Sports Kaleidoscope

Roving Sports Demonstrations For All

Since 2000, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) has adopted the slogan “Daily exercise keeps us fit, people of all ages can do it” to promote the benefits of exercise to health and encourage the public to be sporty as part of daily life by developing the habit of regular exercise. To celebrate the 25^th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the LCSD held the Roving Sports Demonstrations For All at various malls and performance venues during four Saturdays in June and July thanks to exclusive sponsorship from the Hong Kong Jockey Club to introduce and demonstrate a variety of theme sports to the public, with an aim of further promoting sports.

 

The Roving Sports Demonstrations For All is held to mainly promote four sports, namely dance, wushu, physical fitness exercise and rope skipping. These four sports share notable common features, such as easy accessibility to members of the public, as well as without strict restrictions on venues and numbers of participants, which make them suitable for people of all ages.

 

Such promotional sports have developed robustly in recent years. For example, as far as the development of dancesport is concerned, Hong Kong is striving towards the goals of popularising the sport, enlisting support for elite athletes, and seeking to host major international events. Dancesport activities such as Latin dance, ballroom dance, salsa dance and breakdancing are also becoming increasingly popular. Among these, breakdancing has been included in the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games and the 2024 Paris Olympic Games as a competition event, which will definitely make dance emerge as a hugely popular trend in the community during the times of the events.

 

Generally speaking, wushu is mainly categorised into Taolu (routines competitions) and Sanda (free-fighting competitions). Taolu is further divided into individual routine events, group routine events, and Duilian; whereas Sanda is derived from traditional martial arts techniques characterised by kicking, punching, throwing and defensive skills. Both are distinctively recognisable with equal prominence in the wushu world. Sport wushu has developed rapidly as its competitive systems have become full-fledged by the introduction of Western sports competition elements in recent years. It is expected to become a popular sport around the globe.

 

Physical fitness exercises and rope skipping are those sports activities we knew at a very young age. Among physical fitness exercises, both multi-gym fitness and aerobic training can help us improve our cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular strength and flexibility, and make our body composition to be more balanced. Such physical fitness elements are not only the solid foundation of health for our body, but are per se key health indicators. Therefore, in addition to building a fit body, regular exercise can also improve physical fitness and promote health. Rope skipping is also a type of physical fitness exercises, which helps us enhance physical fitness and maintain a good figure, while improving agility and stamina. Rope skipping requires nothing but simple gear such as a rope, light and comfortable clothing, and a pair of suitable trainers, without restrictions on use of special venues and numbers of participants. Rope skippers may decide on the number of participants, rhythm and speed, and amount of exercise based on their own preference and ability. It is extremely easy and convenient to do this sport, which is actually suitable for people of all ages.

 

During the roving sports demonstrations, apart from promoting and demonstrating these sports activities, the LCSD also enlightened the public, with the aid of exhibition boards, on other sports activities, with a view to enhancing their understanding of the current sports development in Hong Kong and the way forward.

 

Physical fitness exercise	Wushu
Dance	Rope skipping