Athletes off to battle during holiday period

With the COVID-19 pandemic casting a shadow over the 2020-21 season, China's winter sports governing body is launching a series of internal test events to compensate for the current lack of international competitions.

Usually a rest period for China's winter sports athletes, the upcoming National Day holiday will this year instead offer the nation's best skiers, snowboarders and curlers the chance to do battle in a series of domestic events, which will also facilitate organizational preparations for the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

From Oct 1-13, all available national team athletes in eight sports－curling, freestyle skiing aerials, mogul, cross-country skiing, snowboarding and freeski big air, ski jumping and Nordic combined－will compete at events staged to international standards in five locations－Beijing, Qinhuangdao in Hebei province, Chengdu and two venues in Jilin province－according to the National Winter Sports Administrative Center.