Abstract: The intangible cultural heritage of sports in Huai'an includes two types:folk dance and traditional sports, entertainment activities and acrobatics, which are of distinctive regional features, sports value and other characteristics. It contains rich content of history, culture, folk customs, and art. At present, intangible cultural heritage of sports in Huai'an, although considerable in quantity, is unevenly distributed and lack inheritors. With the advent of the era of big data, the protection and utilization of intangible cultural heritage of sports in Huai'an is faced with unprecedented opportunities. Big data can provide support for its protection and utilization, and decision making with direct and effective information. In the era of big data, awareness of big data should be established, making big data a tool for the protection, display, and publicity of intangible cultural heritage of sports in Huai'an. We should incorporate the research, protection, and use of intangible cultural heritage of sports in Huai'an into the Grand Canal Culture Belt construction. The Grand Canal Cultural Belt can be constructed by enhancing urban construction of Huai'an city and by promoting the sustainable development of intangible cultural heritage of sports in Huai'an.

Key words: Huai'an City, sports culture, intangible cultural heritage, the Grand Canal Cultural Belt, big data