Wando Heats Up with Intense Winter Training Camps

68 Teams, 926 Athletes Training to Revitalize the Local Economy

Kyung Hee University basketball team training in Wando County during the winter season
(Photo by Wando County)

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Kyung-pil] Wando-gun, Jeollanam-do, is recognized as an ideal location for winter training camps due to its clean environment, mild climate, and well-equipped sports facilities.

According to Wando-gun on the 20th, since the Gwangju Jinheung High School baseball team arrived on the 2nd, various athletes from different sports, including the Anseong City Hall tennis team, Kyung Hee University basketball team, and Gwangju Physical Education High School weightlifting team, have been honing their stamina and skills in Wando.

In particular, over 50 members of the elementary girls' soccer team from Yingsheng City, China, trained together with a Korean women's soccer team from January 3rd to 10th.

By sport, there are 25 soccer teams (540 members), 4 baseball teams (141 members), 11 tennis teams (79 members), 1 soft tennis team (10 members), 7 weightlifting teams (50 members), 2 athletics teams (20 members), 15 basketball teams (50 members), 2 badminton teams (26 members), and 1 cycling team (10 members), totaling 68 teams (926 members) across 9 sports.

The athletes are training hard at locations including the Comprehensive Sports Complex, Wando Baseball Stadium, Wando Tennis Courts, Wando Middle School, and Sinji Myeongsasibiri Beach.

The training teams are expected to stay in Wando from about a week to as long as a month, which is anticipated to revitalize the local economy during the winter slump through the use of local accommodations and restaurants.

The county is doing its best to provide various conveniences such as stove leagues and sports marketing to ensure that the athletes achieve maximum training effects in optimal condition during their training period.

A Wando-gun official stated, “To establish ourselves as the nation's top winter training hub, we have renovated the main stand of the Comprehensive Sports Complex and built an indoor swimming pool and a multipurpose indoor gymnasium. We also plan to continue expanding sports facilities in the future.”

Meanwhile, according to the recently announced ‘Marine Healing Industry Activation Plan’ by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, Wando-gun is planned to be developed as a base for sports rehabilitation-type marine healing industry, signaling a positive outlook for attracting more winter training teams in the future.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.