Elite to Inclusive: China's School Sports Competition Policy Evolution (1949-2025)

Tenglong Chen¹Zeyu Liang^2*JIA ZHANG^3*

• ¹School of Physical Education, Yunnan Minzu University, Kunming, China
• ²School of Chinese Basketball, Beijing Sport University, Beijing, China
• ³School of Physical Education，Chongqing University, Chongqing, China

This study investigates the historical trajectory and underlying institutional logic of China's school sports competition policy from 1949 to 2025, tracing its evolution from an elite-oriented model to an inclusive model. Adopting historical institutionalism as its core analytical framework, this study conducts a textual content analysis of 155 central policy documents. The research reveals that a strong path dependency, established by the early "dual-track system" and "whole-nation system," profoundly shaped policy direction, leading to persistent tension between the two major objectives of "popularization" and "elite development." Policy transition is revealed not as a simple rupture but as a complex process of institutional adaptation, triggered by critical junctures such as the Reform and Opening Up, shifts in Olympic strategy, and the youth physical fitness crisis, and realized through key mechanisms like "institutional layering" and "institutional conversion." Ultimately, the policy focus shifted towards emphasizing inclusivity, with the deepening of "sports-education integration" as its core strategy. This study not only contributes a significant non-Western case study and theoretical insights to the understanding of the complex evolution of state-led sports policy but also provides practical policy recommendations for how contemporary China can overcome historical inertia and deepen its sports reform.