Feels like we just got back to school, amirite? And it’s already time to enroll in after-school programs?

The international schools in Beijing tend to go their own way when it comes to spring breaks, and this year many removed a break at all to make up for the lost time last winter. But who wants all school and no play? We may not have spring break camps like in other countries, but there sure are a plethora of other ways students can spread their wings beyond the classroom.

Beijing Ducks Youth Rugby Academy

Ages: 12-18, boys and girls
Experience: none necessary
When and Where: Thurs 8-9.30pm Training at Chaoyang Park; Sun 12-2pm Touch Rugby at Olympic Park
WeChat ID: 185 1341 5507 or scan QR code below

ClubFootball Spring Season

Ages: 3-18
Experience: beginners to competitive teams
When and Where: Various times; Chaoyang Park, Olympic Forest Park South & North, Moon River Football Park, also at many schools
WeChat ID: WGQXJuniors

DragonFire Swim & Gymnastics Camp

Ages: Beginner – Level 3
When & Where: CSI-Bally Maquanying and Hongtong Sports, Zhongti Beili Mawuanying Store; Western Academy of Beijing (WAB) and Beijing Jingxi School students eligible for class at their campus.
How: Follow this link for pricing and schedule information. Registration is on the 10 and 26 of each month.

Flips N Kicks

Ages: 3-12+ years
Experience: all levels
When & Where: Saturdays at AAUDREYANNE training studio at GHL and Shunyi Fornia
How: info@flipsandkicksplus.com; Fredrik: 13718462044

Jingwu Kungfu

Ages: 3-6, 7-10, and 11 to 16 years-old
When & Where: Contact for more information
WeChat ID: 13141072677

Little Kickers

Ages: 1.5-3, 4-5, 5-6, and 6-7 years-old
When & Where: Si’de Park and Wangjing 80 Middle Field

PTI Reading Spring Camps

Ages: 4-12 years-old
Experience: all levels of reading
When: Sat & Sun 10am-12pm (4-5 years-old); Sat & Sun 1-3pm (6-12 years-old)
WeChat ID: PERLITAPENGSON21

KEEP READING: Summer Camp Preview: Get the American Overnight Camp Experience Without Leaving China

Images: Canva, courtesy of camps, pexels

The Beijing Sino 10s Rugby Tournament is making its seventh appearance this Saturday, June 2, hosting male and female expat clubs from as far away as Guangdong and Shenyang. While still a niche sport in China, rugby has been seeing significant development in the mainland, the Sino 10s being one of the biggest amateur rugby tournaments ever organized. 10s rugby is a faster, higher scoring, and generally more exhausting, yet shortened, version of standard 15-a-side rugby. Definitely a spectacle that needs to be witnessed!

This year we have partnered with SportsBJ to make the tournament more family oriented and fun! We will be hosting two U11 and U13 youth exhibition matches at noon, drawing families from international schools across Beijing. SportsBJ has been working diligently in youth rugby development so you can come and watch your son or daughter out on the pitch enjoying the sport of Rugby!

Jing-A will be pouring quality craft brews on the day, coupled with French barbecue food provided by Bistro 108. Food and drink will be for sale on the day at affordable prices. Bring kids, family, and friends, and enjoy a beautiful day of rugby in the sun! There is no entry fee for this event.

Visiting teams include the Shanghai Green Dragons (founded in 1881), Changzhou Giants, Dalian Royals, Jinan Tigers, Dongguan Bulldogs, Wuhan Baiji, Nanjing Rockets, and Yiwu Mustangs, totaling over 150 visiting players. They will compete against the other 100+ local Beijing club members. The event promises to be a day of good fun and good rugby.

Overall, this should be a day not to be missed, uniting the whole Beijing community under the sport of rugby! Big thanks go to our local club organizers, the Beijing Aardvarks, the Beijing Brothers, the Beijing Ducks, and the Beijing Devils for putting on this epic event.

Thanks also go to our partners, including primary sponsor Kipsta, provider of all the match equipment and balls, as well as the partners below:

Oasis Hospital: Providing match day EMS services and sports wrapping
SportsBJ: Community sponsor hosting two U11 and U13 youth exhibition matches

the Beijinger: Community sponsor and media partner
MetLife: Providing insurance for all players on match day
ECM China Vacuum Furnaces: Corporate supporter

For more information, please contact aardvarksrfc@yahoo.com or add WeChat ID rivrou (Agathe).

