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, 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, the Corporate Games, the Masters Games, Sport For All Day, and the Healthy Exercise for All Campaign.

In 2014-15, we organised around 38 300 recreational and sports activities for more than 2 193 800 participants of all ages and abilities, at a total cost of around $153.2 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, LCSD launched the Healthy Exercise for All Campaign in April 2000. Community activities organised in Hong Kong’s 18 districts in 2014-15 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, 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 2014-15.

To promote the campaign, the department enlisted the support of 24 local sports celebrities as Healthy Exercise Ambassadors. Health education and physical exercise-related information was disseminated in the form of DVDs, leaflets and booklets, and also placed on a purpose-built website.

Sport For All Day 2014

To promote Sport for All in the community, Sport For All Day (SFAD) 2014 was held on August 3. It adopted rope skipping as its main theme, with the slogan ‘Stay active! Rope skipping keeps you fit!’. SFAD 2014 encouraged parents and children alike to consider taking up rope-skipping as a way of cultivating the habit of daily exercise.

Most of the department’s leisure and sports facilities were open for free use by individual members of the public on the day of the event. In addition, a wide range of free programmes were organised at designated sports centres in the 18 districts.

Over 220 000 people took part in SFAD 2014, with more than 31 500 people enjoying the free programmes and over 195 000 people using the sports facilities free of charge.

Corporate Games

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

The Corporate Games 2014 was held from February to December 2014 at various recreational venues throughout Hong Kong. Over 9 700 people from 254 organisations took part in its 13 sports competitions.

Masters Games

The Masters Games is held biennially with the aim of inspiring people aged 35 or above to maintain their physical and mental health by competing against individuals of similar age. The Masters Games 2014 was held from June to December 2014 and attracted 4 373 competitors in six events: Tai Chi, tennis, table tennis, swimming, badminton, and distance running.

School Sports Programme

The School Sports Programme (SSP) is organised by various National Sports Associations (NSAs), and coordinated and subvented by LCSD in collaboration with the Education Bureau. This programme aims to give students more opportunities to participate in sport on a regular basis, raise sporting standards among students, identify sports talents for further training, and foster a sporting culture on 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 2014-15, 40 NSAs joined with the SSP to organise 8 080 sports activities for about 611 000 participants.

The three-year School Sports Programme Coordinator Pilot Scheme, which is jointly organised with the Home Affairs Bureau and co-organised by the Education Bureau and the Hong Kong Sports Institute, covers the school years from 2012/13 to 2014/15. It aims to provide more opportunities for students to participate in sport, as well as offering a career and development platform for retired athletes. A comprehensive review was conducted on the effectiveness of the scheme in late 2014. On the basis of the positive feedback received from the schools, students and retired athletes who took part in, the scheme will be expanded so that more students and retired athletes can benefit from it.

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 2014-15, about 2 350 CSC programmes were organised for some 51 000 participants.

District Sports Teams Training Scheme

In 2014-15, the 18 districts formed their own football, basketball, handball and fencing teams, with support from the respective NSAs. A total of 12 173 people enrolled in these district teams and took part in 321 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 talent. Young athletes with potential have the chance to be selected for further training by NSAs. The best are selected to join squads and take part in international competitions.

In 2014-15, the scheme attracted 31 669 participants to take part in 934 activities in 30 sports disciplines, while 280 talented young athletes were identified by NSAs for further training.

Bun Carnival 2014

The Cheung Chau Bun Carnival, held from April 13 to May 7, 2014, attracted thousands of local and overseas visitors. More than 9 000 members of the public participated in the many events, including the famous Bun Scrambling Competition. Athletes from neighbouring cities and from Cheung Chau organisations competed in an invitation relay, adding extra excitement to the festival.