The 4th Beijing "Health Cup" Mass Sports Meeting for People with Disabilities opened at the Beijing Disabled People's Culture and Sports Center on Sept 6. The opening ceremony was attended by over 300 people, including representatives of the Beijing Disabled Persons' Federation and the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Sports, disabled athletes, volunteers, and people from all walks of life.
Following the opening ceremony, the 2023 Beijing Disabled People's Mini Marathon and Online Marathon commenced, which saw participants from all districts across the city compete in 3-kilometer and 5-kilometer mini marathons.
Disabled athletes compete in 3-kilometer and 5-kilometer mini marathons. [Photo/bdpf.org.cn]
From Sept 6 to 22, over 1,100 disabled athletes and staff from 18 participating units in 16 districts of Beijing, the Yanshan area, and the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area took part in 36 events in seven sports, such as dryland curling, table curling, table tennis, chess, Go, badminton, and darts.
Since May this year, communities and towns as well as district-level disabled persons' federations organized preliminary and semifinal competitions, and the Beijing Disabled Persons' Federation held the finals. Over the past four months, more than 30,000 people with disabilities participated in the sports meeting both online and onsite.
Dryland curling competition[Photo/bdpf.org.cn]
In recent years, disabled people's mass sports have experienced significant growth in Beijing, with the implementation of projects promoting self-improvement fitness and rehabilitative care for people with disabilities. Eight sports tailored to disabled individuals, including wheelchair Tai Chi Fan, have been developed and promoted. Distinctive brands of Beijing-based sports event, such as the "Health Cup" mass sports meeting for people with disabilities, the ice and snow carnival, and the Special Olympics Day, have been well recognized.
Dance performance by deaf students of Qiyin School [Photo/bdpf.org.cn]
The Beijing "Health Cup" Mass Sports Meeting for People with Disabilities has been held for four consecutive years since 2020. It has evolved from an event with just 600 participants at the beginning into the largest, and widely recognized comprehensive sports event for the disabled in the city.