“Although it is a peasant basketball team, their vigorous posture, flexible pace, and changeable running positions make people overwhelmed to watch.” Liu Ruigui, an audience standing on the steps cheering for the players on the field, said.
On June 20, the opening ceremony of the National Hemei Village Basketball Competition (Village BA) was held in Taipan Village, Taijiang County, Qiandongnan Prefecture, Guizhou Province. At the event site, the stadium that can accommodate tens of thousands of people was packed. On the field, the exciting competition and the cheers one after another brought the audience a unique experience. Outside the arena, the promotion of exquisite ethnic costumes and handicrafts, various special agricultural products and special delicacies, as well as the exhibition and sales of “Village BA” cultural and creative products, all reflect the local charm.
The majority of farmers in Taipan Village have a simple and pure love for basketball, amateur and dedicated. In recent years, it has exploded due to the holding of rural basketball games, and people vividly call the games here “village BA”. The holding of the National Hemei Village Basketball Competition (Village BA) has transformed the “Village BA” from a “grassroots game” into a national rural basketball competition, and it is no longer limited to Guizhou. People all over the country can feel the joy of sports sprouting in the countryside.
In the eyes of local villagers, the popularity of “Village BA” is a reflection of the improvement of farmers’ living standards. During the interview, many villagers asked the reporter: Why do you play basketball? Isn’t it because the living standard is better and the money bag is bulging! What do you do when you don’t play basketball? Perhaps it is this kind of longing for a better life and pure love for sports that made the “village BA” of farmers’ friends set off a national craze.
Southeast Guizhou is an economically underdeveloped area. The popularity of “village BA” not only fully reflects the desire of farmers for new cultural life after poverty alleviation, but also provides new ideas for rural revitalization. During the “Village BA” period, Taijiang County’s comprehensive tourism income has increased significantly, and consumption of agricultural products, tourism, and catering has doubled. According to the data provided by Taijiang County, in the previous three days and two nights of the “Village BA” finals, the county received a total of 181,900 tourists, achieving a comprehensive tourism income of 55.16 million yuan, and tourism bookings in Southeast Guizhou increased by 140% year-on-year.
Tang Qian, who runs restaurants around the arena, told reporters that “Village BA” is not just a basketball game, but also brings more income to rural areas. Tang Qian couldn’t hide his smile during the exchange, because the turnover in the past few days was equivalent to that of the previous two months, and he also sold a lot of lo mei. Holding the basketball game in the countryside has created fun, agricultural fun, and “financial” fun.
From local competitions to national competitions, this transformation from one domain to the whole domain has shown the attraction of “village BA” to national audiences. Zhou Jing is one of the attracted tourists. At the match site, a car with a Sichuan license plate attracted the attention of reporters. Zhou Jing came from Guangyuan, Sichuan to Taijiang, Guizhou to watch the match. “Many people pay attention to Guizhou’s ‘Village BA’, and now the national ‘Village BA’ cannot be missed. Competitions and cultural performances, as well as leisure experiences outside the stadium, make sports, leisure, and cultural values all full.” Zhou Jing said.
Popular sports events are common, but there are not many farmers’ events like “Village BA” that can be “out of the circle”. The sports boom caused by “Village BA” is gratifying. On the one hand, “Village BA” promotes the in-depth integration of mass sports events with characteristic agriculture, cultural and creative products, and rural tourism; Rural revitalization injects vitality. (Reposted from “China Sports Daily” page 01 on June 21)