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Council sports grounds and asks whether safety measures are considered adequate, and if not whether there are any plans for improvement.
In answering this question, I shall assume that the sports grounds referred to, are those used primarily for athletics. There are 9 Urban Council sports grounds, of which 2 are multi-purpose facilities, the remainder being purpose built athletic grounds.
All Council sports grounds have been constructed to designs which fully conform to standards laid down by the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF). This has been achieved through the close contact Council maintains with the Hong Kong Amateur Athletic Association (HKAAA). The latter is routinely consulted on all matters pertaining to the design and construction of sports grounds to ensure that all relevant safety standards are met. The equipment provided at these venues also conforms to IAAF requirements. Regular inspection and maintenance of all facilities and equipment ensures that they are kept in a good state of repair.
In addition, every sports ground has a fully equipped first-aid room and staff are familiar with first-aid procedures.
All sports contain a degree of risk to participants and spectators alike. The design of particular facilities has to take this into account. Unfortunately, as the recent tragic incident has clearly demonstrated, it is not possible to completely remove the risk of accident.
Staff at sports grounds take steps to ensure that events are carried out in a well ordered and sensible manner, so as to ensure the safety of participants and the success of the event.
Schools are the main users of Council's athletic facilities. In recognition of this, in 1985, the Education Department, in conjunction with the Urban Services Department and the HKAAA, produced a circular and booklet entitled 'Safety Precautions in Physical Education for Hong Kong Schools' wherein all necessary precautions for schools' athletics events are clearly set out. In addition, a general schools curriculum circular is issued annually to all schools by the Education Department to remind them of these precautions.
The Education Department requires all schools to send details of their programme of events to the relevant District Education Officer for approval at least one month prior to the date of the athletics meeting. A copy of the approved programme is also sent to the District Amenities Officer of the Urban Services Department two weeks before the date of the event so that equipment and facilities can be prepared.
To conclude, existing safety measures are considered to be satisfactory. Nevertheless there is an ongoing programme to review safety measures in all Council facilities in conjunction with relevant organizations. The Council is in contact with the British 'Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents'
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(ROSPA) and maintains links with similar agencies in other countries. Through these contacts any advance in the area of safety equipment or techniques which may enhance the safety of users is identified and studied closely to assess their suitability for use in Council facilities.
MR. JOSEPH Y. S. CHAN (in Cantonese):-Mr. Chairman, I would like to ask a question. Although the existing sports grounds have met international athletic standard and there are some overlapping areas in the same field, in other words, two different events will be conducted together in the same field, doesn't this suit the schools in Hong Kong? If not, shall we, for the safety of students, not allow the overlapping areas to be used at the same time in order to reduce risk?
MR. SAMUEL P. W. WONG (in Cantonese):-Mr. Chairman, we neither have a lot of playgrounds nor do we have extremely large playing fields so that each field could be earmarked for holding one type of throwing event only. However, it is international standard that throwing areas could overlap so that the total 'affected' area would not be too much and hence much safer for the spectators. We have to bear in mind that we do have a higher concentration of students in Hong Kong when there is an athletic meet. Accidents may be attributable to the lack of discipline etc., e.g. the throwing of discs and javelin should never be held concurrently.
MR. L. H. KWAN (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, I recall that there were a number of accidents occurred in our venues. For instance, two years ago, an accident occurred in Victoria Park Swimming Pool where a female student was drowned during a swimming gala. Should we make improvement until an accident occur? My second question is how many accidents have occurred which led to death or other serious injuries and have not been made known to us in the past five years?
MR. SAMUEL P. W. WONG (in Cantonese):-As regards your first question, Mr. Chairman, we have attempted to improve the safety standard from time to time. This is not to say that we only try to improve the safety standard after the occurrence of every accident. In fact, the safety standard in our recreational venues is quite high. Concerning the accident you mentioned in Victoria Park Swimming Pool, it did not happen in our sports grounds. With regard to your second question, I have not got the figures in hand but I think the figures are very low. I will provide you with a written reply if that is acceptable.
MR. JOSEPH Y. S. CHAN (in Cantonese):-Mr. Chairman, if we do not have sufficient area in the venue, I am not in favour of demarcating the overlapping area so as to increase danger. Is it possible to limit the number of events in some small areas to reduce the danger posed to students. My second question is that we have got many Amenities Officers in the sports grounds. Are they on duty from the beginning to the end when every athletic meet is being conducted to advise schools
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