Reporter Feng Zihan
The majestic Mount Tai has given birth to the Tai’an people’s unremitting pursuit of sports. In the long history, many Taian people have been working hard for the Chinese basketball world. Liu Zhen, the Chinese men's three-person basketball coach at the Tokyo Olympics, Zhai Jinshuai who has played for many CBA teams, "Little Steel Cannon" Xu Jiahan and other basketball players are all from Tai'an.
With the glory of professional basketball players in the forefront, as an important part of the development of basketball in this city, the Tai'an Basketball Association was officially established in June 2019. Although it does not have a long history, they are promoting mass basketball in Tai'an. Many efforts were made during the process.
As the 2022 Shandong Men’s Basketball League (SDBA) is about to start, Shang Jun, secretary-general of the Tai’an Basketball Association, said that he will seize this opportunity to actively catch up with outstanding brother cities and improve the development level of Tai’an basketball.
Consolidate the mass base
Basketball in Tai'an has a broad mass base, and basketball is a key competitive sports event in the city. Shang Jun said frankly that although there is still a certain gap in the development of mass basketball in Tai'an City compared with Jinan, Qingdao, Yantai, Zibo and other cities, they are also working hard to catch up with these brother cities.
At the end of 2019, the "Qingxin Cup" Tai'an City's first basketball league was successfully launched about half a year after the association was established. "The league has set up an open group, U8 group, U10 group, junior high school group and senior group, with a total of more than 60 teams, and has achieved good results in promoting the development of mass basketball." Shang Jun said.
"The children's competition will expand the scale of youth basketball training in Tai'an City, while the adult competition represents the city's competitive level. Holding the 'Qingxin Cup' league will certainly be able to better unite the wisdom and strength of Tai'an basketball people and bring the strength of Tai'an basketball to the forefront. Development to a higher level," Shang Jun said when the first "Qingxin Cup" was held.
It is worth mentioning that after each game of the "Qingxin Cup", the referees use video playback to summarize the problems and deficiencies that occurred on the spot to further improve their officiating abilities. "In terms of training referees, we have also held corresponding training courses to improve their refereeing capabilities." Shang Jun added.
Although the "Qingxin Cup" had to be suspended due to the epidemic for more than two years, mass basketball in Tai'an City has begun to make strides forward.
Targeting national-level events
Not only is the "Qingxin Cup", the Tai'an Basketball Association has also hosted many provincial and even national-level competitions, setting off a national fitness craze.
Shang Jun revealed that since the establishment of the Basketball Association, it has hosted the 2018-2019 China Junior High School Basketball League (Shandong Division), the 2019 U14 National Basketball League Central Region, the 2021 National U15 Basketball Men’s Group Preliminaries, and many national invitational tournaments.
"By hosting various competitions, in addition to deepening exchanges between local teams and other outstanding teams, it also plays a very good role in promoting a national basketball atmosphere." Shang Jun said.
It is precisely because of the strong competition atmosphere that many high-level campus teams and amateur teams of all ages have emerged in Tai'an City. Shang Jun introduced that Tai'an No. 2 Middle School and Taishan Bowen Middle School are excellent representatives of the development of campus basketball in Tai'an City.
Among them, Tai'an No. 2 Middle School won the championship of the 2021-2022 Nike China High School Basketball League Shandong Division; Taishan Bowen Middle School won the first place in the 2020 Shandong Province "Sports Lottery Cup" Junior High School Boys Basketball League, and then won the Cadillac China Junior High School The Shandong Division of the Basketball League won the championship again and represented Shandong Province in the national regional competition.
The young people are strong, and the middle-aged and elderly teams are not far behind. In 2019, in the 30th National Middle-aged and Elderly Basketball Competition held in Hechuan, Chongqing, the middle-aged and elderly representative team of Tai'an Dongyue Basketball Club stood out from 91 teams and won the championship in the 50-59 age group. It shows the style of middle-aged and elderly athletes in Tai'an.
Make friends with the ball and make progress together
Regarding the upcoming 2022 Shandong Men’s Basketball League, Shang Jun believes that it will undoubtedly play a positive role in the development of basketball in the province, “Whether it is popularizing basketball or promoting the movement of basketball to all people, In terms of fitness, it can have a positive impact."
Not only that, the Shandong Men's Basketball League also provides a platform for basketball cultural exchanges in various cities. "Use the ball to make friends, and the participating teams communicate and learn from each other, thereby improving the level of amateur basketball in the entire Shandong Province. "Shang Jun said.
In terms of team selection, Shang Jun revealed that registration is mainly based on voluntary registration. "Interested basketball enthusiasts can participate in the event by registering independently as a team or forming a joint team. "
Finally, Shang Jun also sent his heartfelt wishes to the league: "I wish the 2022 Shandong Men's Basketball League a complete success! "
