The first skiing competition for youth athletes in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei Province wrapped up on Nov. 11 in Chongli, a winter resort and the host site of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Hebei Province.

The event is part of an initiative to engage more young people in the sport of skiing by providing classes on winter sport culture in schools, and by hosting overseas training as well as youth skiing competitions.

There are around 50 winter sports schools in Beijing, all of which are certified by the Municipal Bureau of Sports and the Municipal Education Commission, said Li Xiaoming, head of the Beijing Ski Association. He said the number will gradually add up to 100.

According to a winter sport development plan released by the General Administration of Sport of China, the total scale of the country’s winter sport industry will reach 1 trillion yuan (US$ 150.6 billion) by 2025.

Li said Beijing will learn from the experiences of other countries, pool quality resources together, improve on weaknesses and cultivate more winter sport talents for the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Since its founding on Dec. 7 last year, Beijing Ski Association has hosted a series of winter sport games including the Beijing Youth Skiing Competition, the Competition for Skiing Instructors in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei Province, and the Beijing Public Skiing Open Tournament.