This post is provided by Beijing Sino 10s
Photos courtesy of Beijing Sino 10s

Sports Beijing’s biannual Festival of Sport returns this Saturday, February 11. The event runs from from 10am to 3pm, and takes place at the International School of Beijing (ISB). We asked Carlos Javier from Sports Beijing to give us the lowdown.

So what is the Festival of Sport?
Held indoors in the ISB Fusion Dome, this event allows kids of different ages to try out a variety of sports and activities, while parents can talk to the coaches and register their children for one of the 15+ activities provided by the youth amateur sports organization.

How is this year’s event different to previous years?
In addition to the sports activities during the event, we are focusing on connecting our members with our partners and our ‘friends of Sports Beijing’. There are a lot of companies and organizations doing great work in the community and it’s important that we get their products/information out there and help them gain exposure. Our members can benefit by being better informed about what’s going on in the Beijing community, meeting people, and getting the chance to see how they can get involved to make a positive difference. Some of the partners we have invited are Roundabout, A Voice for Animals, Smart Air, Koryo Tours, Penny Food Studio, and Dave’s Studio (who will be bringing a photobooth). Roundabout will be collecting donations, so bring along your books, clothes, equipment… Links Moving will also bring a bouncy castle, so that’s exciting!

What sports will be featured?
We will have a small football tournament running throughout the event, as well as our development U12, U14 and U16 Basketball teams practising throughout the morning. In addition we will have a field hockey scrimmage/training (hopefully we will have a local Chinese team come and play our members) from 9-10.30am, Rugby training/tryout from 12-1pm and Handball from 13.30-14.30. Our Kung Fu guys (XMA KungFu) will also be present and do a short performance, as well as Karate. Our Fencing coaches will be there to answer questions and to demonstrate the sport to our members.

What else is there for kids to do?
Besides having a kick about, shooting some hoops, trying out our Handball obstacle course, etc, we will have facepainting offered by Eva from ArtJamming. Kids can build their own air purifier (SmartAir) and take it home (they’ll need to register in advance, and the air purifier workshop costs RMB 200). Kids can engage with the Voice for Animals people, who will be looking to do an ‘adoption role play’, and Links Moving will bring the bouncy castle. There will be lots of opportunities for pictures by Dave’s Studio, and we are planning to do a raffle, so kids can win some prizes too.

Finally, tell us a little about Sports Beijing.
Sports Beijing is a not-for-profit multi-sports organization dedicated to providing high quality sports and activities. We offer a wide range of recreational and competitive youth sports programs, professionally coached and aimed at developing physical, technical and social skills for young athletes. Our activities are designed for participants of all backgrounds and abilities.

Photos: courtesy of Sports Beijing

Adjusting to Life in Beijing
The British School of Beijing (BSB) Shunyi is hosting a free community event on Wednesday October 21, starting at 8.45am. Aimed at those that are new to Beijing, if you’ve managed to get the kids settled in school, your house resembling a home, then you may be thinking what next? This informative discussion will focus on adjusting to life in Beijing, with two speakers covering a range of topics.

Discussions will focus on air quality, what to do in an emergency, immunizations, cultural adjustment, and transportation options, plus the best resources for information, from websites, magazines, and WeChat. Following the discussion, coffee and pastries will be available, and there will be a chance to raise other issues directly with the experts. For more information call 8047 3588, to reserve a seat e-mail nicole.washko@britishschool.org.cn

Liu Guoliang at WAB
On Tuesday October 13 from 6-7.30pm, Western Academy of Beijing (WAB) will be hosting Chinese table tennis legend Liu Guoliang. Olympic champion and coach of the Chinese men’s table tennis team, Liu will be giving a presentation about his life and his sporting success. He began playing at six years old and was selected to join China’s national youth team in 1989 at age 13. In 1991 he made the national table tennis team, and has won several championships and titles. After retiring from the game, he went on to become head coach of China’s national team, leading them to a team gold medal and a sweep of individual gold medals at the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games. For more event details, click here.

Roundabout Book Fair
The International Montessori School of Beijing (MSB) will be hosting a Roundabout book fair on Saturday October 24, from 10am-3pm. Thousands of gently used books will be on sale, from a variety of categories including fiction, non-fiction, and children’s books. All proceeds will be used to help children in need.

