China's youth athletics boom is driving record participation in children's sports nationwide, combining fun competition, school programs and sports-tourism initiatives to promote lifelong fitness among young people.
TAIYUAN, June 1 (Xinhua) -- As International Children's Day arrives and the 2026 China Kids' Athletics Month campaign closes, youth athletics activities continue to gain momentum across China, reflecting growing enthusiasm for grassroots sports participation among children.
At the 2026 China Kids' Athletics Month Carnival held earlier in Linfen, north China's Shanxi Province, more than 1,000 young athletes from 27 teams nationwide competed in an all-around athletics challenge and a 1.6-kilometer race, spending the May Day holiday on the track.
Meanwhile, the recently concluded 2026 Zhejiang Youth Sunshine Sports Fun Athletics Competition targeted primary school students born after 2013. The event featured team competitions including sprint-hurdle relays, speed ladders, endurance runs, cross jumps and kneeling medicine-ball throws, highlighting the fun and inclusive nature of youth athletics.
The events form part of a nationwide series organized under the banner of World Kids' Athletics Day and China Kids' Athletics Month.
May 7 marks World Kids' Athletics Day, an initiative launched by World Athletics. To support the initiative and encourage greater participation in athletics among children and teenagers, the Chinese Athletics Association called on schools, sports organizations and local authorities to organize related events throughout May. Since May 1, competitions and promotional activities have been held across the country.
Catherine Margaret O'Sullivan, Kids' Athletics senior manager at World Athletics, said that through kids' athletics programs, they hope to create opportunities for children to experience athletics in a fun and positive way, meet their developmental needs, develop sports skills and build confidence for lifelong participation in physical activity.
"China is an important promoter and practitioner of kids' athletics. I can feel the strong sporting atmosphere here, and people truly recognize the value of helping children stay active and healthy," she added.
The popularity of youth athletics has grown rapidly in recent years.
In 2025, the "Great Wall Little Warriors" kids' athletics series staged more than 140 events nationwide and attracted over 300,000 participants.
Other competitions, including the WSE Athletics Open for age groups such as U4, U8 and U12 and the "Run, Youth" U-series athletics events, have also experienced robust growth.
Zhang Xinda, executive chairman of the Linfen Athletics Association, said youth athletics centers on three fundamental disciplines -- running, jumping and throwing -- while adapting traditional track-and-field events into child-friendly activities.
"The program includes fun events such as hurdle relays, foam javelin throwing and cross jumps," Zhang said. "Team-based formats and safe, environmentally friendly equipment are used to better suit children's physical and psychological characteristics."
According to Zhang, children's athletics programs have increasingly been incorporated into physical education classes in kindergartens and lower-grade primary schools across China. At the same time, a growing number of youth athletics training institutions have emerged.
"Athletics is the foundation of all sports," said Kang Jianbo, principal of Linfen No. 1 Central School.
"Through obstacle races, fun throwing activities and other exercises, we aim to increase first- and second-grade students' interest in sports and participation levels, helping them build a solid athletic foundation," Kang said.
The school organizes cross-country races and fun sports meetings every spring and autumn. Participation has increased significantly in recent years, according to Kang.
"In the past, only 40 to 50 percent of students would participate. Now participation exceeds 80 percent, and some events are fully booked within a day," he said.
Industry insiders believe the rise of youth athletics competitions reflects the sport's growing maturity in China.
"Every sport requires an integrated system of learning, training and competition," Zhang said. As the sport develops, however, demand for competitive opportunities is steadily increasing.
"Compared with sports such as basketball and soccer, athletics training can seem relatively repetitive, and the results are not always immediately visible," said Sun Jiandong, head of the Linfen Little Flyers Sports Club.
"But the rise of youth athletics competitions in recent years has helped address this issue by promoting learning through competition," he added.
Beyond strengthening the sport's development system, the growth of competitions has also expanded the market potential of youth athletics.
Linfen Yongsheng Sports Development is a youth athletics training institution. In recent years, the proportion of younger trainees has steadily increased.
According to company head Zhang Yong, the trend reflects growing parental attention to children's health, greater public awareness of athletics, and rising training demand driven by the increasing number of competitions.
"Recently, we enrolled more than 10 younger students who began training specifically to prepare for this competition," Zhang said.
The popularity of youth athletics events has also helped promote the integration of sports, culture and tourism.
During the 2026 World Kids' Athletics Day and China Kids' Athletics Month Carnival in Linfen, the city simultaneously launched the third Shanxi Sports Consumption Week.
Athletes and event staff were offered free or discounted access to 49 tourist attractions, further boosting local holiday tourism and consumption.
As China continues to promote youth fitness and grassroots sports participation, the growing appeal of youth athletics is creating new opportunities for physical education, sports training and sports-related consumption while encouraging more children to embrace active lifestyles. ■
