热火朝天的“村BA”

钱淇 刘沁昀

2023年4月，笔者有幸去贵州出差，适逢“村BA”的消息，就向开车的师傅了解情况。

没有正规场地，没有正式组织，只有一片红绿相间的露天篮球场；没有商业赞助，没有实况转播，只有挥洒汗水的球员和热情呼喊的观众。这场别开生面的篮球比赛，因在抖音等平台直播，一时走红，吸引了很多人关注。有人仿照NBA，给它起了一个洋名字“村BA”。

“村BA”的全称是“贵州省首届‘美丽乡村’篮球联赛”。该活动发源于贵州当地少数民族“六月六”吃新节举办体育赛事的传统，这一传统在许多村庄都有近百年历史。篮球作为门槛最低、参与度最高的运动项目，从各种各样的运动中得以传承了下来，同时保留了草根篮球赛的惯例，运动员、裁判都是青壮年的村民，他们中有的在当地务农或是做些小本生意，有的在外求学、务工，每逢赛事就会回村训练参赛。

2023年的“村BA”比赛如期举办，在短短半年如火如荼的篮球盛事里，将近2 500支队伍进行了超过4 000场民间篮球赛。在3月25日的总决赛中，黔东南队击败了铜仁队取得了首届“村BA”的冠军。决赛期间，我们有幸在贵州当地遇到了一位热情的出租车司机，从他的口中了解到当地人对“村BA”的看法。问：师傅，听说“村BA”很火，据说这个比赛并不是第一次，好像每年都要持续几个月。您能简单介绍一下“村BA”吗？

司机：篮球比赛从我出生就有，在我们这里有好几十年的历史了。只不过以前不叫“村BA”，就是村里面的篮球赛，几个村在一起比赛而已。

一开始为什么要搞这样的比赛呢？说起来也没什么宏大的设想，比如说一个村寨和另一个村寨互相不服，又不能用武力解决问题，就想着用什么来比试一下。现在打篮球的人多，年轻人也都喜欢这项运动，也算是一种娱乐的方式吧。“村BA”这个名字哪里来的呢？是因为有人在抖音之类的平台直播，比赛通过直播火起来之后，才有了“村BA”这个名字。

一般来说，十月左右，凯里周边的村子之间就开始比起来了，获胜的队伍晋级到下一轮，再和其他的冠军打比赛。平时即便没有抖音这样的平台，我们也会有这么多人去看比赛的。我是因为小时候个子小，篮板抢不过别人，所以我选择蹋足球，不打篮球。

问：您刚才提到自己踢足球，那么这里是否还会举办足球或者其他运动的比赛？在有那么多運动可以选择的情况下，为什么篮球赛在今天如此热火朝天？

司机：其他运动也有组织比赛，但是规模都没有篮球赛这么大，篮球最快捷、最方便。干完农活，两三个人加一个篮球，几乎随时随地部可以打球。篮球门槛低，只要会拍球就行了。而足球需要的人数多、场地大、门槛也高。

篮球基本就是我们生活的一部分。我们每一个村子、每一个乡镇都有篮球场，有好有差，连苗寨里面都有篮球场。假如去—个村子考察，其他方面再好，只要没有篮球场，我们就会觉得这个村子不太行。

我们这儿还组织过女生篮球赛呢！起初并没有女生比赛，后来村里有女生提出：“为什么只搞你们男生的球赛，我们女生不搞？”后来到“三八”妇女节就会组织女生篮球赛。但是女生的比赛，除了不能打架基本没有什么规矩，走步、打手、抱着篮球跑也不管，只要投进球就可以。有的女生蹲在地上一直抱着球，像打橄榄球一样，最后也没有投进，看得我肚子都笑疼了。你们可以去看抖音。

问：您刚才说村际篮球赛几十年来一直在办，今年得到了空前的关注，好像比赛在全省组织，那么政府对“村BA”的举办起到了什幺作用？

司机：这届比赛虽然是省里组织的，但其实政府并没有太多介入，就是村子和村子之间自己组织的，每家出一点钱，大家都非常愿意出这个钱。每户人家具体出多少钱不是固定的，条件好就会多出一点，出一百、出十块都可以，完全自愿。筹到的钱主要用来买奖品，比如说第一名的奖品是一头牛，第二名的是一头羊，第三名可以章到几条鱼，第四名就是鸭子之类。