Rugby Rivalry
On Saturday October 31, the Shanghai Rugby Football Club (SRFC) will descend upon Beijing to take on the Sports Beijing Rugby team in the U9, U11, and U15 age divisions. This seasonal rivalry started in 2013, when SRFC first came to Beijing. Games will take place from 9am-4pm at Dulwich Legend Garden. After the players are done, the whole group will enjoy the Rugby World Cup final at Fella’s. This event will no doubt be the highlight of the season for the two rugby clubs. For more information, contact 6430 1370, info@sportsbj.com.

beijingkids Shunyi Correspondent Sally Wilson moved to Beijing in 2010 from the UK with her husband and son. Her daughter was born here in 2011 and both her kids keep her happily busy. In her spare time, Sally loves to stroll through Beijing’s hutongs and parks. She is a (most of the time) keen runner and loves reading: books, magazines, news, and celeb websites – anything really. Sally is also a bit of a foodie and loves trying out new restaurants.

Photos: Jens Schott Knudsen (Flickr), courtesy of WAB, Sports Beijing

For those unfamiliar with the game of rugby, it’s a contact team sport which originated in England during the first half of the 19^th century. Two teams of 15 players run with and kick an oval-shaped ball, on a rectangular field, with H-shaped goalposts on each try line. I took my son to watch a rugby game recently. He’d seen some international games on TV, but nothing up close and near the touchline. In terms of playing sports, he’s done some soccer, gymnastics, and swimming. For the last six months his main sports have been tennis and swimming. He really enjoyed the rugby game, and it was a fun afternoon. What I hadn’t readied myself for was his question in the car on the way home. “Can I start playing rugby?”

When I watch England play rugby, I always think how wonderfully heroic, character forming and truly British this contact sport is. But I wince when I see a player injured, and I keep reading that rugby has become too dangerous. Is it really a sport that I would want my child to play? Injuries, everyone accepts, are an inevitable part of the rugby game. At the senior level, repetitive, concussive blows are beginning to be linked to dementia and long-term brain damage. Schoolboys, meanwhile, are becoming bigger and more powerful, but their bones remain as fragile as ever. I’ve read horror stories from doctors, who have seen patients with fractured skulls, broken bones, brain and spinal injuries. If professional rugby exposes its adult players to physical injury, I’m guessing that’s exactly what it does with children.

I’m not one of those parents that wrap their kids in cotton wool. Kids need to be allowed to climb trees, scale play equipment, skateboard, and ride horses. Injuries can and do happen. But is letting them play such a rough contact sport as rugby an unnecessary risk. Rugby was once compulsory in many UK schools, but over the years was replaced by other sports, mainly soccer. The UK Government now wants rugby to be played more at school as part of plans to increase competitive sports, and to curb rising levels of obesity. Children under 10 play touch rugby where they have to pass the ball to the other team as soon as an opponent makes contact with any part of their body. When they get to junior level, it becomes contact rugby, with tackles and scrums. This is when injuries occur.

Children in their early teens are often unskilled and don’t know how to avoid injury. Their weight and height may differ dramatically within a rugby squad and big kids can flatten smaller ones in a tackle. The gladiatorial nature of rugby sometimes means children are encouraged to carry on when injured. Health experts worry that schoolboy rugby is starting to follow the beefed-up, heavy-hitting example of the senior game we see today. Schools and rugby clubs are trying to reduce the likelihood of player injuries. Improving tackling skills and player flexibility, and more pre-season training now takes place. When picking teams, schools are encouraged to avoid mismatches in player physique.

I have friends whose kids play rugby. They are fully aware of the risks of the game, but their overriding feeling is that the dangers are outweighed by the benefits of fitness, self-confidence and camaraderie that their kids find in this sport. They argue that rugby is no more precarious than skiing, mountain biking, even football. Many schools agree, citing benefits including increase in confidence, self-esteem and self-discipline, and team working. Teachers say there are notable off pitch improvements in students when rugby is introduced in their schools. I guess it’s up to us as parents to make our own informed decisions, on whether our kids should play rugby and indeed many other sports. I am pleased that I don’t have to make this decision right now. For the time being, my son is too young to take up this particular game.

beijingkids Shunyi Correspondent Sally Wilson moved to Beijing in 2010 from the UK with her husband and son. Her daughter was born here in 2011 and both her kids keep her happily busy. In her spare time, Sally loves to stroll through Beijing’s hutongs and parks. She is a (most of the time) keen runner and loves reading: books, magazines, news, and celeb websites – anything really. Sally is also a bit of a foodie and loves trying out new restaurants.

Photos: generalising, West Mercia Police, K.M. Klemencic (Flickr)