Nanjing, China, August 16, 2014 - The 60-minute warm-up before the opening ceremony here Saturday for the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games featured a Beach Volleyball dance, Joy of Youth, where a total of 64 boys and girls being from Youfu west street primary school took part in the program.

Dressed in blue and yellow, bounced a ball to simulate a Beach Volleyball.  In displaying good form, the children danced, changed formations and passed the ball among each other as each face radiated joy.

The program lasted five minutes after the children practiced for nearly two months to prepare for warmup show.  More than 100 children signed up in early June for the Beach Volleyball dance with the selection process featuring training sessions pared the group to 64.

The children practiced on the playground, and eventually heatstroke come up because of the high temperatures in summer Nanjing.  Daihong Wan, the incumbent principal, explained that three children had suffered slight heatstroke, but they didn’t give up. Some participates was not supported by their parents, who considered it was a waste of time, yet finally all the parents were persuaded by their children.

“It is my inner desire to take part in the Nanjing Youth Olympic Games, and it’s really a treasure in my whole life,” a little girl said. And even when the dancing was totally altered with 15 days to go on before the game began, she could not help crying.

Since Nanjing applied the Youth Olympics successfully in 2010, many things had been done by the students of Youfu west street primary school. The students made postcards by hand and then send it to the local people in order to popularize knowledge about Youth Olympics. Also they communicated during each holiday. Sometimes they organized group dancing at the white horse square to show the joy of exercise.

Chen Weiya, the chief director of the opening and closing ceremony in this game, was graduated from Youfu west street primary school. The primary school is famous for volleyball since 1980s and cultivates many outstanding volleyball players such as the former national volleyball player Sun Yue.