A bike rider heads for a soft landing while practicing a stunt. Fans say the facilities at the Woodward Beijing extreme sports center are the best of their kind in Asia. Photos by Feng Yongbin / China Daily

The US sports camp company, Camp Woodward, will open its first residential camp in Beijing in June.

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The center will offer school students short-term camps, offering extreme sports, gymnastics and eventually digital music, photography and language courses. It will also offer its excellent facilities to individuals and groups.

In the long term, Woodward Beijing plans to open other centers in major cities in China and to collaborate with TV stations to create an extreme sports channel.

Woodward Beijing is in Daxing district, in the south of Beijing, and occupies an indoor and outdoor area of 8,000 square meters. The center, which has been operating on a trial basis since May 2010 and only opens its sports facilities to the public from Thursday to Sunday, is the first overseas Woodward camp.

Camp Woodward is a leading US extreme sports brand. In the US it offers one-week summer residential camps for teenagers with action sports, gymnastics and cheer leading activities. Based in Pennsylvania, it has four camps in the US and more than two-thirds of the camp members prefer extreme sports.

Wang Zhuo, an assistant at Woodward Beijing, said that due to the high brand awareness of Woodward, the center became very popular soon after its trial operation in Beijing began.

"We have had 4,100 customers from 38 countries, 40 percent of whom are foreigners," Wang said. "Besides local customers, students from international schools in China have visited on weekends and some foreigners have also dropped by."

Wang said extreme sports fans from nearby regions such as Tianjin and Dalian also use the center to practice on weekends.

The residential camps will operate this summer from June to August. The main focus now is on marketing and promotion.

The total investment in the camp is 81 million yuan. Until now, the camp has relied on sponsorship and ticket sales for its income, but in the future the camps will be its core business.

"This camping business model is easy to copy and will generate enough cash flow," said Peng Shiwei, vice-president of Beijing Extreme Galaxy Sports and Culture Development, the company in charge of Woodward Beijing.

In the US, Woodward camps open three months a year, from June to August, and the sports facilities are available for players during the rest of year.

Traditional programs at Woodward consist of extreme sports, gymnastics and cheer squads, as well as digital media courses. Due to differences between China and the US, the Beijing camp will cater to local needs.

"In China, we have two vacations, two months in summer and one month in winter. So we are considering adding an additional camp in winter," said Peng. "Besides, we would promote short-term programs like weekend camping for visitors from other provinces."

Peng said Woodward will also add some more training programs to attract different consumers.

"We are looking forward to collaborating with professional training organizations to add some modern programs in areas like digital music, photography and languages. We may also add a travel service to attract more foreign tourists."

Although there is no successful precedent for sports camping in China, Peng is confident about the market prospects.

"There is only one extreme sports center in China and that is nowhere near enough to satisfy the huge market," he said. "We expect to earn back our costs within three years. And once the Beijing camp is running well we plan to set up extreme sports camps in Shanghai and Guangzhou."

One major attraction at Woodward Beijing is the high standard of the facilities. At the Daxing center all facilities, from design to building materials, were imported from the US. With such first-class facilities, the camp has attracted many professional extreme sports players from China and abroad.

"It is the best extreme sports training center in Asia," said Dan Haolin, 25, a professional extreme cyclist, who has trained regularly at the center since it opened.

Dan was the mountain bike riding champion at the 2010 Xtep China Xgames and has been involved in extreme sports for 14 years. He said for professional players, the quality of training facilities is very important. "Even a slight difference would affect training," Dan said.

Joe Eberling, 53, a US skateboard enthusiast, runs two skateboard stores in Shanghai and comes to the Beijing camp twice a month for work and skating.

He said that most good skateboarders come from the US because of the strong government support.

"China has the best divers and gymnasts. With more support and promotion from the government, it could have the best skateboarders," he said.

Yi Jiandong, professor at the Beijing Sport University and an expert on the sports industry, said that sports camping is in line with current trends and has good long-term prospects.

"After the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Chinese people began to pay more attention to sports and health. Meanwhile the government also shifted its focus from winning gold medals to nationwide fitness programs, emphasizing that social capital should promote the industrialization and marketization of sports," Yi said.

However, Yi added that as a new industry sports camping in China will face some challenges.

"Unlike the US, teenagers in China tend to go to tutorial classes and study during their vacations," he said.

"Besides, most extreme sports players are teenagers without stable incomes. They may have a great desire for the product but limited capacity to pay for it. This makes it more difficult to expand the market."

Yi said that many sports, such as baseball and American football, have been introduced to China but none has gained a strong following because Chinese people have different preferences.

"In general, Chinese people prefer sports that have a mental component, such as tai chi, while Americans prefer strength-based sports like American football.

"New sports ventures need to do research and promotion before entering the local market. It is essential to understand the consuming habits of Chinese people beforehand and adjust business strategies to suit them."

China Daily

US skateboard enthusiast Joe Eberling (front, second left) said that centers like Woodward Beijing could help China produce world champions in extreme sports.