Technology fuels primary school students’ enthusiasm for winter sports in Shanghai

The East Yuhang Road First Primary School in east China’s Shanghai has integrated AI and VR technology with winter sports such as curling and skiing, which in turn has fueled students’ enthusiasm for these games.

Students play dryland curling at the East Yuhang Road First Primary School. (Photo/Fan Zhonghua)

The school transformed a corridor inside a teaching building into a court for practicing land curling on the floor’s surface, having equipped the court with a screen supported by AI technology.

The students would usually team up and play land curling during breaks. When a curling stone is thrown, its trajectory will be displayed on the screen. Despite a lack of training on a real ice curling court, the students are very professional, including both the players and the observers taking part in the game.

“The school has introduced several winter sports such as land curling and skiing. Our school took the lead nationwide in developing land curling supported by AI and dryland skiing powered by VR, which enables the students to have fun playing these games,” said Wang Yonghua, principal of the school.

“I really enjoy dryland skiing. After having some dryland training in PE classes, I went skiing at a ski resort. The two scenarios are pretty much the same in terms of equipment and skills for keeping a balance, but just require different skills for making a turn,” said Zhang Yu, a student in fifth grade.

The activities organized by the school are just another vivid example of the growing passion for winter sports among people living in Shanghai as the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics draw near. The city is now home to 73 schools that have incorporated winter sports into their curriculum. In 2021, 2.8 million people in Shanghai participated in winter sports activities.