The 55th County Sports Meet opened on Oct 13th at the Nantou County Sports Stadium. This year the County Sports Committee added a competition to see which team could make the best entrance to the stadium. The lively variety of the costumes and props based on local themes were employed, it was obvious that the 26 teams, including teams representing the handicapped, put a lot of effort into it. The audience loved it and County Magistrate Lee Chao-ching said that the creative spirit was alive and well in Nantou.  A total of 9000 competitors took part in this year's event, and 18 of them broke 20 games records while 7 of them broke Nantou records. A slight difference in the proceedings this year was that the opening ceremony was held during the day and the speakers platform was positioned at the side of the running track so that the VIPs could be closer to the action. During the opening ceremony, 250 students performed calisthenics, and as the torch was lit a team of inline skaters and two dragon teams led the way in performing "twin dragons snatch the pearl" and drumming in front of the torch platform. County Magistrate Lee pointed out that a poll in the September edition of Commonwealth magazine had shown that Nantou was placed 12th in terms of residents' level of satisfaction with local government. He also expressed his belief that Nantou had the potential to become a city internationally famous for its gardens and healthy living. County Magistrate Lee finished his speech by leading the competitors in shouting a motto - " Live well in Nantou" - to signal the start of the meet. After the opening ceremony, there was a fair that featured foods made from rice and local agricultural products. The fair opened with a ice sculpture display created by a art group from the Wang Hsiang Community, and County Magistrate Lee was in attendance to "break the ice". The sports meet lasted for four days and finished on the afternoon of the 16th with a medal-awarding ceremony.