Guangzhou jump rope team leaps ahead in international competition

A rope skipping team, made up of primary and middle school students from Huadu district in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province, has been in the spotlight after claiming dozens of medals and breaking records at a recent international competition.

At the World Jump Rope Championships held in Norway in July, nearly one thousand participants from 26 countries and regions competed for various medals.

The Huadu team finished with 85 gold medals, 23 silvers and 15 coppers, breaking seven WJR records.

"What a magic moment after winning so many medals! I have never dreamed that a jumping rope could bring so many honors to me and so many students," said Lai Xuanzhi, head coach of the Huadu team.

Lai began teaching students jumping rope in 2010, after graduating from a physical education college in Wuhan, Hubei province. He went on to become the first professional physical education teacher at Qixing Primary School.

"Students were in need of physical education," Lai said.