Hangzhou, China, August 20, 2023: The three-day OCA Asian Games Youth Camp came to a close on Sunday afternoon with messages of thanks and best wishes from the 37 students.
At the closing ceremony, the students from all over China were asked to write down their comments to sum up the camp, which has included an OCA presentation on the Asian Games, visits to competition venues, the Asian Games Village, Main Media Centre and some cultural events such as a light show and Liangzhu Museum.
“Through this visit I saw many great stadiums and learned new things about history of Asian Games, so this opportunity is memorable for me,” said one student whose English name is Butterfly.
“Sports games promote world harmony!” wrote Mcqueen, from Hangzhou.
“I experienced many interesting things in the youth camp. I appreciate the opportunity to participate in this event,” said Bridgoe, 17, from Hangzhou.
“Wish the OCA Asian Games to be successful,” said Max Wang Chenrui from Hangzhou.
Louie Liu wrote: “I wish the Asian Olympic Games will be very successful, and I hope the sport player have good achievement in the competition.”
“A brilliant chance to know more about Asian Games!” said David Xu.
The third and final day of the camp had started with a visit to Liangzhu Museum, which traces the 5,000 years of Chinese civilization. The Archeological Ruins of Liangzhu is one of three UNESCO World Heritage sites in Hangzhou, along with the West Lake and Beijing to Hangzhou Grand Canal.
The camp attracted students from Hangzhou city, Zhejiang province and much further afield including Hainan, Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin.
The students were aged between 12 and 18 and, according to 18-year-old Zhejiang Normal University student Wang Zihan, “the camp brought together the next generation of young Asian talent.”
As for the venues, including the Gongshu Canal Sports Park gymnasium and stadium and the China Hangzhou Esports Centre, Wang added: “The building has a sense of science and technology and can make the athletes more focused. The design of the stadiums has paid a lot of attention to the environment.”
The three-day tour was conducted as final preparations were underway for the 19th Asian Games, which will run from September 23 to October 8 in Hangzhou and five co-host cities in Zhejiang province.
The Athletes’ Village will open officially on September 16 and the Main Media Centre on September 18 as Hangzhou prepares to welcome 12,500 athletes from 45 National Olympic Committees competing in 40 sports, 61 disciplines and 483 events.
The students all received a participation certificate at the closing ceremony and said they hoped to come back to watch some of the action at the Asian Games next month.
