Since being elected as the new president of the Chinese Yachting Association on January 18, Zhang Xiaodong’s life has been marked by "constant travel." Whether it's preparing the national team, youth development, or building systems for competitions, certifications, training, as well as market development and brand building—all these "trivial matters" require her personal attention, yet she finds joy in them.
The Country Garden Cup 2018 — the 9th Round the Island International Regatta in Hainan is currently underway. Bathed in the gentle sea breeze, Zhang Xiaodong recently gave an interview to reporters, discussing the development plans of the Chinese Sailing Association. She openly stated that the goal is to win a gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and actively promoting sailing among youth will be one of the key focuses moving forward.
As the silver medalist in women’s windsurfing at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and China’s first world champion in windsurfing, Zhang Xiaodong has authoritative insight into Olympic preparations. Although Chinese sailors have already won gold and silver medals at the Olympics, the outlook for the Tokyo Games is not optimistic.
At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Chen Peina won a silver medal in women’s windsurfing, while London Olympics champion Xu Lijia performed poorly in the women’s Laser Radial event. Currently, only the windsurfing event remains a potential gold-medal opportunity for China in Tokyo.
Since the Rio Olympics, Chen Peina has continued her winning streak by taking the titles at last year’s World Championships and the Tianjin National Games, maintaining an excellent form.
According to Zhang Xiaodong, Chen Peina has been studying at Beijing Sport University since then, giving her limited recovery time. However, she still secured third place at the National Windsurfing Championships in March, proving she still has certain capabilities. "But whether she can participate in the Tokyo Olympics still depends on the selection process."
Chen Peina is familiar with the sailing venue for the Tokyo Olympics, but in Zhang Xiaodong’s view, "our sport really depends on the weather. Although Japan’s venue features moderate to light winds (which our athletes are relatively good at), even the Beijing Olympics were said to have such conditions, yet two days of strong winds occurred—there’s always an element of unpredictability. Therefore, (to win the gold) athletes must be within the top ranks. I think the top six all have the potential to become Olympic champions."
The Chinese team has just completed their winter training, and will compete in two World Cup events before selecting the athletes for the Asian Games by the end of April. "Our sport is somewhat unique, as training isn’t continuous—many athletes take adjustment periods. Some may not even come out until the World Championships, so the World Championships in Denmark this July, which also serve as Olympic qualifiers, will ultimately test the level our team has built through winter training and summer competitions."
The Chinese Yachting Association has just formulated a four-year plan, including establishing a youth training system with a focus on youth sailing; building a national team management system to provide technological support, logistical services, and more; as well as club qualification assessments and training system development.
In Zhang Xiaodong’s view, youth development and mass participation are undoubtedly very important, because "a solid foundation among youth will encourage families to get more involved." How exactly to promote this? This year, the Chinese Yachting Association will host the China International Sailing Tour, aiming to improve the treatment of professional athletes. While competing in official events, they can also join incentive-based races. Outstanding athletes can represent clubs, earning both a salary and prize money, while also enabling reasonable athlete mobility, thus increasing overall engagement. The event is tentatively planned to include six levels, with the top 20–30 athletes in each category participating. Initially, the focus will be on Chinese athletes, with international elites invited to the finals. The goal for the first year is to hold 3–4 stops, eventually building it into a mature branded event.
It’s worth mentioning that the tour includes a "Family Sailing Race," and a boat type suitable for family competitions will be developed, gradually incorporating it into youth competitions. "Besides youth, public, professional, and high-end big boats, it would be great to have a boat type that families can enjoy together. This model has been tried in branded events, but hasn’t reached a significant scale yet. We’ll need to see the results and level of participation," said Zhang Xiaodong.
"Bringing sailing into schools" is certainly also one of the methods to promote youth sailing, but in recent years, most sports have wanted to enter schools, and sailing doesn’t have a competitive edge. Regarding this, Zhang Xiaodong hopes to gain support from the education sector. She admitted that the Chinese Yachting Association has communicated with education authorities, hoping they can recognize the impact of the ocean on children.
Including youth races in influential regattas has yielded some results. In 2014, the China Cup Sailing Race introduced an OP demonstration event, which was upgraded to a Youth Open in 2015, becoming an official China Cup event. In 2016, the RS class was added alongside OP, along with a family race component, where young sailors could invite their parents or relatives to compete, echoing the China Cup theme “Sail as a Family.” In 2017, besides expanding in scale, international elite sailors were also included, developing it into a high-level international youth event.
The ongoing Round the Island International Regatta in Hainan naturally hasn’t overlooked attracting and nurturing youth—2017 marked the first OP competition, and this year 31 teams have participated. At the “Little Sailors” Sailing Camp, 100 children each day receive free theoretical instruction, practice sailing maneuvers, and go on sailing excursions. Additionally, themes like the 3D Fantasy Ocean Pavilion and VR Maritime Experience have resonated widely among youth.
In China, there are still relatively few influential sailing events. The Hai Sailing Race is one example—it’s already in its ninth edition and enjoys the reputation of being "China’s No.1 offshore race." After the Chinese Yachting Association became an independent entity, the challenge of creating more branded events has emerged. Zhang Xiaodong hopes that in the future, all events will become traditional, government-supported, sustainable, and distinctive—only then can they possess true vitality.
In terms of mass participation, cities like Qingdao, Sanya, Nanjing, and Shenzhen are performing well, and there are about 200 clubs nationwide. However, in Zhang Xiaodong’s view, there is still much room for growth in this field. "When people think of sailing, they often associate it with the ocean, but sailing can also be done on inland lakes, and Nanjing does a great job in this regard."
Zhang Xiaodong has a "small goal": to strive for the national sailing population (including enthusiasts and professional athletes) to grow from the current approximately 60,000 to over 150,000, and the number of national clubs to rise from around 200 to over 400 by the next association leadership transition at the end of 2021. She also aims to make the organization and management of national member associations more independent, with more professional and refined systems.