Beijing, Aug 18: China has founded the first-ever joint venture swimming club here as it launched an ambitious campaign to turn some 7,000 swimming pools nation-wide into professional clubs.
Approved by the China Swimming Association (CSA), the Csa-Kyoei swimming club is located in the Beijing sports fitness centre in the south-eastern part of the Chinese capital. It is to be run jointly by the Tokyo-based Kyoei swimming club Machida and the social sports centre of the Beijing sports bureau.
"In establishing the club, we are doing something down-to-earth to apply the nation-wide sports for all-fitness programme," vice-president of the CSA, Shang Xiutang said.
"With China's economy developing rapidly during the last two decades, our country's swimming population is on a steady rise. This has laid a solid foundation for establishing professional swimming clubs," he said.
"But we lack the experience in the management of such clubs," Shang was quoted by news agency.

"It is expected that the new-type Beijing club, equipped with up-to-date gear and advanced management, could serve as a window and model for other Chinese pools and clubs across the country. We hope they could learn something from the Beijing club and turn themselves step by step into highly-efficient and satisfying pro-clubs," Shang added.

Many of China's swimming pools have been owned and run by the state or local sports authorities, before reforms taken in the last decade turned some into privately operated. But many have been poorly run, serving simply as aquatic entertainment centres with such main function as to teach children the basic swimming techniques.
Bureau Report