(Photo: Nanfang Daily)
The torch relay course for the 12th National Games for Persons with Disabilities (NGD) and Ninth National Special Olympic Games (NSOG) was unveiled on Monday. Over 20,000 volunteers are expected to serve the event.
Shortly after the closing of the National Games in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong Province, on Friday, the local organizers immediately shifted to preparing for the NGD and NSOG events. The Special Olympics holds competitions for people with intellectual disabilities.
The torch relay for the NGD and NSOG will start on Saturday across Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, and Macao, said Chen Xuejun, vicechair of the Games executive committee in Guangdong.
For the torch relay, this year's Special Olympics will adopt a shared flame model in conjunction with the National Games, highlighting the warm theme of "inclusion and unity across the Greater Bay Area," Chen said.
The relay will kick off at 9:00 am at Shenzhen Talent Park. The starting ceremonies in Hong Kong, Macao, and Guangzhou will begin 30 minutes after Shenzhen, with each city carrying out a 50-leg relay with a total of 200 torchbearers participating, Chen noted.
After the relays, the flames will converge in Guangzhou for a flame-merging ceremony at the Guangdong Olympic Sports Center at 5:00 pm.
The NGD and NSOG will open on December 8 in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province, with the closing ceremony scheduled for December 15 in Shenzhen.
"We want the relay participants to feel respected and cared for," Chen said, noting they are providing wheelchair accessibility and that staff have undergone specialized training so that torchbearers with disabilities can safely and comfortably participate.
Notably in Hong Kong, parts of the relay will be conducted via ferry and opentop buses. The final baton handover takes place inside the iconic Kai Tak Stadium, said Yeung Tak-keung, director of the organizing committee's Hong Kong arm.
Pun Weng-kun, chief of the Games organizers in Macao, said the torch relay course design ensures barrier-free paths, includes sign-language interpreters, and has wheelchair-accessible viewing areas.
Chen said that around 22 percent of torchbearers will be people with visual, hearing, or mobility impairments, far exceeding a simple token presence.
"We clearly require that at least 10 percent of torchbearers be people with disabilities or those active in disability work. The final ratio is about 22 percent," he said, adding the final torchbearers list will be unveiled on Thursday.
Behind the relay and the Games competitions, the volunteers for the Games also play a significant role in ensuring success.
The Guangdong region alone has mobilized 15,000 volunteers, drawn from nine host cities and 63 universities.
Among them, 2,810 volunteers who served at the just-concluded National Games have been invited back via an "old-to-new" mentorship scheme, to carry forward their experience.
In Hong Kong, 4,000 volunteers, spanning ages from 15 to 85, will support the NGD and NSOG, while Macao has 1,500 volunteers.
Yeung said that special training courses have been implemented for the volunteers.
"These training courses ensure the volunteers can build trust with athletes, support them physically, and assist with their specific needs," Yeung said, adding that psychological resilience and stress-management are also part of the curriculum.
Beyond the relay and volunteer system, the Games are also embedded in a broader framework of deepening sports cooperation in the Greater Bay Area.
The Xinhua News Agency reported Monday that an agreement on strengthening sports cooperation was signed by the General Administration of Sport of China, the Guangdong Provincial Government, the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and the Government of the Macao Special Administrative Region.
The four-party agreement is a result-driven document that builds on the experience of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao jointly hosting the National Games, and serves as a continued push for deeper sports integration across the three regions, the report said.
Zhu Meng, a Beijing-based sports commentator, said it means that the National Games are unlikely to be the final chapter of sports cooperation in the region.
"Emotionally and logically, it is hard to believe that the National Games will mark the final chapter of sports cooperation in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area," Zhu told the Global Times.
"The success of the Games shows that China now possesses both the infrastructure and the service capacity to take on even greater challenges."
