Luo Yang played basketball. Jiang Ke jogged. Han Xu swam.

For generations, Beihang students have been engaged in various physical activities for a break from rigorous study.

With numerous athletic teams at Beihang, there is no shortage of options for student athletes.

BUAAClimber (Lingfeng)

BUAAClimber (Lingfeng), the biggest athletic team on campus, is concerned with kinds of sports that are both familiar and unusual, such as climbing snow mountains, hiking, and so on.

They have conquered successfully many challenging peaks like the central peak of Nyainqentanglha Mountain Range in Tibet with an altitude of 7,117 meters, while there are other times when they had to turn back halfway but still harvested the sense of championship with their teamwork spirit and fraternity. To be on high snow mountains means high demands for both people’s physical and psychological qualities to deal with tough weathers and diverse emergencies, and people who go through those difficulties together usually gain a stronger sense of fellowship than other common shared experiences.

Rock climbing is another branch of BUAAClimber’s activities. The so-called “ballet on the rock” is highly technical, with its lovers keen on elaborating their climbing skills by repeating the same routes.

After all, no matter on snow peaks or on the rocks, the only thing they are to challenge is themselves.

Skiing Team

With the approaching of the 2020 Winter Olympics, students’ zeal for winter sports is greatly triggered. In Beihang, we have such an excellent skiing team. In the 4th University Ski Challenge this year, Beihang skiing team won the second prize in the group game, and Yang Chengcheng won the third place of Ladies' Double-board Giant Slalom, earning herself a place in the national team to participate in the 2019 Winter Universiade held in Russia. With the support of Beihang Skiing Society, the skiing team has been recognized with ever-increasing honors and prizes over the years, all of which are earned through their hard work, passion, and pursuit for the better.

Despite the common setbacks and bottlenecks, all skiing athletes in the team hardly suspend their daily physical training and pre-season training. Every progress in performance calls not for their satisfaction, but for their growing eagerness for the next breakthrough--in skiing and in life. That is never possible without true love for the sport.

Other than only pursuing fancy techniques, the skiing society focuses more on security guidelines when engaged with the sports, which is of great educational significance for university students.

Feiyi Flag Rugby Team

American flag rugby (AFR) is a non-contact variant of the sport Tag Rugby which uses flag belts to replace tackling. Though unfamiliar to the general public, the game is growing popular among universities in China since it is safer while conserving the competitiveness of traditional games. Here in Beihang, Feiyi Flag Rugby Society is set up for its followers on campus, and the top players among them are chosen to compose the athletic team.

A formal five-player game usually lasts for 20 minutes, and the teams are divided into Offense side and Defense side. The object of the game is to advance the ball by running forward and passing backward into the opponent's goal and touch it to the ground to score a "try" which is worth 5 points.

It begins with a kickoff using a punt from the 50 yard line (midfield). If the punt is kicked out of bounds on the sideline without touching a player, the receiving team starts the ball from the 50-yard line with a foot feed. However, if the punt goes into the goal area, the receiving team receives the ball at the 50 yard line. When the ball goes out of bounds, the play is restarted by a "line-out" from the sideline.

Defensive players should defend in a straight line marking each offensive player to prevent gaps for the offensive players to run through. Besides, all defenders are required to remain on their feet, not to dive to grasp at flag or grab clothing to hold the ball carrier to get the flag.

The complete set of rules are far more complex than the above lines, and the promotion of them on campus requires Feiyi Flag Rugby Society to do more. In each game students participate, they show with their own sweat how the event strengthens their muscles as well as their spirits.

Planned and written by Zeng Jiaqi

Designed by Wang Chenyan

Edited and translated by Li Siying

Reviewed by GEOOS

Please send contributions to geoos@buaa.edu.cn