[Provided by Yeongju City]
[Provided by Yeongju City]

Yeongju City in North Gyeongsang Province held the opening ceremony of the 2026 Yeongju Mayor's Cup Multi-Sport Festival at the National Sports Center on Saturday.

Organized by the Yeongju City Sports Council and hosted by the city's individual sports associations, the event drew 380 teams across 19 sports, with a total of 6,460 athletes and officials taking part.

The festival is held annually to give local recreational sports enthusiasts opportunities to compete and connect, broaden participation in community sports, promote public health and foster unity through athletics.

Competition began Sunday with volleyball and tennis. Events including gateball, ground golf, park golf, baseball, soft tennis, gymnastics, jokgu, football, badminton, table tennis, bowling, swimming, archery, futsal and haneung are being held in concentrated rounds Saturday and Sunday.

Basketball will follow from Oct. 10 to Oct. 11, with golf rounding out the full schedule on Oct. 28.

The festival is expected to serve as a signature community sports event where more than 6,000 recreational athletes gather across disciplines to compete and share friendship and camaraderie.

Yeongju Mayor Hwang Byeong-jik attended the opening ceremony, offering words of encouragement to athletes and officials and presenting merit awards to 19 representatives from individual sports associations recognized for their contributions to local sports development and the promotion of recreational athletics.

"I hope this tournament gives every participant a chance to showcase the skills they have worked so hard to develop, and that it becomes a meaningful occasion to share friendship and unity," Hwang said.


kbj7653@heraldcorp.com