China Issues National Conduct Code for Youth Sports Training, Caps Prepaid Fees
China’s General Administration of Sport has issued the Youth Sports Training Conduct Code, a nationwide rulebook for extracurricular sports coaching that takes effect on November 1, 2026 and remains valid for five years, according to the sports regulator’s website and Jiemodui. The text expands the previous Out-of-School Sports Training Conduct Code, issued in December 2021, from six chapters and 22 articles to seven chapters and 30.
The code applies to extracurricular instruction, coaching and training aimed at building sports skills among young people aged 7 to 18, and covers youth sports clubs, commercial training providers and sports schools. Training for children aged 4 to 6 is to follow the same requirements by reference. Providers must obtain a school operating permit before starting classes and complete registration or filing with establishment, civil affairs or market regulation authorities depending on their legal form.
The document explicitly tells the sector to serve young people, popularise sports and support physical and mental health, and to avoid "expansion-for-funding-only" and "profit-only" behaviour — language that echoes the tone of the 2021 "double reduction" campaign that reshaped China’s tutoring industry.
On facilities, the code sets per-capita floor area minimums per class session: at least 3 square metres for chess and card disciplines and at least 5 square metres for all other sports. Schools that have completed their own teaching schedule may open their sports facilities to students under public-facility rules and select compliant clubs or providers to deliver training on site.
Class sizes are capped. A standard session may not exceed 35 students, and any session with more than 10 students must be staffed by at least two coaches. For high-risk sports, sessions are limited to 20 students and must include at least one trained, certified first-aider. Schools may procure external professionals to supplement their own teaching staff.
Coaches must hold at least one of six recognised credentials, ranging from a sports coach professional title and a national sports skill grading certificate to a standard teaching qualification. Providers must run background checks on prospective hires, screening for criminal records including sexual offences, abuse, trafficking and violent crime; those serving an industry ban may not be hired. Serving teachers at primary, secondary and kindergarten schools are barred from taking such jobs.
Fees are the sharpest commercial constraint. Providers may not collect — directly, or in disguised form through recharges or session cards — payment covering more than three months or 60 class hours, and the total may not exceed RMB 5,000 (about US$700). The standard model contract for out-of-school training services is mandatory. An exemption allows long-term commissioned training agreements for voluntarily enrolled competitive-sports prospects, subject to filing with the local sports authority.
Safety rules require video capture in indoor and outdoor training areas, with footage clear enough to identify individuals and retained for at least 90 days. The code also covers emergency drills, insurance, recruitment advertising, smoking and alcohol bans, and anti-doping, while requiring the national flag to be displayed at open training venues.
Wang Yuxiong, a professor at the Central University of Finance and Economics, said clear hard standards on venues, coaches, prepaid fees and safety are key to breaking the information asymmetry that lets under-qualified operators undercut quality providers on price. Wang Xueli, who heads Tsinghua University’s Sports Industry Research Centre, said the code integrates provisions of the revised Sports Law and pulls sports, education, market regulation and civil affairs authorities into joint governance. Provincial sports departments in Henan, Sichuan and Guangdong have already signalled local follow-up work, including revised licensing standards and provincial coach registries.
The code applies to extracurricular instruction, coaching and training aimed at building sports skills among young people aged 7 to 18, and covers youth sports clubs, commercial training providers and sports schools. Training for children aged 4 to 6 is to follow the same requirements by reference. Providers must obtain a school operating permit before starting classes and complete registration or filing with establishment, civil affairs or market regulation authorities depending on their legal form.
The document explicitly tells the sector to serve young people, popularise sports and support physical and mental health, and to avoid "expansion-for-funding-only" and "profit-only" behaviour — language that echoes the tone of the 2021 "double reduction" campaign that reshaped China’s tutoring industry.
On facilities, the code sets per-capita floor area minimums per class session: at least 3 square metres for chess and card disciplines and at least 5 square metres for all other sports. Schools that have completed their own teaching schedule may open their sports facilities to students under public-facility rules and select compliant clubs or providers to deliver training on site.
Class sizes are capped. A standard session may not exceed 35 students, and any session with more than 10 students must be staffed by at least two coaches. For high-risk sports, sessions are limited to 20 students and must include at least one trained, certified first-aider. Schools may procure external professionals to supplement their own teaching staff.
Coaches must hold at least one of six recognised credentials, ranging from a sports coach professional title and a national sports skill grading certificate to a standard teaching qualification. Providers must run background checks on prospective hires, screening for criminal records including sexual offences, abuse, trafficking and violent crime; those serving an industry ban may not be hired. Serving teachers at primary, secondary and kindergarten schools are barred from taking such jobs.
Fees are the sharpest commercial constraint. Providers may not collect — directly, or in disguised form through recharges or session cards — payment covering more than three months or 60 class hours, and the total may not exceed RMB 5,000 (about US$700). The standard model contract for out-of-school training services is mandatory. An exemption allows long-term commissioned training agreements for voluntarily enrolled competitive-sports prospects, subject to filing with the local sports authority.
Safety rules require video capture in indoor and outdoor training areas, with footage clear enough to identify individuals and retained for at least 90 days. The code also covers emergency drills, insurance, recruitment advertising, smoking and alcohol bans, and anti-doping, while requiring the national flag to be displayed at open training venues.
Wang Yuxiong, a professor at the Central University of Finance and Economics, said clear hard standards on venues, coaches, prepaid fees and safety are key to breaking the information asymmetry that lets under-qualified operators undercut quality providers on price. Wang Xueli, who heads Tsinghua University’s Sports Industry Research Centre, said the code integrates provisions of the revised Sports Law and pulls sports, education, market regulation and civil affairs authorities into joint governance. Provincial sports departments in Henan, Sichuan and Guangdong have already signalled local follow-up work, including revised licensing standards and provincial coach registries.
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