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some time ago, when the chinese national football team lost to opponents such as japan and saudi arabia in succession, in addition to complaining verbally, many fans also wanted to run to the stadium immediately to sweat and "vent", but they found out embarrassingly that there was no free field to play football nearby.

in recent years, the enthusiasm of the people to participate in sports and consume sports has been rising. however, in this process, problems such as "difficult to find", "difficult to book" and "high fees" in public sports venues have become increasingly prominent. many netizens complained that "a monthly salary of 20,000 yuan cannot afford to play badminton" and "i have never played football on a standard field in my middle age."

to a certain extent, one of the main contradictions in the current development of the healthy china strategy is the contradiction between the people's growing demand for sports and fitness and the insufficient development of sports venue resources.

the head of the general administration of sport of china stated at a press conference held recently that the supply of "venues and facilities", "sports products" and "policy measures" will be strengthened to further promote the free or low-cost opening of public sports venues to ease the contradiction between supply and demand in the sports market and meet the people's demand for sports.

however, opening and utilizing public sports venues is easier said than done.

to be fair, there are indeed considerable difficulties in fully opening public sports venues at this stage, and if we are not careful, it may cause other social problems.

open management is difficult.for example, some netizens have called for the opening of university sports venues. it must be said that the entry of social personnel into universities has brought challenges to the security and management of universities, and uncivilized phenomena such as discarding debris and parking vehicles randomly have emerged one after another. some people use the resources of university venues to carry out training activities without approval, causing damage to sports facilities and even affecting normal teaching activities, making universities overwhelmed and causing dissatisfaction among many students.

the maintenance cost is high.the maintenance funds for colleges and local sports venues mainly come from fiscal grants, in addition to some social donations. if they are fully open, the costs of maintenance, upkeep, and renovation of the internal facilities and equipment will inevitably rise sharply, increasing the economic burden on the operating entity. some sports venues choose to take the market-oriented path and generate their own income through leasing, undertaking activities, etc., but for many places, this self-generation is nothing compared to the high maintenance costs.

facing risks.some stadium staff said they also want to open the stadium as much as possible to serve the local people. however, in the absence of clear policies and liability risks, if accidents occur due to venue facilities or sudden illness of athletes, it will bring legal problems and many secondary risks to the venue. in recent years, similar cases have been reported frequently in the newspapers, leaving stadium operators with lingering fears.

in other words, opening sports venues to the public requires consideration of social needs, economic benefits, and legal responsibilities. this is not just the responsibility of the sports community, but a systematic social project that requires the attention and participation of the entire society.

amateur badminton match. photo by yan genrong

strengthen financial support and subsidies to ensure there are enough sports venues.

at present, the general administration of sport of china has expanded the scope of subsidies for public sports venues. subsidies are no longer limited to large venues. the basis for subsidies has been adjusted from the original number of seats to a comprehensive consideration of factors such as the number of eligible venues in each region, the open area of ​​fitness venues, and the annual number of visitors to fitness venues. in particular, small and medium-sized venues and national fitness centers that are popular among the people and meet the conditions are also included in the subsidy scope.

in the future, we can combine local realities, introduce social resources, expand the supply of public welfare and basic national fitness services, renovate and build urban greenways, parks, and communities, and create more convenient sports venues as much as possible.

improve management and service capabilities to ensure that the sports facilities and experience are "good".

relevant departments should further formulate supporting policy documents such as service requirements, charging standards, and scope of responsibility for public sports venues, and put forward a series of detailed and quantitative requirements for the degree of openness and service content. encourage the public to "split peak" exercise, improve the utilization rate of sports venues through new technologies and service concepts, meet the use needs of different groups at different time periods, and provide the people with long-term high-quality sports facilities and good fitness experience.

strengthen social supervision and third-party evaluation to ensure that the service is "real".

local governments can strengthen supervision and evaluation in areas such as whether venues can undertake sports events and training, and provide venues for public welfare sports organizations. they can require all sports venues to disclose their annual opening and service information on the national fitness information service platform and accept extensive social supervision, so that the people can change from being "guests" of sports venues to "hosts."

in addition, units that meet annual public service standards or perform outstandingly can be given certain performance incentives and policy support to further promote sports venues' support for national fitness services.

national fitness is not a slogan, and a healthy china is not just an empty talk. it is a positive lifestyle and a simple wish of the masses. don't let the "unaffordable" badminton dampen the enthusiasm of the masses to participate in sports, and don't let the "unavailable" sports venues become a "natural barrier" that hinders the masses from participating in sports. (anhui commentary)