6. Reforms undertaken in 13th National Games
The 13th National Games, billed as China's mini-Olympics, were held from August 27 to September 8 in Tianjin. During the 12-day competition, four world records, three Asian marks as well as 11 national and three national junior ones were broken in five sports _ shooting, weightlifting, cycling, athletics and swimming.
In a bold move to reform the National Games, the 13th edition opened its doors to amateur competitors in 19 events, including badminton, table tennis, marathon, sports climbing, roller skating, Taichi and Chinese chess. Another major change introduced to the National Games was that Chinese who have obtained foreign citizenship, foreign decedents of Chinese immigrants and Chinese citizens who are residing abroad were also allowed to compete at the Tianjin Games. In addition, the Tianjin Games encouraged athletes from different provinces, cities or autonomous regions to form a mixed team to participate.
