Inside Playing
Dragon Fire has over 300 swimmers ranging in age between 4 and 17
“swim like a dolphin.” Wanting to be as good as them, she pushed herself hard; when she was tired, she would pretend that a shark was chasing her and swam as fast as she could. Training was rigorous, but Michelle says her coaches helped keep things fun. Her dream? To be the best swimmer in the world.
photo: courtesy of dragon fire
Dragon Fire Swim Club (Ages 4-17) Dragon Fire, the longest-running international swim club in Beijing, started out in 1994 with just 20 swimmers. In nearly 20 years, they increased their numbers over tenfold, presently counting more than 300 swimmers as members. Currently, the club is preparing to bring its training programs to Shanghai. Dragon Fire is also expanding to include not only international students, but local students and even their parents. Of the various swim clubs, Dragon Fire has the largest coaching team, with 10 experienced and qualified coaches, and offers the most classes per week. In addition to weekly training, team members compete at national and international events and monthly inter-team meets. To further foster a team spirit, Dragon Fire also arranges for kids to be involved in fundraising activities. For instance, the club raised nearly RMB 30,000 in 2007 for the Special Olympics in Shanghai. Dragon Fire founder and head coach Kevin Hua believes that joining a team also brings a lot of benefits for the swimmers in the club. The children, aged from 4 to 17, learn how to overcome obstacles and understand the value of persistence. And because swimming is a lowimpact sport, it is considered a relatively safe one with little chances for injury by collision. Beyond helping develop the children into competent swimmers, Dragon Fire knows that they are helping grow the spirit of their members. Once a young person joins a sport, they learn how to work towards a target and compete, therefore bringing out the best in themselves.
Resources Aqua Warriors 泳者 Zhongjia Palace Hot Spring Hotel Village, Shunyi District (136 8352 7243 Arthur, 136 0110 2151 Sandy, 134 8877 8089 Amanda) www.aquawarriorsbj.com 顺义区后沙峪古城村东中 家鑫园温泉酒店 Dragon Fire Swimming 龍火 Canadian International School of Beijing, 38 Liangma Qiao Lu, Chaoyang District (6465 7788) 朝阳区亮马桥路38号北京加拿 大国际学校 Western Academy of Beijing, 10 Laiguangying Donglu, Chaoyang District (5986 5588) 朝阳区来广营东路10号 Contact: Kevin Hua (136 0106 4534), dragonfireswimming@gmail. com, beijing@dragonfire.com.cn, www.dragonfire.com.cn Mookey Swim Club 亲子游泳 Tue-Sun 9am-6pm. Rm H101, Chateau Regency, Chaoyang District (next to Beijing United Family Hospital), Chaoyang District (400 879 9086, 158 1009 8275, sunny_mookey@foxmail.com) www.mookeyswim.com 朝阳区芳园西路和乔丽晶H101室 Sports Beijing Contact: 6430 1370/1176, activities@sportsbj.com, www.sportsbj.org
August 2013
beijingkids
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