Under the Sport for All initiative, the department’s District Leisure Services Offices organise a range of training courses, recreational activities, sports programmes and competitions for people from all walks of life and age groups to encourage more people to actively engage in recreation and sports.
Major events and territory-wide projects include the Hong Kong Games (HKG), Corporate Games, Masters Games, Sport For All Day and the Healthy Exercise for All Campaign.
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Officiating guests chorus “Come on, Games on”, the theme song of the 3rd Hong Kong Games, at the prize giving-cum-closing ceremony.
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In 2011-12, we organised about 37 600 recreational and sports activities for more than 2 421 400 participants of all ages and abilities. These programmes cost about $143.8 million.
Enhancing public interest in sports and encouraging a healthy lifestyle through regular physical exercise are among the department’s key missions.
In conjunction with the Department of Health, our department launched the Healthy Exercise for All Campaign in April 2000. The community activities organised in Hong Kong’s 18 districts, as part of this campaign in 2011-12, included: fitness programmes for children, people with disabilities and the elderly; hiking and quality walking (‘QualiWalk’) schemes; Dance for Health programmes; and rope-skipping activities.
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A rope skipping demonstration by the Hong Kong Rope Skipping Association, China, at the opening ceremony of the Siu Sai Wan Complex.
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A variety of promotional activities, including a series of roving exhibitions in shopping malls, schools, youth centres, elderly centres, private residential club houses, LCSD holiday camps, parks, sports centres and public libraries were organised to encourage people of all ages to exercise daily for good health. The response was encouraging, with 75 000 participants taking part in 1 400 activities in 2011-12.
To promote the campaign, the department enlisted the support of 31 top athletes as Healthy Exercise Ambassadors. Health education and physical exercise-related information was disseminated in the form of video tapes, VCDs, leaflets and booklets and a purpose-designed website.
To sustain the positive effect of the Sport for All campaign and to tie in with the National Fitness Day, the LCSD organised the Sport For All Day 2011 on August 7, 2011, under the theme of fitness walking with key message of ‘Be Smart and Healthy. Let’s take a Brisk Walk Daily’.
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Participants gather at the starting point of a fitness walk along the Ma On Shan Promenade on the Sport For All Day 2011. |
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A wide range of free programmes was organised at designated sports centres in 18 districts to promote the Sport for All. On the day, we waived the fees for most of the available fee-charging leisure and sports facilities.
Over 200 000 people participated in the Sport For All Day 2011, of whom about 26 000 participated in the free programmes, while about 177 000 enjoyed the free facilities. Over 1 000 people participated in fitness walking activities at Ma On Shan Promenade, Hong Kong Park, Po Kong Village Road Park and Tsing Yi Park simultaneously to establish a strong sporting culture in our community.
The Corporate Games, a major multi-sport event for staff in local private and public sector organisations, encouraged people to exercise regularly, while also promoting team spirit and a stronger sense of belonging to their organisations.
The Corporate Games 2012 is scheduled to be held from March to November 2012 and included 13 sports events at various recreational venues throughout Hong Kong. It aims to attract 9 300 people from 260 organisations to take part in the games.
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Players in action at a 11-a-side soccer match at the Corporate Games 2012. The games encourage staff of private and public sectors to exercise regularly. |
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The Masters Games which aims to inspire people aged 35 or above to maintain their physical and mental health by competing against individuals of similar age is held every two years. The Masters Games 2012 is scheduled to be held from June 2012 to January 2013, including six sports events, namely badminton, Tai Chi, table tennis, swimming, tennis and distance run.
The second Physical Fitness Test for the Community (PFT) was launched in April 2011 and data collection completed in January 2012.
Encompassing a survey and a physical fitness test, this programme is designed to achieve the following goals: establish a database on the physical fitness level of Hong Kong people; identify the relationship between exercise and fitness; understand the priority measures to be taken to improve general physical fitness in the community; and inform individuals about their level of fitness.
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Adolescents take a physical fitness test under the guidance of professionals. Information collected will be used to build a database on the physical fitness of Hong Kong people. |
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The target group comprises Hong Kong citizens aged between 3 and 69, categorised into five age clusters: infants (aged 3-6), children (7-12), adolescents (13-19), adults (20-59) and the elderly (60-69). Over 13 000 samples were drawn at random from 18 districts and more than 8 000 successful samples were collected. The results of the PFT are expected to be finalised within 2012.
The School Sports Programme (SSP) is organised by National Sports Associations (NSAs) through the department’s Sports Subvention Scheme, in association with the Education Bureau. This programme, which aims to raise the standards of sport in primary, secondary and special schools, gives students an opportunity to engage in a variety of sports.
SSP activities cover seven subsidiary programmes and schemes: the Sport Education Programme, Easy Sport Programme, Outreach Coaching Programme, Sport Captain Programme, Joint Schools Sports Training Programme, Badges Award Scheme and Sports Award Scheme (SAS).
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Athletic competitions under the Easy Sport Programme provide primary students with easy and fun ways to take part in sports. |
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The sportTAG Award Scheme, a new programme launched under the SAS in January 2011, aims to encourage students who join ‘sportACT’ to undergo skills evaluation in their sport of choice by NSAs, to maintain such skills. Students who reach a certain standard receive awards of recognition.
In 2011-12, 39 NSAs joined the SSP to organise about 7 880 sports activities for over 607 000 participants.
The Community Sports Club (CSC) Project aims to broaden the base of sports development in Hong Kong and improve sporting standards at the community level. The project also promotes and strengthens youth development, encourages lifelong sports participation and attracts volunteers.
These clubs get technical and financial support to organise sports development programmes. In addition, seminars, training courses and workshops are arranged to improve club members’ management and technical knowledge. A total of 29 NSAs and about 430 CSCs have now joined the CSC Project. In 2011-12, around 2 200 CSC programmes, subsidised by the department, drew 48 000 participants.
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A taekwondo demonstration at the prize presentation ceremony of the Community Sports Club Project. |
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In 2011-12, the 18 districts formed their own football, basketball, handball and fencing teams to generate community interest in sport, with the support of the respective NSAs. A total of 10 562 people enrolled in these district teams and took part in 229 training activities and inter-district competitions through the year.
The main goal of the Young Athletes Training Scheme (YATS) is to enhance sports training for youth and spot talent. Young athletes with potential have the opportunity to be selected for further training by NSAs. The best will be selected for national junior squads that will represent the Hong Kong SAR in international events.
In 2011-12, the scheme attracted 32 085 participants who participated in 880 activities in 28 sports disciplines, while 296 talented young athletes were sent to NSAs for further training.
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The rugby training courses organised under the Young Athletes Training Scheme help spot talent for further training. |
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The Cheung Chau Bun Carnival, from April 23 to May 11, 2011, attracted thousands of local and overseas visitors. More than 8 000 participated in the Bun Scrambling Competition and in many other events. Athletes from neighbouring cities and from Cheung Chau organisations competed in a relay, making the festival even more exciting.
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A lion dance before the finale of the 2011 Bun Carnival. |
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