The 7th Provincial Sports Festival 2014: Ready for the big festival

(Baonghean) - The 7th Provincial Sports Festival is not only one of the important cultural and sports events of the province but also an opportunity to evaluate the results of sports development in the period 2010 - 2014. After more than 4 months of active preparation, our province is now ready for the Sports Festival.

These days, Vinh City has become more bustling and vibrant than ever. On the streets, banners, flags, and posters have been hung in prominent locations, promoting the biggest sports event of 2014 – the 7th National Sports Festival. The opening ceremony will take place on the evening of May 12 at Vinh City Sports Hall, with an expected attendance of more than 3,000 people, including: invited guests, parade and performance forces, of which the parade force is more than 900 people divided into 37 groups; 550 students from Vinh University; 600 students supporting and cheering in the stands. The highlight of this National Sports Festival is the performance with the theme: "Nghe An reaching new heights" with a total duration of 30 minutes, including 3 chapters: chapter 1 "Nghe An, a land of mountains and rivers"; Chapter 2, Nghe An Sports Reaches New Heights” and Chapter 3 “Nghe An Builds and Develops”. The performance was elaborately staged, imbued with the cultural identity of Nghe An, recreating the heroic traditions of the ethnic groups of Nghe An province and the continuous development of the province in general, and the sports movement in particular.

Sepak Takraw competition at the 7th Provincial Sports Festival.

This year's Provincial Sports Festival was attended by 24 delegations from districts, cities, the Provincial Police, the Provincial Military, and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. In the pre-opening period (from February 28 to April 17), competitions were held in 9 events: pole pushing, freestyle wrestling, cross-country, karate, men's volleyball, beach volleyball, table tennis and sepak takraw, with competition venues in the districts of Quynh Luu, Nam Dan, Tan Ky, Dien Chau and Vinh City. During the festival from May 11 to May 16, 9 events were held: women's volleyball, athletics, swimming, shuttlecock kicking, petanque, badminton, chess, crossbow shooting, and tug of war.

The new feature of this congress is that although the number of events remains the same, the scale of the competition has been increased. Athletes compete for 138 sets of medals (7 more sets than the 6th Congress in 2010) and 1,020 medals (166 more than the previous congress). In addition, like the previous congress, this year the Organizing Committee has selected many of the province's strengths in traditional sports to organize competitions such as crossbow shooting, tug of war, stick pushing, freestyle wrestling, contributing to cheering, encouraging, and promoting the mass sports movement at the grassroots level.

Compared to previous sports festivals, the highlight of the preparation for this provincial sports festival is the proactiveness and attention of localities and sectors in organizing grassroots-level festivals. The whole province has 480 communes, wards and towns organizing sports festivals, reaching 100%. In addition to ensuring the scale of the organization, localities have mobilized an average of 2,000 to 3,000 participants, organizing competitions in 5 or more sports, focusing on traditional and strong sports. Many localities have done a good job of socialization, mobilizing resources to organize large-scale congresses such as communes: Linh Son, Tuong Son (Anh Son), Nghia Dan Town, Cau Giat Town (Quynh Luu), Ha Huy Tap Ward (Vinh City)... Some localities have completed early and achieved 100% of communes and towns organizing grassroots sports congresses such as: Vinh City, Cua Lo Town, districts: Anh Son, Ky Son, Tan Ky, Quy Hop, Quynh Luu...

Mr. Dang Ngoc Kim - Director of Quynh Luu District Center said: "Because of the early completion of the organization of the grassroots sports festival, the district has carefully prepared training since August 2013, focusing on some strong sports such as athletics and swimming, to win medals and improve its position". Mr. Nguyen Quang Vinh - Director of Vinh City Culture and Sports Center commented: "Vinh City delegation is currently leading the medal table with 13 gold medals, but this year, other units in the province have invested heavily and prepared quite thoroughly, so to maintain this position is not easy, requiring great efforts from athletes and coaches. However, with its strengths in sports such as athletics, badminton, chess, tug of war; we believe that Vinh City will still affirm itself as the leading flag in the province's sports movement".

On the training floors, gymnasiums, training grounds, and running tracks, the exciting and eager atmosphere has also spread strongly, and athletes in the remaining 9 sports of the congress are ready to fight. Athlete Le Anh Tu (Nam Dan) in shuttlecock kicking said: "Participating in the Provincial Sports Festival is an opportunity for me to exchange and compete with many athletes from other localities, thereby more accurately assessing my own abilities to continuously improve my techniques and tactics in the sport I love, contributing to the development of the shuttlecock kicking movement in the locality".

With the serious and thoughtful preparation of the Organizing Committee and localities, the determination of the athletes,The Provincial Sports Congress promises to be an exciting congress, with a strong breakthrough in professional quality, contributing to further promoting the province's sports movement.

Minh Quan