, leaving only a few people who are still sticking to it.
Sad national team
The player's monthly salary is only 600 yuan.
As a national sport, the managers of bowling regarded the16th Asian Games held in Guangzhou in 20 10 as an unprecedented opportunity-because it was the first time that the Asian Games bowling competition was held in China, and it would also be the highest-level international competition in China. They hope that through their achievements in this competition, they can arouse the attention of the country and the whole society to bowling and change the reality of bowling.
"Going all out to prepare for the Asian Games and striving for good results are the primary tasks of the Small Ball Sports Management Center of the State Sports General Administration and the China Bowling Association." Cui told China Economic Weekly that bowling, as a non-Olympic sport, has been very limited in human, financial and material resources for a long time, which has greatly restricted the development of this sport.
Even with unprecedented attention, investment seems to be still insufficient. At present, China bowling team members are preparing for the 20 10 Guangzhou Asian Games at Kunming Ridge Training Base. For 8 men and 8 women 16 athletes, Cui Weihong said with a wry smile that this team came from all corners of the country, ranging in age from 18 to 40, and used the Red Army's millet and rifles to fight against other people's aircraft cannons.
The four-curve ball among the eight female players is also the only one that can be found in China at present. "Whether China bowling can achieve results depends on these people, just like a process of' gambling stones', there is no choice."
Yang Suiling, the winner of the 2005 World Women's Championship and now a member of the national team, told China Economic Weekly: "At present, most players who are easy to make achievements in the world are curveball players, but because of the high limitation of the venue for curveball training, the most important thing is to grease the fairway, which is impossible for ordinary bowling venues and bowling enthusiasts to practice normally." "
However, the cost of the tanker is very high. Now, the two machines (purchased in 2004) used by the national team to refuel the fairway during training have been repaired and will soon fall apart, four generations behind the international professional level. Until this year, I just bought a new oiler to prepare for the Asian Games.
Moreover, in the past two years, there are only three domestic units that can provide training venues for the China bowling team: Yancheng National Youth Bowling Training Base in Jiangsu, Anhui Bowling Association and Kunming Haigeng Sports Training Base. "According to the training cost standard of each athlete per day 130 yuan, including accommodation and transportation, our management center sometimes can't pay the training cost of these bases." Cui Weihong said.
The only gratifying thing is that this competition was held in China. Cui said that in the past, when going abroad to compete, due to the tight economy, international flights charged more than 30 dollars for each overweight 1 kg, so each player of the China team could only take two balls at most, or each female player took the ball on the plane. In the same game, Korean athletes brought 8 to 12 balls, and some people checked them into the whole box, which made the players envious. Sometimes after the game, the players will pick up the ball that others don't want, take it back to China to fill the hole, and then tee off again according to their hands.
The problem of "money" not only bothers managers.
"Sometimes, people will ask me how I am treated in the national team. I am embarrassed to talk to others, just saying that it is ok. " Yang Suiling told China Economic Weekly.
600 yuan per person per month is the salary of the national team bowlers. As a supernumerary (non-Olympic events are not officially compiled by the national team), 600 yuan's salary is raised from other income-generating projects in the Golf Center. Talking about the hard work of these athletes and coaches, Cui once choked to tears.
"I think now I take playing ball as a hobby and pursue my dream. I usually work in Foshan Safety Production Management Association, and the leaders of the unit support me to play ball, so every time there is a national team competition, I go back to the team for training. Unlike the United States and other countries, there are no professional bowling players in China. " Yang Suiling told China Economic Weekly.
Wang hong, head coach of the national bowling team, earns 2400 yuan a month, which is definitely a "high salary" in the team. Speaking of the 40-year-old coach and private entrepreneur, Cui Weihong said: "The national team's training time is only 2-3 months, and they are not allowed to use mobile phones during training, but they still have their own careers. The salary we give is simply not enough to pay for their long-distance telephone calls. "
Coach wang hong doesn't want to be interviewed. According to his own words: "It's useless to talk about more difficulties, and it can't change the status quo. I only hope that the China team can achieve some good results in this Asian Games. "
"This situation is very common in the national team now. Many coaches and veteran players are old and young. For this sport, they have to put down their business from time to time. " Wang Jiaxin, director of the bowling program at the Small Ball Center, told China Economic Weekly.
"Declining Aristocrats" in Sports Market
There are less than 1000 fairways left in China.
Behind these almost embarrassing realities is that bowling, a popular sport, has almost disappeared in China. This happened after bowling was once brilliant.
/kloc-During the 1990s, bowling, which just entered the China market, was called "noble" together with tennis and golf, and was sought after by people. From 65438 to 0998 to 2002, bowling entered its heyday in China. In almost every noisy city, people can find a beautiful bowling alley. The jingle of the pin was accompanied by cheers day and night. Young people brag about their high scores in front of girls they like. Families think bowling alleys are a necessity for holiday parties. ...
Talking about the popularity of bowling in that year, Cui quoted a senior executive of Brunswick, a well-known bowling equipment manufacturer in the United States: "Mercedes-Benz has been established for more than 65,438+000 years, and working overtime 24 hours a day is no longer enough to meet the huge market demand in China."
