Hosted by the General Administration of Sport of China and undertaken by the Government of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China, the 13th National Winter Games of the People's Republic of China was held from 20th to 30th January 2016. As the only Macao athlete participant, the 16-year-old Ho Chi Hin said, “I feel quite lonely for being always on my own.” This was Ho's first time traveling to Xinjiang. He had to compete at the Ice Sports Center of Xinjiang in a plateau region at a height of 1650 meters above sea level. This was a great physical and fitness challenge to Ho, as he was born and brought up in Macao being nearly no elevation above sea level. “I have found our difference and my room for improvement through the competition. When I came back, I got more training on difficult moves than I had before the competition. I gain confidence in myself. All I need is an opportunity and a better rink.” 

      A Different Person outside the Rink

      Ho Chi Hin is usually a shy young man until he steps onto the competition venue, when he becomes a completely different person of confidence and focus. Ho finished his challenge as the competition music ended. “I had got tired halfway through the competition. I was worried that I couldn't hang on anymore. I used to skate for around two and a half minutes at maximum in my regular drills and competitions I joined previously. But in that competition, I had to skate for nearly four and a half minutes, which was almost double the amount of time I usually took, so I couldn't quite keep up physically. Fortunately, I was determined enough to hold on to it. My coach told me afterwards that I was wearier than usual because I had some mountain sickness.” “Ho Chi Hin had got minor mountain sickness since he arrived in Xinjiang, but I didn't tell him. I just let him take in oxygen and observed his situation silently so as not to give him pressure,” stated the coach Li Liping.

      Surpass Yourself before You Can Surpass Others

      Ho Chi Hin claimed the seventh place in the “Junior Men's Free Skate” and “Junior Men's Singles” respectively. “My mind went blank before the competition began. I was hoping I wouldn't fail. I had been thinking throughout the competition that since I had got this rare opportunity to join such a big event, I should just enjoy it and the outcome was not important, so I managed to hang on all the way to the end. I was so glad that I had overcome myself,” Ho recalled.

      Training Affected by Inadequate Facility Condition

      Ho Chi Hin explained that he has training four days a week of 2 hours each, but there is only one skating rink in Macao, which is too small for him to make difficult moves most of the time and that he runs against the guardrails easily. Therefore, Ho left for Shenzhen before the competition for training especially difficult moves for a month. Still the time was too tight for him to master many of the moves before he set off to Xinjiang. His coach Li Liping was, however, content with Ho's performance. “After all, this was his first time to play in such a large-scale and high-level competition and he was the first skater. He had surpassed himself by finishing his movements despite the pressure piled on him. He only lagged behind other players in the performance of difficult movements.”

      Hope Not to Be Alone Anymore

      Ho Chi Hin learnt of ice-skating at nine years old when his parents took him to a rink. Comfortable with the rink's coolness, Ho asked his parents to sign him up for a hobby class. He was invited to perform at Christmas and then he found his passion for ice skating. At age eleven, he met his coach “Sister Ping” and officially embarked on his figure skating path. Ho Chi Hin is now at level 6. He emphasized that he would keep on doing it, “There will be more and more support from the government and the Macau Ice Sports Federation. I hope more people will like ice skating so I won't be the only one to compete out there.”