Participants in the National Games include both professional athletes and non-professional mass athletes, and the participants are extensive and unrestricted. For professional athletes, it generally includes active and retired athletes and some retired soldiers. These athletes usually need to be selected and trained before they can participate in the National Games. For non-professional mass athletes, they can sign up for the National Games of all provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government, Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps and industry sports associations. These athletes are generally sports enthusiasts from all walks of life and can participate in the National Games through selection or recommendation.
In addition, for some collective projects and exhibition activities, such as football, basketball, balloon volleyball, dragon boat and so on. , usually need the streets, towns, enterprises and institutions below the county level to form a team. It should be noted that the athletes participating in the competition must be citizens of People's Republic of China (PRC) and China, and have been examined by the medical department at or above the county level to prove their health. At the same time, athletes must be at least 25 years old.
In addition, professional athletes (including retired athletes) are not allowed to participate in their own professional events and similar events.