Why is Chenzhou called the natal home of the Chinese women’s volleyball team?

Over the past 30 years, the Chinese women's volleyball team has visited Chenzhou for training or competition 19 times. They have developed a deep relationship with this city and left many beautiful stories behind. Chenzhou is known as the natal home of the Chinese women's volleyball team. .

In February 1978, the National Sports Commission proposed that the three major sports (football, basketball, and volleyball) should fight for a turnaround, and the women's volleyball team became the vanguard. At that time, the Chenzhou City Sports Commission immediately reported to the Provincial Sports Commission and the National Sports Commission and proposed to build a volleyball base. The Volleyball Office of the National Sports Commission replied: If the training venue is built, the national youth women can be discharged there. ?Chenzhou Municipal Sports Commission used the locally abundant bamboo as building materials to build two bamboo shed training halls in just 43 days, and successfully hosted the national youth women's volleyball training camp. After hosting the youth women's volleyball team, the Chenzhou base wants the national women's volleyball team to come to Chenzhou for training. Women's volleyball team leader Zhang Yipei and Chinese women's volleyball deputy coach Deng Ruozeng went south to Chenzhou for inspection.

In order to provide the best accommodation conditions for the women's volleyball team, the base transformed the best row of office buildings into dormitories and added private bathrooms. Moved by the enthusiasm of the Chenzhou volleyball base and the convenient transportation in Chenzhou, the women's volleyball team made the decision to train in Chenzhou on the spot. On the morning of October 5, 1979, the Chinese women’s volleyball team entered the bamboo shed hall for training. Although the Chenzhou City Sports Committee does its best to provide a good training environment for the women's volleyball players, the training life of the women's volleyball girls is still very difficult. After all, the training hall is made of bamboo and wood. Some of the joints between the wooden boards are not smooth, and there are paint particles in the paint. The women's volleyball girls are prone to scratches during training. What's even more difficult is the intensity of the training. Some team members practice until they vomit, and some practice until they cry. The women's volleyball team has become the pride of Chenzhou citizens. At that time, the women's volleyball team would compete every Saturday at the Chenzhou Lighting Stadium. Tickets cost 20 cents each. There are many people attending every show, and even if you have a ticket, you may not be able to get in.

In 1980, because it created favorable conditions for the women's volleyball team to win the Asian Championships, the Chenzhou base officially became one of the top ten sports training bases in the country. After training in Chenzhou for two consecutive years in 1980 and 1981, in November 1981, the Chinese team won the third Women's Volleyball World Cup in Japan for the first time with seven wins in seven games. On that day, the whole Chenzhou was boiling, and the sound of celebratory firecrackers sounded everywhere in Chenzhou City. In September 1982, at the 9th World Women's Volleyball Championship, the Chinese women's volleyball team defeated the host Peruvian team 3:0.

In 1984, the Chinese women's volleyball team, which had just experienced the retirement of five veterans, came to Chenzhou again for a 71-day training camp to compete for the gold medal in the Los Angeles Olympics. After that training camp, the Chinese women's volleyball team won the gold medal at the 23rd Olympic Games. In the 1985 World Cup, the Chinese women's volleyball team won 3-1 in the battle between China and Cuba, strongly claiming the title.

In 1986, the women's volleyball team once again trained in Chenzhou and won the World Championships, becoming the first "five consecutive championships" in the history of world volleyball. Since then, the "women's volleyball spirit" has been widely praised. It has not only become a brand will in the field of sports, but has also been strongly sublimated into a synonym for the face of the nation. It has evolved into a symbol that refers to social culture, inspiring people from all walks of life to fight for the Chinese nation. Take off and fight tenaciously!