The Chinese province of Shandong hosted an introductory flag football course known as the Apple Seed Camp, welcoming participants from sports colleges, general universities, secondary schools, primary schools, and local football associations and local sports departments.
On the first day, a total of 160 enthusiastic players and coaches learned basic flag football rules and skills, including offensive positional training such as the center-quarterback snap exchange, and running back handoffs at the Stadium of the Eighth Secondary School in Yatai City.
“The basic training was very practicable for me,” said one of the participants, a primary school PE teacher. “On the second day I chose specific coaching to learn how to be a beginner coach. From basic skills to coaching methods, we learnt systematically and hopefully when we go back to school, we can guide more children to participate in and enjoy this sport. The safety and the team spirit of this sport are very important to the development of youth.”
On the camp’s second day the training was divided into two pathways, with approximately 100 people choosing Coaches Training and 60 of opting for Officials Training.
“Currently flag football is very popular, and a lot of people are trying to get involved,” said Xiaodong, Head of the Youth Section of the Weihai Sports Training Centre, Shandong Provincial Sports Bureau. “The development of flag football in Shandong Province is still at the beginner stages. We hope that by organizing this training camp, we can discover and train excellent participants and at the same time promote it to more cities to encourage more people to participate.”
Wang Feng, Director of Culture and Sports Centre, Education Sub-bureau, Huang Bohai New District, added: “Flag football is safe, so it’s accessible to more people. Flag football is fashionable and is gradually becoming popular in China.
“Government departments also pay attention to the development of flag football, whether it is a professional tournament, or public participation and university development has great potential. We hope that with the gradual promotion of flag football, more people will feel the charm of the sport and will participate.”
