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Serving the city she loves by participating in the Chengdu FISU World University Games is an experience that Li Anxi will never forget.
Li Anxi (second from right), a staff member at the Executive Committee of the Chengdu FISU World University Games, leads the executive committee staff members to practice oral English. [Photo provided to China Daily]
Li, a staff member at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Liaison of the Executive Committee of the Chengdu FISU World University Games, still feels excited when she recalls the moment the Sichuan capital won the bid for the FISU Games.
It was in December 2018 in Braga, Portugal, when Li – who was working as an interpreter for Luo Qiang, Chengdu's mayor at the time – witnessed the FISU Steering Committee give Chengdu the hosting rights.
"We arrived in Braga one day before the FISU Steering Committee meeting, after a journey as long as 24 hours," Li recalled. Without a break, they went straight to meet with the then president of the International University Sports Federation.
"I was so sleepy that while I was doing the interpreting, my eyelids began to droop and I had to rub my eyes all the time," She said.
The next day, the Chinese delegation made a presentation at the meeting, about event hosting conditions such as dining, accommodation, transportation, competition venues, security, experiences in hosting major events and about China’s concepts in participating in world university sports and driving the development of university sports in the world.
After an hour-long presentation and question-and-answer session, the steering committee agreed unanimously to give Chengdu hosting rights. FISU, the city of Chengdu and the Federation of University Sports of China signed a pre-attribution contract, which identified Chengdu as the host city.
"We were so excited and proud, as it was the first time not only for Chengdu, but for western China to win the bid for a world-class multisport event," she said.
English training
Li joined the department in the preparatory phase for the Chengdu FISU Games. She focused on the translation of documents for the games and on English training for event workers.
What made Li truly realize her self-worth was an oral English training program titled "Learning English with the Chengdu FISU Games".
To better serve athletes and officials attending the games, the executive committee launched the program in January. It included three phases of English training.
The program was open to executive committee staff members who would serve in key roles during the games, including the handling of arrivals and departures, registration, transportation support and medical services.
Responsible for phase one and phase three of the training, Li started by launching a 21-day project to develop a reading habit in people, encouraging workers to read in English every morning.
"Morning reading has been a habit of mine for years. It has helped my oral English immensely, and I enjoy it very much, so I wanted to share it with them," she said.
Li was worried that no one would come at first, as for many adults, studying can be a chore. To her surprise, the first day was a success, and the reading room was filled with people.
Anxi (fourth from left, first row), a staff member of the Executive Committee of the Chengdu FISU World University Games, leads executive committee staff as they practice oral English in the morning. [Photo provided to China Daily]
In order to reach more people, she set up a WeChat group to send her morning reading materials every day. For those who couldn't make it to the reading room, Li recorded the audio of her morning reading session and sent it to the group.
The group, which can have up to 500 people, quickly filled up, and Li had to set up another one.
The second group not only welcomed executive committee staff, but also attracted other workers serving at the Chengdu games, including chefs and drivers. The group grew to more than 400 people.
"If you do something with your heart, others will feel it and recognize it," Li said, adding that many people are sharing the reading materials in other chat groups, encouraging more people to participate in the project.
In the third phase, which started on the 100-day countdown to the opening ceremony, Li sent a bilingual sentence in both Chinese and English every day to WeChat groups, highlighting the technical terms for the Chengdu FISU Games.
She was also happy to participate in the compilation of a bilingual brochure called 100 FISU Games Sentences for Citizens, which was included in the gift package that Chengdu gave out to residents for free.
Life experience
Apart from work, Li has noticed the influence of the FISU Games on her life, as well as the lives of her family and friends.
"I have a habit of running in the morning, and there are parks and greenways near my home. Regardless of whether I want to run three, five, or 10 kilometers, there are always places for me," She said.
Li said she used to meet few people running in the morning, but in recent years, as the city has been preparing for the FISU Games and building more parks and greenways, a growing number of people are partaking in the activity.
The latest statistics from the city government’s information office show that Chengdu has more than 1,500 parks and the total length of its greenways has reached 6,500 km.
Li said that many of her friends like to go bike riding on the greenways, and even her lazy ones would go out for exercise now as the city has introduced so many sports facilities in communities.
What satisfies Li most is that her 8-year-old son, who loves swimming, now has convenient access to gymnasiums of international quality.
Chengdu has built 13 new venues and upgraded 36 existing ones for the FISU Games, all reaching international standards. To ensure that residents can enjoy the benefits of the FISU Games, the city has offered them free or discounted access to the venues before the opening of the event. They will reopen to residents after the FISU Games.
"Wouldn't it be interesting if children exercise at the FISU Games venues, and grow up to participate in the FISU Games competition themselves?" Li said.
(CHINADAILY)
