At 9:00 a.m. on November 3, the grand opening ceremony of 2023 SDJU Sports Culture Festival, i.e. 43rd Students’ Sports Meeting took place at the athletics field of Lin-gang Campus. Lu Xionggang, Secretary of CPC SDJU Committee, Gong Siyi, Deputy Secretary of CPC SDJU Committee and President, along with other university leaders, heads of relevant departments and secondary schools, attended. The ceremony was presided over by Yang Wanfeng, Vice President and Director of SDJU Sports Committee.
Accompanied by the entrance song of Our Asia, the national flag team and school flag team made their entrance, followed by 10 athlete representative teams from School of Business, School of Electronics and Information Engineering, School of Electrical Engineering and so on briskly walking towards the rostrum. Facing the morning sun, they showcased their youthful and sunny charm to the audience. The students shared a common fate and spirit, always mindful of the SDJU motto “seeking virtue and perfection, studying extensively and practicing earnestly”. With a resolute fighting spirit encapsulated in the phrase “Thousands of sails compete, the first must be the hardest”, participating athletes strived to surpass themselves on the sports field and gave their best efforts.
The solemn Five-Starred Red Flag was raised gradually by the national flag bearers as the majestic national anthem played in the background.
Athlete representative Zhao Xingchen (captain of SDJU track and field team) and referee representative Wang Fengchun (former captain of the national curling team) solemnly took their oaths.
President Gong Siyi delivered the opening speech for the sports meeting, emphasizing that this event marked another university-wide sports competition following SDJU’s 70th anniversary celebration. She stressed that on a new stage of high-quality development, SDJU is anchoring the strategies of “quality education, pooling talents and global engagement”, and in response to this new era and new pattern, young students are destined to make more efforts and shoulder more responsibility. Inlight of this new phase, President Gong emphasized the necessity for young individuals to focus on comprehensive and balanced development, maintaining a healthy, lively, athletic, and energetic body and mind, as well as a vigorous academic study. She also mentioned that the annual sports culture festival at our university, featuring monthly competitions and activities, aim to cultivate students into exemplary individuals with outstanding physical fitness and professional competence and contribute to progress of society in the new era. President Gong at last expressed her hope that every athlete could exercise their willpower, achieve self-improvement, and foster team spirit through sports and competition.
Amidst cheers and applause, Secretary Lu solemnly announced the opening of 2023 SDJU Sports Culture Festival, i.e. 43rd Students’ Sports Meeting.
Afterward, performances were staged. SDJU CCYL arranged top ten singers winning 2023 SDJU Singing Competition to perform first. Their passionate song Young Battlefield soared high, which was sure to inspire athletes to excel themselves and fight for championship unswervingly. A routine program, Skipping in High Spirits by members of SDJU Fancy Rope Team and students of fancy rope class directed by Wen Haojie from Physical Education Department was then performed. After that, fitness fanatics represented by Cheng Yichi, a senior in School of Electrical Engineering, once again challenged limits of their bodies and defined the power of life with their performance on horizontal bar and parallel bars, Leap over the Limit. All the performances were wholeheartedly welcomed by the audience, who exclaimed in wonder and burst into rounds of applauses.
This year marks the 70th anniversary of our university’s establishment. To demonstrate the robust physique and youthful spirit of young people in the new era, Physical Education Department joined hands with Zhao Qianru from School of Mechanical Engineering and other teachers and choreographed a group dance titled Chasing Dreams. The enthusiastic dance by over 130 freshmen really captivated the audience. Drawing inspiration from SDJU emblem, SDJU motto, and students’ indomitable spirit to forge ahead, the performance featured rotating umbrellas symbolizing moving gears, and the relentless and courageous progress of students.
From 9:30 a.m. to 3:20 p.m., a spirited competition unfolded as over 640 student-athletes engaged in a diverse array of field and track games. Athlete Zhao Xingchen from School of Electrical Engineering made a remarkable achievement by breaking the men’s 100-meter record, clocking an impressive time of 11.21 seconds.The top three teams that emerged victorious in the event were School of Business, School of Mechanical Engineering, and School of Electrical Engineering. In recognition of their respective performance, School of Electronics and Information Engineering, School of Design and Arts, and International Education School were honored with Sportsmanship Civilization Awards, while School of Business, School of Higher Vocational Education, and School of Mechanical Engineering received the Excellent Organization Awards.
Beyond the competitive arena, more than 2000 students actively participated in cultural and sports performances, volunteering, cheerleading, or participating in related tasks. Promotion of sports and the enhancement of students’ physical fitness stand as the fundamental goal in our university’s sports initiatives. Sports meeting not only provide a platform for students to showcase their athletic talents but also serve as a foundation for fostering university cohesion and collaborative education. The spirit of self-improvement and tenacious determination, kindled by the sports games is destined to become ingrained in the fabric of our university students. This spirit will persistently influence their study and daily lives in the future!
