A goal of healthy fun
China DailyMiddle school students compete in the 2024 U-series floorball match at Shanghai Opark on April 21. Eight months remain until the 9th Asian Winter Games in Harbin, capital of Northeast China's Heilongjiang province, yet in May, most parts of China were in the midst of spring, with natural ice surfaces rare sight. Compared to hockey, floorball is designed to be safer with its lightweight sticks made primarily of carbon material together with hollow plastic balls perforated with holes to reduce injury risks. In February 2018, China unveiled the Olympic Education Programme for Primary and Secondary Schools in preparation for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, including plans to introduce non-ice variations of winter sports in select southern cities. In February 2019, the General Administration of Sport of China officially recognized floorball as one of the promotional projects for winter sports leading up to the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.