On the afternoon of November 9, on the eve of the opening of the 15th National Games, Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, President of the State, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, cordially met with representatives of national advanced units and individuals in mass sports, as well as advanced collectives and individuals in the national sports system, in Guangzhou. He extended warm congratulations to them and encouraged them to strive hard, achieve new success, and make new contributions to building a leading sports nation. Liu Bo, Director of the Division of Sports Science and Physical Education at Tsinghua University, attended the event as an award-winning representative of the National Advanced Units in Mass Sports.
Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, President of the State, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, cordially met with representatives of national advanced units and individuals in mass sports, and advanced collectives and individuals in the national sports system in Guangzhou.
On the morning of November 10, the Commendation Conference for National Advanced Units and Individuals in Mass Sports and National Advanced Collectives and Individuals in the Sports System was held in Guangzhou. Wang Xiaoping, Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and Minister of Human Resources and Social Security, and Gao Zhidan, Director of the General Administration of Sport, attended the conference. A series of commendation decisions were read at the meeting. The Division of Sports Science and Physical Education of Tsinghua University was once again awarded the title of National Advanced Unit in Mass Sports, following its previous recognition in 2021.
Representatives of national advanced units and individuals in mass sports and advanced collectives and individuals in the national sports system from the Beijing area posed for a group photo at the commendation conference. Liu Bo (third from left in the back row), Director of the Division of Sports Science and Physical Education at Tsinghua University, attended the conference as an award-winning representative.
Tsinghua's sports tradition has a long history and deep foundations, serving as one of the defining characteristics of Tsinghua's education. Since its establishment, the university has always regarded physical education as an important component of talent cultivation. President Zhou Yichun first advocated "equal emphasis on moral, intellectual, and physical education"; President Mei Yiqi pointed out that "an important part of the Tsinghua curriculum is physical education"; President Jiang Nanxiang called on students to "strive to work healthily for the motherland for at least fifty years"; and Tsinghua sports in the new era advocates "education first, equal emphasis on physique and personality," forming the campus culture of "No Sports, No Tsinghua."
Through more than a hundred years of development, Tsinghua sports has adhered to the educational philosophy of the "migratory value of sports" advocated by Mr. Ma Yuehan. From the implementation of "compulsory sports" and the formulation of the "Five Items Sports Test," to the development of the "Labor and Defense System" and national defense sports, and further to the physical education teaching model that spans the entire undergraduate process, the university has always placed strengthening students' physical fitness, perfecting their personalities, and tempering their will in an important position within school education. It has formed a unique Tsinghua sports tradition in cultivating comprehensively developed high-quality talents and promoting the development of social sports and the national sports cause. This tradition embodies the lofty aspirations of Tsinghua teachers and students, their devotion to the motherland, and their passion to work healthily for the motherland for fifty years, reflecting the values and life pursuits of Tsinghua people.
Combining Curricular and Extracurricular Activities to Promote Comprehensive Student Development
Tsinghua University's campus mass sports activities are an extension of the physical education curriculum. The Division of Sports Science and Physical Education persists in implementing the fundamental task of fostering character and civic virtue, deeply implements the "three-pronged" teaching philosophy (shaping values, imparting knowledge, and cultivating ability), promotes the integration of ideological and political education into physical education courses, and refines the "4+2+2" teaching model. It strengthens course construction and reform, offering over 60 course items annually, with new additions such as ice sports and squash. Emphasis is placed on combining curricular and extracurricular activities. Knowledge and skills are taught in the classroom, while practical opportunities are provided outside the classroom through sports competitions, Sunshine Sports special programs, after-school tutoring, as well as association and club activities. For example, in response to the school rule that "one cannot graduate without knowing how to swim," regular tutoring and special training classes are offered, with the test passing rate for graduates of the classes of 2017-2020 exceeding 99.8%.
Creating a Strong Sports Atmosphere and Enhancing Student Participation
With the "Ma Yuehan Cup" as the spearhead and sports competitions as the main thread, "Ma Yuehan Cup" events run throughout the year. Events such as track and field meets and campus marathons are held throughout the year. From the 2021 to 2024 academic years, there was an average of nearly 50,000 participants annually, gaining recognition from teachers, students, and alumni. The university also participated in over 40 municipal-level competitions, frequently achieving excellent results. At the same time, the management of "Sunshine Sports Special Activities" has been improved, and the guidance provided by physical education teachers and teaching assistants has been increased, with over 9,000 participants annually. Furthermore, 59 sports associations (with about 14,000 memberships) and over 260 sports clubs have been developed, mobilizing over 60,000 people to exercise and promoting the realization of the goal for every student to "join a club, master a sports skill, and form an exercise habit."
Establishing Benchmarks with Outstanding Team Members and Leveraging the Demonstrative Role of Representative Teams
Sports representative teams play an important leading role in the construction of campus sports culture. From the 2021 to 2024 academic years, the Division of Sports Science and Physical Education strengthened construction, expanding the representative teams to 61 teams across 44 sports with 1,583 members, ranking first in scale among domestic universities. During this period, despite the impact of the pandemic, they participated in 309 competitions at the provincial/ministerial level or above, winning 643 gold medals, with athletes like Yang Qian achieving breakthroughs at the Olympics. By inviting outstanding athletes to interact with freshmen in the first physical education class and relying on platforms and featured activities such as the "West Gym Training Camp" and the "Ma Yuehan Cup Coaching Team," an interactive mechanism has been built. This integrates the sports spirit, encourages more students to participate, and promotes the improvement of campus sports levels.
Providing Solid Support to Facilitate Sports Activities
The vigorous development of campus sports cannot be separated from the guarantee of sports venues and facilities. Since the completion of the West Gymnasium in 1919, the construction of venues at Tsinghua University has continuously developed to meet the needs of teaching, training, association activities, and sports competitions. Currently, the total scale of venues is approximately 230,000 square meters. Outdoor facilities mainly consist of four major playgrounds, combined with various ball courts, totaling over 140,000 square meters; there are 7 indoor venues, totaling over 80,000 square meters. The brand-new North Gymnasium is fully functional and can host ice and snow sports in all seasons. In 2024, it supported a total of approximately 27,300 teaching hours and accommodated over 3.6 million visits for exercise by teachers and students.
