The 7th National Intercity Games of the People's Republic of China (7th NIG), scheduled as a 10-day event, will be held in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province from 16 to 25 October 2011. In March this year, the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) set up a 12-member Organising Committee (OC) of the HKSAR Delegation to the 7th NIG (the Delegation) to carry out all the work relating to the Delegation's participation in the 7th NIG. The OC is chaired by the Honourable Timothy FOK with members including representatives from the Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China, the sports sector, the Home Affairs Bureau and the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), with the LCSD assuming the Secretariat duties of the OC. To handle and carry out the work of the Delegation more efficiently, an Executive Committee (EC) has been set up under the OC, and four veterans of the sports sector have been invited to join the EC as co-opted members.

Having nominated by the OC, together with those securing the final quota through participating in preliminary round competition, HKSAR Delegation will send a total of 217 athletes to take part in 18 final round events of the 7th NIG, namely, swimming, archery, athletics, badminton, basketball, boxing, canoeing, fencing, gymnastics, judo, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, wushu taolu, cycling, women’s handball, windsurfing and volleyball. The whole Delegation will be composed of 320 members, including the accompanying officials and medical staff. It is the strongest one we have ever sent to the NIG since Hong Kong took part in the 4th NIG in 1999.

It is encouraging to see that the HKSAR athletes have performed remarkably well in major sporting events in recent years. Through participation in the NIG, local young athletes can have the opportunity to exchange skills with their counterparts from different provinces and cities on the Mainland. This will help them raise their skill levels and prepare well for future international major sporting events so as to win honour for Hong Kong. By sending our budding athletes to the NIG, we can also train a new force for our sports sector. To extensively publicise HKSAR's participation in the 7th NIG and solicit support from various sectors of the community for our athletes, the OC will seek sponsorship for the Delegation from the commercial sector, and also print posters, create a dedicated website and stage activities such as the Flag Presentation Ceremony and Welcome Home Reception.