China's suddenly popular frisbee sports industry is expected to enter a rapid growth stage in the next two years, and the supply side should be fully prepared to foster the development of the sector, industry experts said.

A recent report from Chinese lifestyle-sharing platform Xiaohongshu showed that ever since this year, frisbee-related searches skyrocketed. In July, the number of frisbee-related searches went up 176 times more than the same period last year. In 2021, notes related to frisbee on Xiaohongshu were six times that of 2020. The top cities with the greatest number of frisbee fans were Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen in Guangdong province and Chengdu.

According to the report from online technology media platform 36 Kr, frisbee has become one of the most popular sports for young people in 2022; while Chinese news portal Jiemian reported that frisbee has attracted over 1 million fans in China so far.

Yu Jin, one of the people in charge of frisbee-related content on Xiaohongshu, said,"The epidemic has greatly spurred people's longing for outdoor sports, and frisbee, as a sport that is easy to learn, beginner-friendly and contains social attributes went viral. The development of the frisbee industry in China in the past few months has achieved what had been achieved in a few years for other sports."

"Currently, the sport is gaining popularity from first-tier cities to third-, fourth- and fifth-tier cities. It has transformed from a newly emerged sport to a popular sport, and many related races have formed," he added.

On Aug 25, Xiaohongshu announced strategic partnership with the American Ultimate Disc League, a world-class frisbee league, becoming AUDL's exclusive event broadcast platform and official content community partner.

The company said that it will broadcast three semi-finals and a final of AUDL game since Aug 27, and broadcast a total of 160 games by the end of 2023. It will also provide support for an audience of more than 100 million for frisbee competition-related content, and plans to cooperate with at least 30 frisbee events in the coming year.

Xue Zhixing, senior frisbee industry expert, said,"The next two years will be the rapid growth stage of China's frisbee industry. The supply side, such as sports fields and frisbee-related products, should be fully prepared, and primary and secondary schools and universities are expected to be the possible future highland for the industry."

zhengyiran@chinadaily.com.cn