The YAO Foundation, a charity foundation set up by the ex-NBA star Yao Ming, held a press conference on May 22 in Beijing, where the 2017 Hope Primary School Basketball Season was launched.

According to the press conference, the 2017 Hope Primary School Basketball Season will see 447 schools covering 21 provinces in China take part, with 445 former students from 12 universities acting as volunteers. These volunteers have previously worked with these primary schools as basketball or other sports coaches. Apart from basketball training programmes, the YAO Foundation is going to pilot a soccer training programme in 17 primary schools in Anhui Province.

Regarding the new basketball season, the basketball league will see both Guangdong Province and Guangxi Province added to the league helping to expand the coverage of the league.

The 2017 Hope Primary School Basketball Season is the core project of the Yao Foundation, marking it as the first philanthropical sport's activity conducted in primary schools located in poorer areas in China. The aim of the project is to increase kids’ sport awareness through basketball. Around 510,000 pupils from 375 schools in 25 provinces and regions were involved in basketball activities up to 2016. By playing basketball, they can experience the spirit of sport and become more confident so that they can grow up to lead a healthier lifestyle.

Source: Yutang Sports

Proofread by Raymond Fitzpatrick