Historical Examination and Contemporary Pathways for the Revival of Rural Sports——An Empirical Study Based on Xinhua Village

The revival of rural sports is not only an essential component of implementing rural revitalization strategies but also a crucial element within the broader context of comprehensive rural rejuvenation. The research investigates the historical experiences,current challenges, and potential development directions for rural sports revitalization, employing methods such as literature analysis, oral history, and field surveys, with a specific focus on Xinhua Village. The findings reveal that from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s, Xinhua Village experienced a vibrant period of rural sports characterized by spontaneous community engagement in sports activities, traditional volleyball competitions on a regular basis in rural primary schools, and the integration of sports games into the daily lives of children and adolescents. The driving factors behind this flourishing period were the martial spirit of the villagers, the influence of local sports talents, the significance of rural school sports, and the impact of the village's geographical conditions and its simple, rustic culture. However, in the 21st century, Xinhua Village's rural sports encountered the challenge of a “retreat from tradition and difficulty in modernization”. This was primarily due to factors such as the loss of rural sports talent, the consolidation of rural primary schools resulting in the weakening of the “home-school-community” sports connection, shifts in the local living environment eroding the foundations of rural sports culture, and insufficient organization of emerging sports and cultural activities, hampering the formation of self-sustaining initiatives with broad-reaching influence. Based on these observations, this study puts forth several strategies for revitalizing rural sports, including aligning with the overarching goals of rural revitalization to chart a comprehensive plan for rural sports rejuvenation, reinvigorating sports programs in rural schools to rekindle enthusiasm for rural sports, establishing a holistic rural sports ecosystem to cultivate the environment for rural sports revival, enhancing talent development and organizational capacity to nurture leaders in rural sports revitalization, and fostering rural sports activities and sports industry to serve as platforms for rural sports revival.