Abstract: The principle of equality aims to narrow the gap between the power of both parties and emphasizes the "equality of arms" between both parties. Adhering to the philosophy of "access to CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sports) arbitration", legal aid is one way to practice the principle of equality. The purpose of the CAS legal aid system is to guarantee in arbitration the rights and interests of the economically disadvantaged parties, especially athletes. The specific regulations of the legal aid system concerning the participants, constituents and efficacy not only embody the principle of equality but also present a tendency to make legal aid a right for the disadvantaged and to integrate it into social security system. After the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the development of legal aid in China features the expansion of the recipient groups and the diversification of ways of providing aid. Besides, legal aid has become the basic and pivotal part of the construction of the public legal service system. The construction of Chinese legal aid system for sports arbitration should take into consideration the blueprint for the modernization of public legal service system, learn from the international or other countries' sports dispute resolution mechanisms, adhere to the value of China's Sports Law and meet the systematic and purposive demand of sports arbitration.

Key words: the Court of Arbitration for Sports, legal aid, access to CAS arbitration, Sports Law, athlete's rights