In promoting the concept of 'Sport for All' and encouraging people to participate in regular recreation and sports activities, the department organises a wide variety of training courses, recreational activities, sports programmes and competitions through the District Leisure Services Offices. A number of major events and territory-wide projects are also organised, including the Corporate Games, the Masters Games and the International Sand Sculpture Exchange Programme. Target groups include senior citizens, people with disabilities and youths at risk.

In 2003, the department organised 27,642 community recreation and sports activities for more than 1,620,000 participants of all ages and abilities, at a cost of about $95 million.

A wide variety of recreation and sports programmes are organised to people of all ages and abilities.

Healthy Exercise for All Campaign

Enhancing public interest in sports activities and encouraging the public to pursue a healthy lifestyle through regular physical exercise, is an ongoing role for the LCSD in conjunction with the Department of Health with the 'Healthy Exercise for All Campaign'. In 2003, sports events organised in the 18 districts to promote the campaign's message included fitness programmes for overweight children, people with disabilities and senior citizens; various walking projects (the hiking scheme, quali-walk, stair climbing and brisk walking); dance for health; the rope skipping scheme and a series of sports and health roving exhibitions.

The age-old tradition of rope skipping is promoted as a healthy community activity that can be practised virtually anywhere.

Response to the campaign was encouraging, with some 90,000 people taking part in 1,500 activities.

More than 30 top athletes were appointed as Healthy Exercise Ambassadors to help the campaign, while videotapes, VCDs, leaflets and booklets were produced to introduce the public to simple healthy exercises.

Territory-wide Age Group Competitions

These competitions were organised to provide more opportunities for people of similar ages to participate in and sustain their interest in sport. The competitions included table-tennis, badminton and tennis. They covered eight to nine age groups under three main divisions �X youth, adults and masters �X and attracted 16,583 participants.

District Sports Teams

The 18 districts each set up their own football, basketball, table-tennis and badminton teams with the support of the respective National Sports Associations (NSAs) in a move to generate community interest in sport. More than 4,000 people enrolled in the district teams and took part in 408 training activities and inter-district competitions held throughout the year.

Football players show their skills at the inter-district competition.

Young Athletes Training Scheme

The department co-organises the Young Athletes Training (YAT) Scheme with the relevant NSAs in five selected sports: badminton, table-tennis, football, basketball and swimming.

The main objective of the YAT scheme is to enhance training for young people in the five sports at district level in the hope that talented athletes will be identified and referred to the various NSAs for further training. The best of them will then be selected to join national youth squads to represent Hong Kong in international sporting events.

In 2003, some 812 activities were organised, attracting 22,100 youngsters, from which 154 talented athletes were referred to the national sports associations for further training.

International Sand Sculpture Exchange Programme

The International Sand Sculpture Exchange Programme 2003 was held at Lido Beach, Tsuen Wan with the event attracting local participants in four divisions �X family, youth, open and disabled. In the exchange programme, sand sculptors from Kagoshima, Japan, were invited to demonstrate their extraordinary creativity and skills. More than 1,000 spectators attended this unusual and highly entertaining programme.

The winners of the Tsuen Wan Sand Sculpture Competition and International Sand Sculpture Exchange Programme 2003 and their work 'Happy Travelling'.

Corporate Games

The Corporate Games — one of the department's most important promotional activities — are designed to help build an energetic and healthy community. They provide an opportunity for employees of companies to participate in sports competitions, thereby encouraging them to exercise regularly and to improve their physique to cope with the challenge of work. The games also strengthen relationships between employers and employees.

The last Corporate Games were held from July 2003 to January 2004. Altogether, 10 competitive events were organised at various recreational venues throughout Hong Kong, with 9,050 employees from 210 organisations taking part.

Keen competition for athletes in the annual Corporate Games.

Masters Games

The Masters Games aim to inspire people aged 35 or above to keep up their physical and mental health through sport; and to offer competitors the opportunity to play against people of similar age to maintain their interest in sporting activities. The 2003 games covered five events and were well received by the public, attracting 2,218 competitors.

'Exercise for All' Show

In an effort to combat severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) by encouraging the public to do more regular exercise, and to celebrate the lifting of the travel advisory on Hong Kong issued by the World Health Organisation, the department organised the 'Exercise for All' Show on June 4, 2003 at the Hong Kong Stadium. The event attracted 18,000 participants. The programme included mass exercises, fitness exercise demonstrations, wushu and dance performances, an all star show and arts and craft stalls.

The 'Exercise for All' Show was held at the Hong Kong Stadium to encourage people to exercise more regularly.

School Sports Programme

The School Sports Programme provides opportunities for youngsters to participate in more sports and aims to raise the standard of sports in primary, secondary and special schools. Activities encompass the easy sport programme, the sport education programme, the sport captain programme, the outreach coaching programme and the Joint School Training Centre. In 2003, 5,390 sports activities were organised for 400,000 students at a cost of $11 million.

Under the School Sports Programme, youngsters have opportunities to participate in various types of sports.

Community Sports Club Project

Broadening the base of sports development in Hong Kong and improving the standard of sports at community level are the aims of the Community Sports Club (CSC) project. It promotes and strengthens the development of young people, encourages a lifelong participation in sports and attracts more volunteers in sports.

Community Sports Clubs are provided with technical and financial support to organise sports development programmes. Seminars, training courses and workshops are also organised to enhance the managerial and technical knowledge of members. A total of 25 NSAs and 176 CSCs have joined the project. In 2003, 645 CSC projects were organised with subsidies from the department, attracting 17,000 participants.

Tailor-made Recreation and Sports Programmes

The popularity of the tailor-made recreation and sports programmes, which were first introduced in 2002, has prompted the department to continue to organise the programmes for children during long school holidays. In 2003, 34 special programmes were organised with popular activities for children, such as handicrafts, magic, music and dance, horticulture, fun games, workshops and story-telling in English and Putonghua.

In addition to normal training courses, the department also organised more than 500 specially packaged marine recreational activities at four water sports centres, which included guided marine ecological tours and sailing adventures. All these specially organised programmes proved to be very popular and were over subscribed.

Healthy Elderly Scheme

In order to promote healthy living for the elderly, a Healthy Elderly Scheme was launched in September. The scheme provides free recreational programmes for the elderly at sports centres during non-peak hours on weekdays. More than 380 free programmes were organised for the elderly in 2003.

Lawn bowls is proving popular with senior citizens at LCSD venues.

Carnival for Pets �X Lunar New Year Dogs Fun Day

To promote proper attitudes in keeping pets, the department continued to organise the Carnival for Pets �X Lunar New Year Dogs Fun Day at Lai Chi Kok Park on February 22-23. Demonstrations by police dogs, pet-related talks, exhibitions and games were organised as part of the fun day, while retail stalls selling pet-related products and a food corner were also set up to help promote the local community economy. The two-day event attracted over 15,000 participants and 3,500 dogs.