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Athletes from various regions enter during the opening ceremony of the 106th National Sports Festival, held at Busan Asiad Main Stadium in Yeonje-gu, Busan on October 17 of last year. / Yonhap

About 29,000 athletes will take part in the 107th National Sports Festival. Held in Jeju for the first time in 12 years, this year's event has drawn 29,044 registered participants — up 253 from last year.

According to figures compiled by the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee, registrations include 19,576 athletes and 9,468 officials. Among the athletes, 12,435 are men and 7,141 are women. This marks a slight increase from last year's 106th event, which drew 28,791 registered participants.

Registration ran from the 22nd of last month through 3 p.m. on the 13th of this month. The committee will operate a review period from the 13th through 3 p.m. on the 27th to confirm participant eligibility and address any objections.

Ahead of the opening ceremony, event-by-event matchups will also be finalized in earnest. The committee will hold the draw for the 107th National Sports Festival's matchups at 1:30 p.m. on the 20th, in the seminar room on the second floor of the Jeju Special Self-Governing Province Hall. This year, matchups for 28 tournament-style events and 417 sub-events will be automatically drawn using a computerized program.

A key feature of this year's draw is the shift away from the traditional in-person drawing method to an automated system. The change aims to reduce the inconvenience for officials from city and provincial sports associations and event organizations, who previously had to travel and wait for extended periods to attend the draw, while also strengthening fairness and transparency in matchmaking through random assignment.

A survey of opinions from city and provincial sports associations conducted by the committee found that a majority favored adopting an online system, leading to the decision to implement computer-based automatic drawing starting this year.

The draw will use a computer program employing a secure random number algorithm. The program randomly assigns the order of draw subjects to minimize human involvement, with the drawing process and results disclosed via an on-site screen and live online broadcast, allowing officials unable to attend in person to follow the same process in real time.

Matchup results can be viewed on the 107th National Sports Festival's official website, with the final bracket also posted on the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee's website. The drawing process will be livestreamed on the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee's YouTube channel.

This year's National Sports Festival returns to Jeju for the first time in 12 years, since the 95th edition in 2014. The event will be hosted by Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, the Jeju Sports Council, and the Jeju Special Self-Governing Provincial Office of Education, with 50 events held across 74 venues in and around Jeju.

Athletes gathered from across the country will compete for seven days, representing the honor of their respective cities and provinces. Given the large number of participating athletes and the fact that this marks Jeju's first time hosting the festival in 12 years, the event is expected to significantly contribute to boosting local sports development.

                                                                                                         Cheon Hyun-bin