Recreational and Sports Programmes

To promote ‘Sport for All’ and encourage people of different age groups and levels of ability to lead active and healthy lives, the LCSD organises a wide range of recreational and sports activities for different target groups. These activities include district-based sports training courses, competitions, and recreational activities.

Major events and territory-wide projects include the Hong Kong Games (HKG), the Corporate Games, the Masters Games, Sport For All Day, and the Healthy Exercise for All Campaign.

In 2012-13, we organised around 37 800 recreational and sports activities for more than 2 136 600 participants of all ages and abilities, at a total cost of around $146.6 million.

Healthy Exercise for All Campaign

Stimulating public interest in sports and encouraging a healthy lifestyle through regular participation in sports and physical activities are two of the department’s key missions.

In conjunction with the Department of Health, the LCSD launched the Healthy Exercise for All Campaign in April 2000. Community activities organised in Hong Kong’s 18 districts in 2012-13 as part of this campaign included a number of fitness programmes for children, people with disabilities and the elderly; hiking and quality walking (‘QualiWalk’) schemes; Dance for Health programmes; and rope-skipping activities.

The department also organised a variety of promotional activities, including a series of roving exhibitions held in shopping malls, schools, youth centres, elderly centres, private residential clubhouses, LCSD holiday camps, parks, sports centres, and public libraries. These encouraged people of all ages to exercise daily for good health. The response was encouraging, with over 80 000 participants taking part in 1 500 activities in 2012-13.

To promote the campaign, the department enlisted the support of 36 top athletes as Healthy Exercise Ambassadors. Health education and physical exercise-related information was disseminated in the form of VCDs, leaflets and booklets, and also placed on a purpose-built website.

Sport For All Day 2012

To promote Sport for All in the community and to tie in with the London Olympics, the Olympics was adopted as the theme of the Sport For All Day 2012 held on August 5. The slogan ‘Stay Active. Exercise for Half an Hour Daily’ was adopted for the event.

Most of the department’s leisure and sports facilities were open for free use by individual members of the public on the event day. In addition, a wide range of free programmes were organised at designated sports centres in the 18 districts. Each district chose an Olympic sport as the theme of its signature promotion programme to help stimulate community interest in the Olympic sports and show support for Hong Kong’s Olympic athletes.

Over 210 000 people took part in the Sport For All Day 2012, with more than 29 000 people enjoying the free programmes and over 186 000 people using the sports facilities free of charge.

The Corporate Games 2012

The Corporate Games is a major multi-sport event for employees of local private and public sector organisations. It encourages the working population to exercise regularly, while also promoting team spirit and fostering a stronger sense of belonging to an organisation.

The Corporate Games 2012 was held from March to November 2012 at various recreational venues throughout Hong Kong, and included 13 sports events. More than 9 300 people from 267 organisations took part in the games.

The Masters Games 2012/13

The Masters Games, held every two years, aim to inspire people aged 35 or above to maintain their physical and mental health by competing against others of a similar age. In 2012-13, the Games attracted over 4 400 participants in six events: Tai Chi, table tennis, swimming, badminton, tennis, and distance run.

Healthy Exercise for All Campaign – Physical Fitness Test for the Community

In 2012, the LCSD completed the second territory-wide ‘Physical Fitness Test for the Community’, a study which collected data relating to the general physical fitness condition of Hong Kong people aged between 3 and 69. The overall findings of the study revealed that a person’s lifestyle and pattern of physical activity have a direct correlation with their level of physical fitness. Apart from a balanced diet, people should adopt an active lifestyle and make sports and physical activities an integral part of their daily life.

School Sports Programme

The School Sports Programme (SSP) is coordinated by the LCSD in collaboration with the Education Bureau, and provides subventions to the National Sports Associations (NSAs) in order to organise sports activities for students. This programme aims to give students more opportunities to participate in sport on a regular basis, raise sporting standards among students, and foster a sporting culture in school campuses.

The SSP covers seven subsidiary programmes and schemes: the Sport Education Programme, the Easy Sport Programme, the Outreach Coaching Programme, the Sport Captain Programme, the Joint Schools Sports Training Programme, the Badges Award Scheme, and the Sports Award Scheme.

In 2012-13, 40 NSAs joined the SSP to organise 7 907 sports activities for over 609 000 participants.

The School Sports Programme Coordinator Pilot Scheme was a new initiative under the SSP. It was jointly organised by the Home Affairs Bureau and the LCSD, and co-organised by the Education Bureau and the Hong Kong Sports Institute. Apart from further promoting school sports, the pilot scheme also aims at providing retired athletes with a career training platform. Since its launch in September 2012, 14 schools have been paired up with 14 retired athletes, who have taken up posts as School Sports Programme Coordinators (SSPCs) and assisted the schools in carrying out their school sports development plans. The SSPCs served as role models to encourage students to participate in sport regularly and helped promote a stronger sporting culture in school campuses.

Community Sports Club Project

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 aims to promote and strengthen youth development, encourage lifelong participation in sport, and attract sport volunteers.

Under the project, CSCs get technical and financial support for organising sports development programmes. In addition, seminars, training courses and workshops are arranged to improve the management skills and technical knowledge of club leaders. A total of 29 NSAs and around 430 CSCs have now joined the CSC Project. In 2012-13, about 2 250 CSC programmes were organised and drew 49 000 participants.

District Sports Teams Training Scheme

In 2012-13, the 18 districts formed their own football, basketball, handball and fencing teams, with support from the respective NSAs. A total of 10 790 people enrolled in these district teams and took part in 289 training activities and inter-district competitions through the year.

Young Athletes Training Scheme

The main goals of the Young Athletes Training Scheme (YATS) are to enhance sports training for young people, and to identify young talents. Young athletes with potential have the chance to be selected for further training by the NSAs. The best are selected for national junior squads that represent the Hong Kong SAR at international events.

In 2012-13, the scheme attracted 31 935 participants to take part in 920 activities in 28 sports disciplines, while 267 talented young athletes were identified by NSAs for further training.

Bun Carnival 2012

The Cheung Chau Bun Carnival, held from April 8 to 29, 2012, attracted thousands of local and overseas visitors. More than 8 000 members of the public participated in the Bun Scrambling Competition and in many other events. Athletes from neighbouring cities and from Cheung Chau organisations competed in an invitation relay, adding extra excitement to the festival.