For many years, the Macao SAR Government has attached great value to the cultivation of young athletes, creating various favourable conditions and providing them with a platform for exchange activities. It is noteworthy that through exchange activities betweenMacaoand the Mainland, such as the Beijing-Macao Youth Sports Exchange Activities and the GD/HK/MAC Youth Football Exchange, young athletes of the two places can learn from each other and form a closer bond while enhancing their skill levels.  

Sports News in this issue covers several sports events held in Macao in the third quarter. The ‘Macao Outstanding Athletes Election’, among others, is an event co-hosted by the Macao Sport Development Board and Macao Sports Weekly, which seeks to commend and encourage excellent local athletes and coaches who have garnered honours forMacao in the past two years whilst inviting the public to celebrate the joy of their achievements.

‘Sport for All’ is also an important part of local sports development. The spotlight of this issue falls on Macao Elderly Sports Day, which attracted over 2,000 elderly and their families to share the fun of exercising. We hope that this activity will encourage the elderly to participate more in sports and form a regular habit of exercising for a healthy life.

In the third quarter, Macao’s disabled athletes respectively participated in the 14^th Special Olympics World Summer Games and the 9^th National Games of Disabled Persons & 6^th Special Olympics Games, where they delivered beyond our expectations and accomplished a remarkable achievement in two games with 35 Gold, 24 Silver and 30 Bronze medals gained in one game and one Gold and two Bronze medals in another. We sincerely hope that society can also care more for disabled persons, encouraging and supporting them to engage in sports training and thus promote sports development for people with disabilities.

For ‘Public Sports Facilities Network’, two new venues have been newly included, which are the ‘Sports Ground at Veng Neng’ and ‘Taipa Northeast Sports Centre - Indoor Stadium’. With the continuing expansion of sports venues and optimised facilities, we hope to create a better environment for residents to engage in sports and thus fortify their health.

JOSÉ TAVARES