Beijing Winter Olympics promotes foreign employment

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As the clock ticks down ahead of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, more and more foreigners specializing in winter sports are finding employment opportunities in China.

Keith Dorin, a Canadian in his 60s, is one of them. He is an ice-maker for curling, one the stronger sports of China's winter Olympic team. This is a highly technical and specialized skill.

To keep the surfaces to par for the 2017-2018 Chinese National Curling Championship in Xining, the capital city of northwestern Qinghai Province, Dorin had to miss his Christmas holiday. But he is devoted to his task of leveling the sheet with equipment before and after each game.

Dorin came to China for the first time last year and secured a job here helping to make several ice fields for different events in China. He is also working to train local ice-making talent. He believes that these young ice-makers-to-be will have great prospects, especially with winter sports surging in popularity.

A message of congratulation is projected onto the Bird's Nest Olympic stadium as people celebrate after Beijing was chosen to host the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing July 31, 2015. /Reuters‍ Photo

"Only a high-quality sheet can guarantee that players fully apply their skills," said Dorin.

Hans Wuthrich, another Canadian ice-maker working in China, believes that curling has huge potential to grow here.

"Frankly, the price of a curling stone is expensive," Wuthrich said. "But it can be used for decades, even longer than your lifespan."

Wuthrich believes that curling is a sport for the masses, rather than only for the privileged. "You see, more than 1.2 million people are regularly playing curling out of over 30 million people in Canada. How could this be a privileged sport?"

It costs only 160 Canadian dollars, or 130 US dollars, a year on average for each amateur player in Wuthrich's hometown Winnipeg.

"You can play 2 or 3 times a week from October to the next April for just 160 Canadian dollars. It is quite cheap," said Wuthrich.

"I can see a huge potential of curling promotion in China, and I think it will be an affordable and popular sport in here soon. And also, more foreigners specialized in curling or other winter sports will find their jobs here in the future," he said.

Source(s): China Daily