A ceremony marking the 100-day countdown to the first National Youth Games was held in Pingtan, Fujian province on July 10, local news portal ptnet.cn reported.

The Games, the largest national sports meeting in Fujian province, is scheduled to be held from Oct 18 to 27, with Fuzhou as the host city. Softball matches will be held in Pingtan.

Pingtan attaches a lot of importance to the event and will stage a test competition on August 3, said an official at the ceremony.

Nearly 20,000 athletes in 55 delegations from across the nation, including Hong Kong and Macao, are expected to participate in the Games.

There will be 26 major sports events along with 305 smaller ones, of which Fujian will host 23 major ones and 290 smaller ones. The rest will be arranged outside the province for austerity reasons, according to NYG’s organizing committee.

NYG will not only advocate mass sports, but also boost the economic and social development of Fujian and consolidate its reputation, said authorities.

A ceremony marking the 100-day countdown to the first National Youth Games held in Pingtan, Fujian province on July 10. [Photo/ptnet.cn]