On October 23, the “4+2” Volleyball Competition, held by the Sports Events Group, Recreation and Sports Department of the Wuhan University Student Union came to its finale. After a fierce rivalry against the team led by Huang Haoran, the team led by Shu Hao declared the ultimate victory, with cheers lingering around the volleyball court in the Meiyuan playground.
The moment of the smash
The instant the volleyball touched the ground for the last time, Tu Xinyang let out a long sigh of relief. As the general organizer of this event, he finally drew a perfect full stop to this “chapter”, which he had been “writing” for nearly two months.
“At the very beginning, the idea of holding the “4+2” Volleyball Competition came from our ardent desire to promote volleyball in Wuhan University,” Tu Xinyang recalled. “We hope to enable more students to feel the charm of volleyball and participate in this thrilling sport. To enrich their after-school lives, strengthen their physiques, hone their wills, and show their vitality—that’s our goal. Quite simple, right?” Tu laughed. A simple desire and pure passion, which are precisely the core of the sporting spirit, act as the starting point for all the later stories.
Fierce rivalry on the court
Consistent with the original intention, a brand new rule was created for the competition that a team is supposed to be composed of four males and two females. “By breaking the restrictions of gender and major, this new format is hoped to strengthen the cooperation and communication between students of different genders, which is more in line with the goal of our match, ‘Friendship first, competition second’,” Tu Xinyang added. “Meanwhile, such an arrangement also takes the participants’ willingness into account. If one complete volleyball team is separated by sex, it may not be able to perform as they wish.”
Pre-competition discussion of players
However, the path from project to practice never did run smoothly. The first obstacle was the time schedule. Due to the group competition and the Golden Autumn Chorus Contest arranged on the same day, numerous teams did not have time to participate at the scheduled time. The staff could only rearrange the schedule based on the free time of each team and the results of a lottery. The workload of collecting and integrating the information was huge.
The second dilemma was about contacting referees. Without help from the Referee Association, the Sports Events Group had to contact referees by itself. Arranging the staff according to the referee’s spare time was also troublesome. Besides, backup plans had to be made in case of an emergency.
The third difficulty was the inconsistent height of volleyball nets. The “4+2” Volleyball Competition was held in two fields——volleyball courts in Meiyuan and the Engineering campus. Yet, the height of volleyball nets in these two fields differs, potentially affecting the unity of competition standards and the fairness of competition rules. In response to this, Tu Xinyang promised to ensure the same net height for every team in future competitions.
As for improvement measures for next year’s competition, Tu Xinyang said, “Next year, we will emphasize the rules to the team leaders in advance. Communicating with referees in time whenever an issue crops up is also worth noting.”
Players shaking hands with counterparts
The “4+2” Volleyball Competition of 2022 has ended, but it is not the final chapter. Whether athletes on the court or staff off the court, they all share the same sense of sportsmanship: fearing no difficulties and striving unremittingly. Just as Lang Ping, the legendary coach of The Chinese Women’s Volleyball Team, said, “Though we trip and fall, we still have the willpower to stand up, shake off the dust, and keep going.” For them, what’s past is prologue. Their story is to be continued.
Photo by the Sports Events Group, Recreation and Sports Department of the Wuhan University Student Union
Edited by Li Tong, Li Jing, Cao Hangqian, Sylvia, Xi Bingqing
