Inside China: A Canadian Coach’s Perspective

With the Communist Party’s takeover in 1949, China became generally inaccessible to the Western world. In 1971, sport made one of the first chinks in the armour within which China had enclosed itself.

As the Smithsonian Magazine has noted, in April of that year, during the world table tennis championship in Nagoya, Japan, the American team got “a surprise invitation from their Chinese colleagues to visit the People’s Republic. Time magazine called it, ‘The ping heard around the world.’ And with good reason: no group of Americans had been invited to China since … 1949.” Thus began what historians refer to as “the era of Ping-Pong diplomacy”.

Little by little, China grew more receptive to the West, with sport often in the vanguard. In 1980 in Lake Placid, the country made its Olympic Winter Games debut, sending 28 athletes to compete in speed skating, figure skating, cross country skiing, alpine skiing, and biathlon. Four years later, after a 32-year absence, China competed at the Los Angeles Olympic Games, winning 16 medals.

The penultimate moment in China’s Olympic history to date came on July 14, 2001, when the capital, Beijing, was awarded the right to host the 2008 Olympic Games. Those Games will be the ultimate confirmation that China welcomes international athletes and the many other Westerners the Games will bring.

In modern times, China’s success in international sport has been nothing short of spectacular. That success has provoked much speculation and curiosity, but for many years, few outsiders were allowed close examination of the Chinese sport system. The situation changed with the advent of the 2008 Games and China’s determination to excel as no other host nation has ever before done.

China’s Olympic Medal Tally
Olympic Games (1984–2004)			Olympic Winter Games (1980–2002)
Gold	Silver	Bronze	Gold	Silver	Bronze
80	79	64	2	12	8

Chinese sport leaders recognize that foreign expertise is essential for the country to achieve its goal of domination. One beneficiary of the new openness is Canadian aerials coach Cindy Thomson. Since August 2004, when she began to work with the Chinese aerials team as its strength and conditioning coach, Cindy has been afforded a unique opportunity to study Chinese sport first hand. Writing of her experiences in “Inside China: A Canadian Coach’s Perspective”, Cindy offers a compelling analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of that system and draws some provocative comparisons with the Canadian system.

The Canadian Journal for Women in Coaching believes that Cindy not only tells a story that will interest all coaches, but that she also offers a powerful incentive for female high performance coaches to explore coaching opportunities beyond our borders, an exploration that will enrich them personally and professionally, as it has her. —Sheila Robertson

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le Journal en français

DECEMBER 2005
Vol. 6, No. 1
Front Page
CONTENTS

Inside China: A Canadian Coach’s Perspective
by Cindy Thomson

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