Sports Clubs and General Physical Education Course Information

I. General Physical Education Courses

The general physical education courses offered by the School of Physical Education of South China University of Technology were designated as Guangdong Provincial Model Courses as early as 2008. These courses not only bear the responsibility of teaching physical education to nearly 14,000 freshmen and sophomore students across the university, but also serve as the central pillar of the institution's physical education initiatives. They represent a vital manifestation and primary avenue for implementing the Party's educational policies and fostering the comprehensive development of students' morality, intelligence, and physical fitness.

The School of Physical Education at South China University of Technology, grounded in the distinctive characteristics of the Lingnan region and fully leveraging the university's premium resources, actively explores and develops physical education curriculum resources. It proactively introduces trendy sports programs and expands teaching content that resonates deeply with students. Upholding the principle of “student health as the foundation,” the school comprehensively optimizes the university's physical education teaching system and pedagogical models. Currently, the public physical education curriculum system has established a balanced approach integrating traditional and contemporary disciplines. It encompasses 10 traditional flagship programs—track and field, basketball, volleyball, soccer, tennis, table tennis, badminton, martial arts routines, swimming, and aerobics—alongside 14 newly introduced contemporary disciplines: fitness training, body shaping, aerobic health dance, street dance, yoga, Pilates, ballroom dancing, orienteering, taekwondo, radio direction finding, stick fighting, lion dance, pickleball, and fencing. Among these, “Body Shaping and Image Design” (online course) and “Aerobic Health Dance” (hybrid online-offline course) were recognized as national-level first-class undergraduate courses, while ‘Pilates’ and “Motor Skill Learning and Control” (online course) were selected as provincial-level first-class undergraduate courses, forming a well-structured, high-quality course cluster with distinct characteristics.

II. Distinctive Courses

In alignment with the university's overarching plan for high-level development, the School of Physical Education at South China University of Technology has cultivated distinctive sports education programs. Since 2007, it has pioneered the “Everyone Learns to Swim” initiative nationwide, establishing a clear assessment standard: students must swim 25 meters using any of the four swimming strokes while demonstrating proper breathing techniques. The School has enhanced swimming instruction quality through a three-pronged approach: intensifying faculty training, optimizing classroom teaching, and extending extracurricular coaching. This initiative has yielded remarkable results. To date, over 100,000 students have mastered swimming skills through systematic instruction, with a graduation pass rate consistently exceeding 99%. This achievement has realized the goal of universal swimming proficiency across the university, becoming a landmark accomplishment in the university's physical education mission.

III. Sports Associations

Our university adheres to the educational philosophy of “building first-class sports programs at a first-class university,” striving to establish a richly layered and broadly inclusive system of mass sports activities. On one hand, we regularly organize signature sports events, including the Annual Track and Field Games, Sports Culture Festival, Swimming Championships, and Sunshine Sports Winter Long-distance Run. . On the other hand, we implement a system where physical education instructors liaise with academic departments, covering all 39 schools, colleges, and residential communities. This initiative coordinates over 50 sports competitions of various levels annually, continuously energizing the campus sports atmosphere.

With the in-depth development of Sunshine Sports activities, the construction of student sports associations has flourished. By 2025, a total of 26 distinctive sports associations have been established across the North and South campuses of our university (see Table 1: Sports Associations of South China University of Technology at North and South Campuses, 2025). Meanwhile, the School of Physical Education has assigned professional PE teachers to provide special guidance for these associations, ensuring the professional and standardized development of students' sports activities.

As Sunshine Sports activities deepen, student sports clubs have flourished. By 2025, both campuses have incubated 26 distinctive sports associations (see Table 1: 2025 SCUT North and South Campus Sports Associations). The School of Physical Education concurrently deploys professional instructors to provide specialized guidance within these associations, ensuring the professional and standardized development of student sports activities.

Table 1: 2025 SCUT North and South Campus Sports Associations

Today, our college has established a comprehensive extracurricular sports activity system serving over 40,000 students across the university, with student participation rates consistently exceeding 80%. This systematic sports framework has yielded remarkable educational outcomes: extracurricular exercise participation has increased by 42% year-on-year, while the rate of students achieving excellent physical fitness has risen steadily for three consecutive years. A distinctive campus sports culture ecosystem is gradually taking shape. From institutional safeguards to activity innovation, from resource integration to cultural immersion, our university is pioneering an innovative development path for mass sports in higher education through a multidimensional sports education model.