Locally, XLIS is a founding member of the Xi’an International Athletics Conference (XIAC), currently made up of six international schools in Xi’an. Each of these six schools has responsibilities to host core sport leagues and invitational tournaments that cover a variety of sports for international students in the city.
Blue Dragons Athletics Program
Commitment, respect, positivity and growth. These are the four core values that guide the Athletics and Activities Department, as well as the students who represent the XLIS Blue Dragons in competition. Last year the XLIS Blue Dragons completed its first two-year cycle of hosting and participating within the ACAMIS Green Division for all three core sports (volleyball, basketball, and soccer. Although the school teams achieved unprecedented success in all age groups locally in Xi’an, the sights this year are set at earning medals nationally at ACAMIS for the first time.
Athletic Conferences
Regionally, XLIS joined the Association of China and Mongolia International Schools (ACAMIS) during the 2021-2022 school year. A core component of the association is the ACAMIS Sports League, which serves as an athletics conference for 94 international schools throughout the Greater China region. Starting this year, XLIS will be a fully aligned member of the conference and has been assigned as a member of the Green Division. This will provide secondary students at XLIS the opportunities to participate in both invitational and core sport events.
Student Participation and Selection
XLIS encourages all students to try out for the school sports teams. However, due to logistical factors and league rules, each team has a limited number of spaces available for participating students. Therefore, while all students are invited to try out for any team within their age bracket, only a certain number of students will be selected for each team.
Students in the primary school will be notified of tryout times during PE class or via Seesaw message, while secondary school students will be notified during homeroom. In some instances, all students will be able to participate in training but may be restricted from a tournament due to registration limits per school.
Training Time and Fees
Most teams, with some exceptions, will have training on Mondays and Fridays from 3:30 to 4:30 PM. High school core sport teams train three days a week, in the mornings on Monday and Friday, as well as a two-hour session on Wednesdays. Busses will be provided to take students to designated locations after training that takes place in the afternoon.
In addition, any students selected for a team will not need to pay fees to participate. All uniforms, coaching, and travel to games in Xi’an will be arranged and paid for by XLIS. The only time extra fees will be required is if a student has opted to participate in a travel tournament as part of ACAMIS, where the hotel, inter-city travel cost, and tournament entry fee will need to be borne by the participant.
Swim Team Selection and Training
Swimming is unique and follows different protocols for team selection and training times than the other interscholastic sports offered at XLIS. Swim team selection takes place based on qualifying times, whereby interested students will need to meet certain time standards in at least one stroke to become a member of the team. The time standards for each age group and stroke are listed in the table below:
Swim team training will occur in the XLIS pool every Tuesday and Thursday morning from 7:00 AM to 7:50 AM. Transportation to school on these mornings is the responsibility of the parent. Participating student-athletes are encouraged to arrive with enough time before 7:00 AM to get changed and be ready for practice.
Student-athletes that are not able to arrive to school for morning training will need to communicate with the school’s Head of Aquatics, Mr. Vinson Gou (vinson.gou@xalis.com), to either apply for a training exemption or provide evidence that the child is training at a swim club outside of school.
Why Sports Are Important
Playing sports can promote a healthy lifestyle and teach kids transferrable skills that they use far into adult life. Being on a team teaches kids valuable social skills. They learn how to share, value diverse skillsets, make friends, trust others, have fun, improve self-esteem, and support and encourage one another. Playing sports can also help with fitness levels and maintain a health balanced diet.
Mission
XLIS provides a non-profit education focused on enabling confident, open-minded global citizens through life-long learning and a sense of community.
Vision
To lead education through innovation and a student-centered, community-driven approach.
Age Groups, Teams, and Season Information
U9 Sports
U11 Sports
U14 Sports
U19 Sports
2026-2027 XLIS Tournaments
One source of pride at XLIS is the school’s capacity to host exceptional sporting tournaments that engage the entire school community. This year the school will host three tournaments:
XIAC U14 Basketball League Finals – 2026 October 24
For the fifth year in a row, XLIS will host the final tournament for the XIAC U14 Basketball league. The event started as a one-off tournament with three participating schools but has since grown into a culminating event for a league of five teams in both boys and girls divisions.
The Chang’an Cup – 2026 December 3-5
The Chang’an Cup is an annual invitational basketball tournament for international senior high school students hosted by Xi’an Liangjiatan International School (XLIS). XLIS created the Chang’an Cup in 2020 to promote exchange within the community of international schools in Xi’an. Like previous years, the tournament will take place over three days.
ACAMIS Green Division Volleyball – 2026 October 29-31
XLIS was selected to host volleyball as its second core sport tournament in the ACAMIS Green Division. Our five divisional partners will travel from Beijing, Hangzhou, Hong Kong, and Shanghai to participate in the three day tournament. In addition to volleyball, the tournament will have opportunities for the students to participate in social activities and shared banquet meals to further develop bonds of friendship within the Green Division.
