SAGE Worldwide was a proud supporter of the 2015 Yao Ming Foundation Basketball Camp in association with the Hope Primary Schools. 75 teams made up of 750 Chinese children from around the country gathered for the week in Xian to play in a basketball tournament, training sessions from professionals and classroom sessions to promote well-rounded individuals and team cooperation. The kids were around 11-12 years old. The players and their respective schools had been competing throughout the previous school year and championship teams from provinces were invited to the Yao Ming Basketball Camp. The players were competitive on the basketball court and creative in the classroom sessions.
Both SAGE’s key team members, Shen and Mimi went as volunteers for the week to Xian to assist at the camp. We were in charge of two, 2-hour classroom sessions a day, with 50 kids in our class. We played games that utilized teamwork, singing and arts and crafts. Mimi taught them some English words to play “Simon Says” and then gave them all English names since it was most of their first time meeting a foreigner. We tried to get them to practice their English as much as we could. It was really fun to spend so much time with the kids in the classroom and then be able to go watch them compete in basketball games in the afternoon. They were very talented.

On the second to last day, there was a large festival with fun basketball contests for the kids to enjoy and a special appearance by Yao Ming! On the last day, there was a closing ceremony and a final game between two of the teams in front of hundreds of spectators. Yao Ming acted as an assistant coach for both of the teams, which was extremely special for the young players. During time outs, teams from different provinces performed unique dances and traditional music recitals. SAGE Worldwide received a special contribution award from the Yao Ming Foundation Hope Primary School Basketball season during the awards ceremony. The entire week was very special and a unique experience to interact with kids from across China.