问：“村BA”作为“草根”篮球赛，对于运动员和观众分别有什么要求？您觉得大家最看重的是什么？

司机：看比赛不用票。来看比赛的都是各个村的村民。男女老少都会来，我支持我的球队，你支持你的球队。路边还有各种小吃，边看边吃边玩。比赛之后旁边还有火锅，吃吃火锅喝喝酒，唱着歌回家。

参加比赛只有两个标准：第一，不能是职业运动员，职业运动员不允许参加；第二，必须是农村户口。我们这里95%都是农村户口，已经“走出去”的、户口迁走的就不能再回来打“村BA”赛了。为了比赛的公平公正，哪怕进入了NBA打球，也不能再回来打“村BA”了。对我们来说，竞技水平怎样、是不是很精彩，都不是最重要的，关键在于它是属于我们村民自己的活动。

在年复一年的比赛中，有人离开家乡，有人长大变老，“村BA”的规模越来越大，也从村民们口口相传的“村子间的篮球赛”到如今拥有了广泛的关注和响亮的名字。说到底，“村BA”就是村民们辛苦劳作后最舒爽的解压和娱乐方式，乡亲们的喝彩是比赛中选手们最大的动力，比赛间隙那带有浓郁民族和地域特色的歌舞表演为篮球赛增添了浓厚的生活气息。

“村BA”始于村民们对运动纯粹的热爱，村寨间通过这项赛事得到更多交流的机会，又赋予了比赛持续而又旺盛的生命力。可以肯定的是，“村BA”的新习俗已经融入村民们的生活，它也会继续为贵州村民们的生活带去更多休闲和快乐，带领大家不断享受阳光，创造生活的美好。

Exploring the Popular“VBA” of Guizhou

—A Conversation with the Locals

On our business trip to Guizhou inApril 2023， we came across an intriguingbasketball game known locally as the “VBA”.So， we had a conversation about it with ourtaxi driver.

The basketball game takes place in anopen-air， red and green court. It isn’t a fancyvenue， and there are no o cial event organizers，commercial sponsors， or live broadcasting.However， the players display great devotionin the passionate cheers from the audience.Unique basketball matches like thishave gained widespread popularity throughlive-streaming platforms like Douyin， capturingsigni cant attention. The locals a ectionatelyand half-jokingly called it the “VBA”，short for “Village Basketball Association”.

The official name of the games is “The First Beautiful CountrysideBasketball League of Guizhou Province”. Hosting basketballmatches originates from the custom of organizing sports events，which is a nearly century-old tradition locally， during the “Chi XinFestival” （meaning “festival for tasting the newly-harvested crops”）on the sixth day of the sixth month in the lunar calendar each yearamong local ethnic minority groups. Among various sports， basketballhas emerged as the most accessible and most widely participatedevent that manages to survive generations， all the while retainingits grassroots tradition. All participants， including the players andreferees， are young， strong villagers. Some are local farmers or smallbusinessmen， while others work or study outside the village. However，they always return for training and competitions.

The 2023 VBA games were held as planned. In just six months，nearly 2，500 teams took part in over 4，000 captivating basketballgames. In the nals on March 25th， the Qiandongnan team defeatedthe Tongren team to win the first championship of the League.It was during the finals that we had the opportunity to meet afriendly and welcoming local taxi driver who shared with us thelocal perspective on the VBA.

Q： We know that the VBA has been held multipletimes， and it lasts for a couple of months everyyear. Could you please provide a brief introductionto this popular game？

A： The game started decades ago， even before I wasborn. However， we didn’t refer to it as the VBAback then. It was a basketball game simply playedbetween di erent villages.

Why did we initially organize such a game？Well， it wasn’t anything fancy. It probably stemmedfrom the fact that villages didn’t always get alongwith each other， but physical ghts weren’t a viablesolution. So， they turned to sports to channel theircompetitive spirit. Today， basketball is a highlypopular form of entertainment， particularly amongyoung people. It was not until the games were livestreamedon platforms like Douyin that they quicklybecame popular and were called the “VBA”.

