Development Guidelines to Promote Canoeing in Pingdingshan City, Henan Province, People’s Republic of China

Background and Aim: After winning three gold medals at the Seventh National Games, Henan Province's canoeing project has been at a low point in previous National Games. Although the results and strength have improved in recent years, compared with the domestic advantage projects, the inter-provincial gap in canoeing projects is still large. It is urgent to identify the problems, update the concepts, seek breakthroughs, and achieve the sustainable development of Henan Province's canoeing projects. Based on the investigation of the current status of canoeing training in my country, this paper aims to formulate a guide for the development of canoeing sports in Pingdingshan City, Henan Province, and combines the specific actual training situation of canoeing projects in Pingdingshan City, Henan Province. The purpose is to investigate and study the current status of canoeing training in the city, aiming to sort out the shortcomings and deficiencies of canoeing training in Pingdingshan City, Henan Province in the emerging stage, and strive to explore solutions and development guidelines, to achieve corresponding results, and provide theoretical references for the comprehensive, rapid and healthy development of canoeing projects in Pingdingshan City, Henan Province. Materials and Methods: This study took the Pingdingshan City Canoeing Team in Henan Province as the research object, with a total of 200 people as the sample group, including 15 canoeing team leaders, 25 canoeing coaches, and 160 canoeing athletes. Three experts were selected through purposive sampling to check the interview form and questionnaire quality (IOC), including 1 national canoeing coach and 2 senior canoeing coaches. Seven experts were selected through purposive sampling, including 4 Pingdingshan City Team Water Sports Team Coaches and 3 Henan Provincial Team Water Sports Team Coaches, and they were invited to conduct expert interviews to collect relevant suggestions. Nine experts were invited as focus groups through purposive sampling, including 3 Henan Provincial Water Sports Team Coaches, 4 Pingdingshan City Water Sports Team Coaches, and 2 Zhoukou City Water Sports Team Coaches, and improvement suggestions were put forward through focus groups. Results: The analysis points out current problems in infrastructure, funding, training programs, and recruitment. Infrastructure needs to be improved, and funding mainly depends on external sponsorship. It is recommended to increase in-kind assistance to make up for the lack of equipment. Training programs lack consistency and standardization, and modern scientific methods need to be adopted, and coaches need to be professionalized. In addition, challenges in resources and staff retention need to be addressed through raising public awareness. Suggested development methods include upgrading facilities, diversifying funding sources, standardizing training programs, enhancing public awareness, and calling on the government to formulate supportive policies. Conclusion: This study aims to develop guidelines to promote the development of canoeing in Pingdingshan City, Henan Province, and comprehensively analyze infrastructure, funding, training programs, various recruitment methods, and policy support. Research tools such as structured questionnaires and expert interviews were used to collect quantitative and qualitative data.