Something for everyone

Bigger, better ... and more inclusive.

With 19 new events added to the lineup, the 13th edition of China's National Games will be the largest ever when Tianjin hosts the nation from Aug 28 to Sept 8.

Sports climbing, roller skating, badminton, table tennis, marathon, dragon boat, chess, go chess, dragon dance and tai chi have all been added to the Games in order to promote participation by non-elite athletes, with 126 gold medals up for grabs.

An additional 341 golds will be awarded in 31 sports for elite competitiors.

"This year's National Games will be held under the concept of 'benefiting ordinary people and making China healthy'," said Li Yingchuan, assistant director of China's State General Administration of Sports.

"The new sports we added cover the interests of several age groups, encouraging mass participation. Ordinary people can participate in qualifications for those events at venues close to home," added Li, who is also a deputy director of the Games' organizing committee.

Experts are applauding.

"The National Games always has three functions - raising the level of competitive sports, identifying athletic talent and promoting sports for all," Xu Hongfeng, a professor at Fujian Normal University's School of Physical Education and Sport Science, told Fujian Daily.

"The third function has always been somewhat ignored, but this time sports for ordinary people gives them an equal chance to participate. Therefore, it will push forward the development of sports for all."

Some of the "ordinary" athletes will also have the chance to compete with the best. In the pool, for example, amateurs will be able to challenge top pros in 50m and 100m freestyle and 100m breaststroke.

To streamline inclusion of the new events, the Games committee has established a special work group.

"We expect the 19 new sports for ordinary people to attract around 7,000 participants and 1,000 referees," said Chen Zhemin, secretary of the Education Commission of the CPC Tianjin Municipal Committee, and also a deputy director of the Games organizing committee.

"We will set up the venues for these events at places close to ordinary people, such as schools, communities, hotels and parks. We will try our best to allow more people enjoy the Games."

A total of 47 Tianjin venues will be used - of which 21 are new and 15 are renovated. According to the organizers, all venues will be completed by the end of April.

"With an eye on post-Games use, we have built 10 of the 21 new venues in universities," Chen said.

Tianjin organized 210 public sporting exercises over the past year, attracting about two million citizens.

"People's awareness of doing exercises has been highly raised and participating in sports is becoming very popular in the city," Chen said.

leilei@chinadaily.com.cn