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OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES: A FULLER LIFE FOR ALL
Mid-Autumn Carnival. The council's comprehensive summer programme in 1977 included launch picnics, swimming parties and hikes.
To bring more colour and greenery to the crowded urban areas, more than 235,000 trees, shrubs and flowers were planted during the year. The Urban Council and Urban Services Department now manage a total of 663 hectares of public open space - 413 hectares in urban areas and the remainder in the New Territories.
Recreation and Sport Service
Since its inception in October, 1974, the Recreation and Sport Service of the Educa- tion Department has done much to boost healthy leisure activities.
The service, headed by a forward-thinking group of professionals drawn from the department's Physical Education Division, grew out of the urgent need to co- ordinate, direct and plan recreational activities. Although much was being done by both government and non-government bodies, efforts tended to be fragmented and the community's needs were clearly outstripping supply.
In just over three years, the Recreation and Sport Service has done much to make Hong Kong's expressed goal of 'recreation for everyone' a reality.
Staff stationed in 17 districts initiate and develop programmes for all ages and ability groups. Particular emphasis is placed on meeting the needs of young people, especially those living in housing estates or working in factories, and helping the community make maximum use of sporting facilities available in particular areas.
Activities include weekend camps and sports training courses, hikes, launch picnics, sports days for public housing estates, youth dances, large-scale district sports weeks, and recreational programmes for the handicapped and hospital groups. Special emphasis is placed on groups largely neglected in the past; fitness programmes for office workers, Tai Chi classes for the aged and convalescent, sports days for factory workers even games and fitness programmes designed for apprentices.
As a measure of its impact, more than 300,000 people took part in Recreation and Sport Service activities in 1977 - and the figure is expected to treble by 1981.
Accordingly, the service's staff has grown from an original nucleus of eight officers to its present complement of 173, including 129 government primary school teachers on temporary secondment. Many of these teachers are expected to be absorbed by the service on a permanent basis in 1978.
A Technical and Planning Section has been set up within the service to plan pro- grammes and to offer technical advice in the provision of more facilities. Further areas for development include an increase in the level of activities for rural areas, new towns and public housing estates; provision for more outdoor pursuits to cope with the increase in leisure time brought about by compulsory holidays; provision for better-qualified personnel to meet the demand for sports officials and to improve the quality of sports programmes; and the introduction of new sports and games.
Apart from organising recreational activities for specific community groups, the service helps governing sports bodies organise courses for training coaches, instructors and sports officials. Other regular programmes include projects aimed at introducing the public to less-popular sports like water polo, diving and five-a-side soccer; organising competitions and tournaments; and providing professional assistance to government departments and voluntary organisations.