BEIJING, April 10 (Xinhua) -- The "Experience Beijing" ice sports testing program started in full swing on April 1 and concluded here on Saturday. Staging seven events in five venues, the great effort of more than 700 people on the operation team made this testing program possible and spectacular.

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT

Events at the National Speed Skating Oval officially started on April 7, but the social practice for Lu Yuanzhe and his classmates started ahead in March. Under the guidance of international ice maker Mark Peter Messer and his team, these youngsters in their 20s have fully participated in the ice making process and will hopefully become part of a new generation of ice makers in China.

How precise and complicated it is to make Olympic-standard ice has impressed Lu and reminded him of another sport. "It's like playing table tennis," said Lu. "You have to swing the racket tens of thousands of times to form muscle memory of a certain movement."

Lu and his classmates are responsible for lifting the hoses to help the ice makers thicken the ice and filling the water tank of Zamboni (ice resurfacers) in between games to maintain the ice quality. It makes the tough work all worth it when they see athletes slide around the ice they have helped create.

A STACK OF CREDENTIALS

At Capital Gymnasium that stages short speed skating and figure skating, He Qiongshan is probably the person with the most credentials as she runs from venue to venue on a daily basis and each venue has a separate credential.

As the manager of sports presentation, He manages a team that consists of cameraman, director, producer, broadcaster, and DJ, responsible for everything including live music, voice broadcast, screen display that runs through the beginning of the Games to the end.

Even for events without spectators, He and her sports presentation team still have to light up the empty room with everything they have in accordance to the style of each sport.

For Austrian Harald Springfeld, adviser and consultant for ice hockey and Para ice hockey, it has been a long journey so far.

The last time he went back to Austria was still summer in 2019. As a former professional ice hockey player and former staff member of the International Ice Hockey Federation, Springfeld's responsibility here is to ensure that the ice hockey and Para ice hockey are going to be held to a high standard.

"I'm here to transfer and deliver my knowledge to everyone participating in this event," said Springfeld. "It is gratifying that my colleagues want to know every single detail for the event and project. So this is also a good challenge for me."

"During this testing program, they put their theoretical knowledge into practice. As someone who has participated in the preparation of two Winter Games, I think the standard testing program has raised to a really high level."

"I do recommend everyone to come and watch an ice hockey and a Para ice hockey game," Springfeld added.

ALL IN THE LOGISTICS

Wukesong Sports Center also stages ice hockey events, meaning that the equipment has to be transferred between the two venues. This work goes to Zhang Fan, the logistics manager at the Center, and her team.

"Logistics work is like a screw," said Zhang. "It's never an office work, but rather changing desks, transporting gears and working in places where other won't notice after hours."

Zhang said that everyone works on different aspects with the same goal - testing and discovering as much as possible. "It's truly rewarding to be able to get the event going," Zhang added.

The logistics team is in charge of logistics service, purchasing and asset management, which are all being examined during this testing program.

A FUNNY NICKNAME

Among the 260 volunteers at the National Aquatics Center, Zheng Yuxuan from Peking University has a nickname - the most smelly one.

For the PhD candidate who has published cover page article on CELL, the nickname may sound miserable but comes with respect.

"They are just making fun of him," volunteer manager Zhang Shu explained with a smile. "Zheng actually had the chance to work the early shift, but gave it up to other students so that they could shower and rest earlier. And the bathhouses were already closed when he got back."

"I'm graduating in June," said Zheng. "I hope I could still have the chance to work as a volunteer at Beijing 2022."

The shuttle bus going back to campus leaves from the "Ice Cube" at around 10 pm. After brushing his teeth and washing his face, Zheng turns off the light and is ready to sleep. With less than six hours of sleep, another day as a volunteer is already getting started. Enditem

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