RECREATION, SPORTS AND THE ARTS
swimming pool complexes, 10 tennis courts, 68 squash courts and 86 sportsgrounds. Another sportsground, to be installed with full electronic display equipment, will be completed in 1992 in Tai Po. Furthermore, two fully air-conditioned indoor recreation centres, the first of their kind in the Regional Council area, have been planned for Tsuen Wan and Kwai Tsing districts. They will be completed in 1993 and 1994.
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The council has three water sports centres - Tai Mei Tuk, Chong Hing and Wong Shek and three holiday camps - Lady MacLehose Holiday Village, Sai Kung Outdoor Recrea- tion Centre and Tso Kung Tam Outdoor Recreation Centre. During the year, 70 730 people made use of the water sports centres and 227 900 the holiday camps.
Regional Council Festival Events
The 'Corporate Games', introduced as part of the Regional Council's second biennial festival in 1990, received strong support from the business and industrial sectors. In view of the enthusiasm generated, the programme was made an annual event and Corporate Games '91 was held from September to November, attracting some 100 corporate participants. Staged at various council facilities throughout the territory, the games comprised athletics, water sports, soccer, tennis, snooker, a cross-country race and an orienteering camp. The 20 events covered a wide variety of interests and abilities and helped promote team spirit and sportsmanship among the participants.
Under the District Festivals Subsidy Scheme, the council assists local organisations to organise public recreation, sports and cultural activities most suited to their own districts. The types of programme covered include arts and sports festivals, dragon boat races, Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations and Lunar New Year Carnivals.
During the year, some $6 million was allocated to the nine districts under the jurisdiction of the council, in support of about 48 festive celebrations for a total of over 600 000 participants.
Beaches and Swimming Pools
Swimming is Hong Kong's most popular form of summer recreation. During the year, some 12.9 million people visited the beaches and another 6.1 million enjoyed using the numerous public swimming pools managed by the Municipal Councils.
There are at present 42 gazetted bathing beaches, 12 on Hong Kong Island managed by the Urban Council and 30 in the New Territories managed by the Regional Council. Facilities provided at these beaches range from changing rooms, toilets, showers, first-aid posts, lookout towers, light refreshment kiosks to picnic areas and other ancillary facilities. The water quality of these beaches is regularly checked and made known to the public.
The councils manage 24 public swimming complexes: 14 in the Urban Council area and 10 in the Regional Council area. The competition pools in these complexes are built to international standards. Phase I of the new Tai Po Swimming Pool Complex was opened for public use in April; Phase II was opened in October. Three more pools, at Sai Kung, Islands District and Sha Tin will be opened in 1992. Three public swimming pool projects are under planning in the urban areas.
The councils regularly organise learn-to-swim classes to promote water safety. During the year there were over 1 420 swimming classes and training programmes in the urban areas in which more than 27 381 people took part. In the Regional Council area, 432 classes were held and more than 11 600 people took part.
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