The games usually start around October. Theyare held between villages near Kaili. The winning team gets to move forward to the next round， allthe way until the finals. Even before the gameswere live-streamed， they had already been a bighit in the community. As for me， well， I was prettysmall for a basketball player， and competing for reboundswas quite a challenge. So， I decided to playfootball instead of basketball.

Q： Speaking of football， do you have footballgames or other sports competitions？ How did basketballexcel among so many sports？

A： There are other sports games as well， but theirscale is not as large. I guess basketball stands outbecause it can be played anytime， anywhere afterfinishing the farm work. All you need is two orthree people and a basketball. There is nothingcomplicated; you simply need to know how todribble. Football， on the other hand， is quite different.You will need more people， a larger eld， andmore complex techniques.

Basketball is an integral part of our lives. Everyvillage and town， including the remote Miao stockadevillages， has its own basketball court， although some may be less well-kept than the others. Let meput it this way， if a village doesn’t have a basketballcourt， no matter how developed it is in other ways，we think it’s falling behind.

We have games for women， too！ At rst， therewere no games specifically for them. However，some female villagers came up and asked， “Whyare there only games for men？ What about uswomen？” So， we organize women’s games eachyear on International Women’s Day. The only rulewe have is “no ghting”. Other than that， anythinggoes： carrying the ball and running more thanthey should or patting the opponent’s hand. Youname it. But as long as they score， it’s all good.Some even hold the ball tightly to their chest whilecrouching down， like a rugby player， but unfortunately，they still miss the shot. It is absolutely hilarious，and I can’t stop laughing. You should check itout on Douyin！

Q： As you mentioned， the game has been hostedfor decades. This year， it is gaining unprecedentedattention and being organized at the provinciallevel. What role does the government play in all of this？

A： It’s true that the game is organized at the provinciallevel， but the government’s role is relativelyminor. It’s the villagers who contribute the most.Families are happy to chip in， with wealthier onescontributing around a hundred RMB and lesswealthy ones contributing as little as ten. It’s entirelyvoluntary. The money collected is used topurchase prizes for the winners. The first prize isa cow， the second prize is a goat， the third prize issome sh， and the fourth prize is ducks， or somethinglike that.

Q： As a “grassroots” basketball game， what are therequirements for athletes and spectators in theVBA？ What do you think people value the most？

A： The games are free， with no tickets required.The audience consists entirely of villagers， showingsupport for their villages. Along the road， there aresnack stands where you can buy delicious treatsto enjoy while watching the games. You can also choose to visit the nearby hotpot restaurants a erthe games. Eating hotpot， sipping on some beers，and singing songs on your way home.

There are only two rules for the players. First，professional players are not allowed. Second， playersmust have a rural hukou status （which meanstheir household registration is in a rural area）.Around 95% of the residents here have a ruralhukou status， and the remaining 5% who havemoved out and changed their hukou status are nolonger eligible to play. Additionally， to ensure fairplay， we do not accept professional players， noteven if you were an NBA star！ For us， the mostimportant thing is not how well one plays or howintense the game is; what matters most is that thisis a game of our own.

With the passage of time， children have grown up， and youngpeople have migrated to larger cities， and the elderly have aged.However， the VBA has continued to expand and thrive. Whatwas once simply “basketball matches between villages” has nowtransformed into a major event that enjoys widespread attentionand boasts an impressive reputation. It has become the ultimatesource of stress relief and entertainment for the hardworkingvillagers. The enthusiastic cheers from fellow villagers are thestrongest motivation for the players， while the ethnic and localsinging and dancing performances during intermissions add anauthentic touch of grassroots living to the games.

It all started with a genuine passion forsports within the hearts of the villagers.through the VBA， villages have found a newway of communication and interaction witheach other， and this， in turn， brings renewedvigor to the games. We rmly believe that theVBA has become an indispensable part of thevillage life， providing enduring joy and relaxationfor the locals. With the VBA， the future ofthe villagers is bound to be brighter and morepromising.