Summer camps offer specialized pursuits

Fencing club in Beijing provides academic courses, physical training foryoungsters who are on holiday

Beijing resident Wang Qiang was happy when he finally found a satisfactory summer camp for his 7-year-old daughter.

In the eyes of the loving father, a camp organized by a fencing club in Beijing's Chaoyang district that provided a wide range of activities each day was the best choice for his daughter, who took up fencing as a hobby two years ago.

Wang hoped his daughter could refine her fencing skills and have a happy summer vacation by getting involved in a series of other interesting activities.

He eventually got what he wanted at a camp organized by Wanghaibin International Fencing Club, which is named after China's former world-class foil fencer Wang Haibin.

Starting in late July, the six-week camp offered daily courses on fencing skills, physical training, English and drawing. In addition, the children were taken out each week for events including horseback riding and indoor skiing.

Chang Shan, one of the camp's course designers, said they had considered children's academic needs as much as possible when deciding the content of the camp.

"At school, children need instruction on acquiring knowledge, guidance in doing homework, a certain amount of physical exercise, and some extracurricular activities.

"So we arranged the camp following the same structure, making it familiar but more interesting for the kids. A major difference is that fencing runs through almost all the courses as a theme," Chang said.

He gave examples in physical training and English courses. "Our physical training is not pure physical training, it's tailored for fencing. And the English courses are not general English, but have some content related to fencing."

Wang Meng, CEO of the club, said the camp was arranged in this way to meet the demands of children and parents for special and high-end summer camps.

He said summer camps, especially those with common subjects or themes, have been popular among Chinese children and their parents for years.

"Under such circumstances, there's a demand for some new types of summer camps that not only have a special theme but also integrate some lesser-known themes and activities," he said. "Fencing, skiing and horseriding are such activities."

Wang Meng said the camp gathered about a dozen participants, most of them children between 6 and 8, with some interest in fencing.

"The camp's theme was fencing, a sport that is known and appreciated only by a small group of people in China, so the number of participants was not big," he said, adding that there are no more than 30,000 people nationwide involved with fencing.

"We hope to attract more children in the future to spread the culture of fencing among the younger generation," he said.

To add to the appeal of the summer camp, the club invited Luo Pingbei, the former coach of the Beijing fencing team, to give lectures on fencing theory and rules to the young campers.

Luo, 67, said he wanted to tell the children about his work experience and teach them some basic knowledge to stimulate their interest in the sport, which is not so well known in China.

"I hope through my teaching that these children will understand the rules of fencing and get to know the history and culture behind it, so that when they watch fencing matches they will feel a sense of participation, just like an insider."

Wang Qiang said his daughter enjoyed the camp. "Miaomiao told me she had a great time. She likes fencing, and was also happy to join her peers in all the activities, whether it was skiing or horse-riding. All these made her excited," he said.