As for the reasons for the sudden popularity of this sport, Cui Weihong analyzed: "One is the' noble' positioning of bowling when it first entered the China market, and the other is that this seemingly simple and easy-to-use sport has brought people a brand-new experience of' destroying' the order with wisdom and technology." Therefore, this fanatical bowling trend followed the social trend of thought at that time and the significant increase in national income and swept the country.
All these scenes have disappeared, even faster than when they came. According to statistics, in its heyday, there were more than 600 lanes in Nanjing alone. By 2008, there were less than 1000 bowling lanes in China that met international standards.
When asked about the "big ebb tide" of bowling after 2003, many people in the industry believe that the main reason is irrational investment in all parts of the country and the vicious competition that followed, which washed away the title of "aristocrat" on which bowling depended for a living. However, the owner of a bowling alley told reporters that the development of bowling in China is still restricted by several other factors:
First of all, the operating cost of venues is high. If we calculate from the aspects of venue leasing, fairway construction, fairway daily maintenance (oil and detergent), power operation, air conditioning and heating, the unit operating cost per square meter of bowling alley is even higher than that of golf course. Secondly, in terms of taxation, bowling alleys have levied a high business tax according to the cultural and entertainment industry, but they are still unable to pay taxes according to sports; In addition, after SARS in 2003, people's pursuit of "green sunshine" and the rise of golf made bowling completely break away from the title of "elegant aristocrat" and lost a large number of consumer groups.
Talking about the once hot situation of bowling, Mr. Chen, a former professional bowling player, is full of nostalgia in his eyes. He told China Economic Weekly that in the heyday of the development of bowling, he used to earn money by playing games, earning more than 10,000 yuan a month, but now his scenery is no longer the same. However, when talking about the future of bowling, he still believes that "just like the stock market, bowling has been hovering at the bottom for so long and should soon get out of the Woods."
Difficulties in attracting investment
There are no partners in the event.
What kind of future will bowling, which is still popular all over the world, wait for in China?
"After the 2008 Olympic Games, sports slogans have changed, and we are moving from a big sports country to a strong sports country. Sports powers are also manifested in national fitness, and the results of non-Olympic projects are also good. " Cui Weihong told China Economic Weekly that she thought this change of national consciousness was the ideological guarantee for bowling to take off again.
Among the owners of bowling alleys, there is a strong call for reform. A former bowler told China Economic Weekly: "The Chinese Bowling Association didn't play a very good role in promoting this project. The association should be the CEO of this project and realize the development of the project through docking with the market. " "We should learn that basketball is in line with the NBA and international leagues, let advertisements come in and seize the position of enterprises in the project."
"A project is national, and there are only three direct managers including me. What we have to face are international organizations, international and domestic competitions, athlete training, association building and so on. Sometimes it is really a lack of skills. " Cui, secretary-general of the Bowling Association, also expressed helplessness about the current management situation of bowling.
Regarding the idea of attracting investment, Wang Jiaxin told China Economic Weekly: "In fact, the Small Ball Center also wants to attract investment. From 1998 to 2007, China Bowling Association cooperated with' Vida' Paper for nearly 10 years. "
During this period, the National Bowling Championship held 45 sub-races in 15 cities. CCTV broadcasts 82 issues, with total hours 156 hours. Moreover, in the broadcast of all sports events, bowling is also a project with high background advertising photo rate, which has great commercial value. Li, general manager of Vida Paper (Guangdong) Co., Ltd., said at the press conference of the 5th National Bowling Championship in 2006: "Nationwide, whenever bowling is mentioned, it will almost always be associated with Vida. This is a real win-win situation. "
But before the market is awakened again, it is difficult to attract investment from bowling. Due to the current downturn in bowling, there is no broadcast of large-scale national events, and Vida Paper, once a close partner, has also become a market partner of NBA basketball.
Revive the market
Turn to "fashion" and "quality"?
How does bowling regain people's favor?
Wang Jiaxin, the person in charge of the bowling project, told China Economic Weekly that he believed that "foreign bowling alleys have three major functions: one is the competitive function to provide training for high-level athletes; The second is the entertainment function, which provides leisure places for the citizens; The third is business function, which is a place for corporate activities and business negotiations. "
In an interview with TENPIN, the largest bowling club chain in Britain, I learned that their successful management concept not only provides simple sports, but also provides the functions of "bar, food and party". People can even hold weddings, birthday parties and celebrate housewarming in the arena, which greatly enriches the management mode of bowling alley.
Huo Feng Century Bowling Club, founded in Harbin by Zhang Peng, the scientific research coach and main player of the national bowling team, is also trying to reshape the image of the bowling alley. Zhang Peng, who is training at Kunming Haitang Base, told reporters: "Paying attention to management and fairway quality is the characteristic of Huo Feng."
Zhang Peng's many years of experience as a coach and professional athlete has made him familiar with the operation of bowling technology, so at present, the fairways in his arena are "imported from abroad, and then innovated at home to achieve the effect of reducing costs." Judging from the overall decoration style of the arena, he also boldly introduced black fashion colors to attract more bowling fans.
Can bowling, which changes from flaunting "nobility" to pursuing "quality", rekindle people's enthusiasm?
Jin, a professor of economics at Beijing Sport University, told China Economic Weekly: "The bowling alley operators should segment the market according to the characteristics of bowling, and play the role of trade associations and market mechanisms. We must know that at this stage, not only sports, but also diversified entertainment markets can compete with bowling. "