GUIYANG — The 11th Guizhou Provincial Games (GPG) kicked off on Jan 12 at the Yushe ski resort in Liupanshui city, Southwest China's Guizhou province.

Winter sports were embraced as official competition events for the first time in GPG history to further develop ice and snow sports in the province, according to the Guizhou Sports Bureau (GSB).

A total of 176 athletes from nine cities and prefectures in the province including Liupanshui, Guiyang and Zunyi are competing for the 16 titles in three sports of cross-country skiing, cross-country pulley and land curling.

"This competition will demonstrate the achievements of Guizhou's ice and snow sports development and help lead more people to go outdoors and participate in winter sports," Wu Tao, director of GSB, said during the opening ceremony.

Statistics by the GSB show that over the past 10 years, Guizhou has built 10 ski fields including at least four ski resorts. Being the first in the province, Liupanshui nowadays has three ski resorts with 21 ski slopes.

"I am so happy to win the team event at the Yushe ski resort, where my teammates and I train often," said 17-year-old Kang Fang of Liupanshui after winning the women's team short distance (traditional technique) in cross-country skiing with teammate Gui Lan.

Guiyang placed second in both the men's and women's team short distance in cross-country skiing. Wu Xiujia, head coach of the team, said "the achievements Liupanshui team made have shown that only the athletes take more training on the snow, can they achieve better results."

"Compared with the past, we have been making progress and our athletes' skills have improved a lot," Wu said, adding that with the continuous development of ice and snow sports and the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics fast approaching, she believes more Guizhou athletes will step on big competition stages in the near future.