New Year Cross-country Running - The 21st BTV Number 1: A meaningful activity on New Year's first day

In the morning of 1 Jan 2020, at Provincial Convention and Exhibition Center, the New Year Cross-country Running - The 21st BTV Number 1 took place. This is an annual running hosted by Binh Duong Radio and Television in collaboration with Provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Provincial leaders run at the opening ceremony of the 2020 New Year Cross-country Running

In the joyful atmosphere of New Year 2020 and the 23rd anniversary of Binh Duong province's re-establishment and in response to the campaign "All people take physical exercise to follow the great Uncle Ho's example", the 21st cross-country running BTV Number 1 took place impressively at Provincial Administration Center on the first day of New Year 2020. Attending the opening ceremony were Trần Văn Nam, Member of Party Central Committee, Secretary of Provincial Party Committee, Head of Provincial National Assembly delegation; Trần Thanh Liêm, Deputy Secretary of Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of Provincial People's Committee, and leaders of departments and branches. There was also the participation of Director of the General Department of Physical Training and Sports Vương Bích Thắng.

The competition had a large registration number of 105 units from 31 provinces and cities across the country. In particular, the professional system had the participation of 300 athletes including 200 male and 100 female athletes. Strong delegations such as Khanh Hoa, Ho Chi Minh City, or An Giang. In the amateur system, the competition gathered more than 8,000 athletes, and 65 team formations. The organizers hoped that every distance and every route would be a strong step towards glory with genuine sportsmanship and public health, at the same time tighten solidarity and friendship, mutual learning between units. In particular, the tournament was put into the national annual competition system by Vietnam Athletics Federation. The organization and preparation was professional, thus attracted many strong athletes from all over the country.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Đặng Minh Hưng, Vice Chairman of Binh Duong Provincial People's Committee, said: "Presedient Ho Chi Minh once asserted that strong people make prosperous country, in response to the call of Uncle Ho, in recent years, physical exercise among all people strata flourished due to the movement "All people take physical exercise to the great Uncle Ho's example". The BTV Number 1 Cross-country Running was born in 1999 and has been held continuously for 21 years as a good example of the propagation and encouragement of sports and exercise, improving people's health. At the same time, the tournament created a very unique beauty for the first day of new year and went into the cultural and spiritual life of Binh Duong people. We are entering New Year 2020 with much faith and hope”.

Immediately after the opening ceremony, provincial leadership and athletes of the amateur system including over 8,000 elderly athletes, youth union members, and students, ran together.  Thereafter, contents and categories of the tournament took place with familiar distances, such as: Amateur teenage girls 3km distance, amateur teenage boys 4km, amateur young women 4km, amateur young men 5km, professional female athletes 5km, professional male athletes 10km.

Reported by Hung Cuong - Translated by Ngoc Huynh