Built upon the former Department of Public Sports, the School of Sports of Hainan University was established in 2019. The school has 3 teaching and research offices and 1 National Physical Fitness Monitoring Center of Hainan Province. Its responsibilities include teaching public physical education courses for all university students, conducting assessments according to the National Physical Fitness Standard for Students, advancing the development of sports disciplines, developing and managing high-level sports teams, nurturing leisure sports talents, organizing mass sports competitions, and monitoring the national physical fitness of Hainan Province.

The school has 79 faculty members, including 14 professors, 22 associate professors, 6 teachers with doctorate, 29 with master’s degrees, 2 international-level referees, 6 national-level referees, 2 world champions, 1 Asian champion, and 2 national champions. Additionally, there are 10 teachers with experiences in overseas study and exchange programs. In recent years, the school’s faculty members have led or participated in numerous National Social Science Fund projects and provincial research projects supported by the General Administration of Sport of China and the Hainan Social Science Fund. They have also published over a hundred outstanding papers in core journals and provincial-level publications.

The school has received recognition from the Ministry of Education and the General Administration of Sport of China five times, earning honors such as “Outstanding School in Implementing the ‘Regulations on School Sports Work’”, “National Role Model of Mass Sports”, “National Role Model of National Physical Fitness Monitoring Work”, and “National Outstanding Youth Sports Club”. With approval from relevant authorities, Hainan University has established the Chinese University Student Leisure Baseball and Softball Promotion Center, the Chinese University Student Baseball and Softball Training Base, the Youth Sports Club, the Hainan Campus Swimming Instructor Training Center, and the Hainan National Physical Fitness Monitoring Center.

“Sports represent the aspiration for national prosperity and rejuvenation; it has great bearing on the people’s happiness and the future of our nation.” The university’s Party Committee places significant emphasis on the advancement of the school’s sports programs and the cultivation of sports professionals. In 2019, the university received approval from higher education authorities to establish a major in leisure sports and began student enrollment. Currently, 302 full-time undergraduate students have been enrolled over the past five years. Giving full play to Hainan’s unique geographical, climatic, environmental, and resource advantages and favorable policies, the school innovates its educational model and continually strives for excellence in nurturing high-quality leisure sports professionals to contribute to the development of the Hainan Free Trade Port.

The university attaches great importance to competitive sports activities. Leveraging the university’s strengths, the school has implemented an educational model that encourages diverse approaches to the joint development of high-level athletes. The school works with other colleges and schools through a collaborative management approach for joint talent cultivation. As part of this effort, the university has established four high-level sports teams in track and field, basketball, volleyball, and football. Over the years, Hainan University has drawn a substantial number of exceptional high-level athletes to pursue their education and these athletes have achieved remarkable results in various sports competitions. They have won numerous honors for the university and earned widespread recognition and acclaim from both society and the sports community. In the last five years, they have taken part in 111 sports competitions, with 4 securing top-three positions in international-level competitions, 26 attaining top-three rankings in national competitions, and 51 winning first-place victories in provincial competitions. Among these achievements, the Woodball Team secured second and third places in the World Open on multiple occasions. The team also won the Women’s Team Championship at the China Woodball Open in 2021. The Beach Volleyball Men’s Team made history when it represented China at the World College Beach Volleyball Championship in 2018. The Women’s Beach Volleyball Team achieved first place in the professional category of the Beach Volleyball Competition for Hainan Province’s College and Secondary School Students. The Men’s Volleyball Team was the champion in the Volleyball Tournament for Hainan Province’s College Students. Moreover, the school earned an impressive haul of 10 gold, 7 silver, and 4 bronze medals in the province’s 2021 College Student Track and Field Games. The university has nurtured numerous well-rounded individuals who possess a combination of sports expertise and specific professional skills for society. This accomplishment is the result of training focused on competition, progress driven by competition, and talent development centered around competition, as well as a strong dedication to intensive training and hard work.