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Association to hold the 2nd Junior World Cup Australasian zone Qualifying Tournament there. The tournament was to be held in October 1981—a few weeks after the ground was scheduled to be completed. Even a short delay would have been disastrous. However, all went according to plan. The ground was completed in time and the tournament successfully held.
This one ground will go a long way towards meeting the needs of hockey players. Being an artificial surface, there is no fear of the grass being worn out through intensive use. Since it has artificial lighting, the ground can be used in the evenings as well, so that matches can take place on weekdays instead of at the weekends only. The charges for use are moderate enough; $25 for a game under lights and $14 in daylight.
In addition to providing the facilities, it is up to us to ensure the fair and proper use of our sports facilities by different groups. For instance, there is a demand by top-level competitors who wish to have intensive training. This will inevitably conflict with those who merely wish to play for fun. In swimming, for example, serious competitors must have lanes set aside in swimming pools to enable them to train. Unless they have this facility, they cannot compete. On the other hand, the vast majority who merely wish to splash around naturally wish to use the whole pool and cannot see why a part should be set aside for the exclusive use of a small minority. We must hold the balance and decide what is fair between these conflicting claims.
The Wanchai Sports Ground is another example. This is a first-class sporting arena suitable for top-class competition and has a covered spectator stand of around 3000 seats. We have received some criticism about the use of this ground. There seems to be an impression that the ground is only kept for international competition. This is not so. Not everyone is allowed to book, but according to the present policy, there are 5 groups of hirers who are entitled to book, and they cover a wide field.
One criticism is that usage of the ground is extremely low, but this is an illusion which I hope to dispel. It may be that when one goes past the Ground, one is under the impression that it is not in use when, in fact, an athletic event is actually taking place there. The wall around the ground is fairly high, and activity in the Ground may not be very evident.
The actual usage is increasing. In 1979, when the ground was first opened, the average monthly usage rate was only 14%. In 1980, this went up to 46.5%. In 1981, it went up to 56.2%. Taking into account the summer, which is the off-season for athletics because of the heat, I would say the usage is extremely high.
The Wanchai Sports Ground is the only sports ground in Hong Kong whose facilities are up to the standard set by the International Amateur Athletic Federation for international competition. It would be unwise to open it to the public for general use, as this might result in damage to the facilities. Nevertheless, there is no intention to reserve it for the elite only. The usage of
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the ground is kept under review, the intention being to permit its use by serious athletes and to maximize usage while ensuring that the facilities are not damaged.
I would now say something about the District Boards. The scheme has just started to go into operation, and indeed some of the District Boards have not yet been inaugurated. I am a member of the Southern District Board. The inaugural meeting was only held in early December. Obviously, it is far too early to attempt an evaluation of the work of the District Boards. Nevertheless, from my extremely limited experience, what is evident is the great enthusiasm of the Board members.
This Council concerns itself with the urban area as a whole. The Board members are concerned with one district only. Since they live in or are very closely associated with their particular district, they will clearly know it well. If there is an environmental black spot or an area suitable for development for recreational purposes, they will know about it.
They will want to do something and to do it quickly. For instance, at a recent meeting of the Environmental Committee of the Southern District Board, we considered a piece of waste land near Stanley which was badly littered. The Urban Council had no immediate plan for developing the area as a playground, but the Environmental Committee agreed in principle to clean up the area and to fence it off for use as a temporary playground.
The Urban Council can only carry out a limited amount of capital work each year. There are constraints both in the amount of funds and also in our capacity to carry out the work. We must therefore establish our own priorities, and inevitably there will be some projects which are desirable in themselves but which we cannot undertake immediately. This is where the various districts can supplement the work of the Council.
The role of the District Boards will certainly not be limited to this. Inevitably, they will put pressure on us to carry out various projects. This is not a bad thing. It will certainly keep us on our toes, knowing that other people are looking over our shoulders and urging us to quicker action.
Mr. Chairman, with these remarks, I am happy to support the motion before the Council.
DR. DENNY M. H. HUANG (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, at our last Annual Conventional Debate, I gave up my right to speak in protest against the monopolization of the chairmanship by an appointed Member for four consecutive terms.
In the ninth year after the withdrawal of all the Official Members from the Council, we have at last an elected Councillor in the chair this term. It is, however, less satisfactory in that the candidate was still elected by a unanimous
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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
Association to hold the 2nd Junior World Cup Australasian zone Qualifying Tournament there. The tournament was to be held in October 1981-a few weeks after the ground was scheduled to be completed. Even a short delay would have been disastrous. However, all went according to plan. The ground was completed in time and the tournament successfully held.
This one ground will go a long way towards meeting the needs of hockey players. Being an artificial surface, there is no fear of the grass being worn out through intensive use. Since it has artificial lighting, the ground can be used in the evenings as well, so that matches can take place on week days instead of at the weekends only. The charges for use are moderate enough; $25 for a game under lights and $14 in daylight.
In addition to providing the facilities, it is up to us to ensure the fair and proper use of our sports facilities by different groups. For instance, there is a demand by top level competitors who wish to have intensive training. This will inevitably conflict with those who merely wish to play for fun. In swimming for example, serious competitors must have lanes set aside in swimming pools to enable them to train. Unless they have this facility, they cannot compete. On the other hand, the vast majority who merely wish to splash around, naturally wish to use the whole pool and cannot see why a part should be set aside for the exclusive use of a small minority. We must hold the balance and to decide what is fair as between these conflicting claims.
The Wanchai Sports Ground is another example. This is a first class sporting arena suitable for top class competition and has a covered spectator stand of around 3000 seats. We have received some criticism about the use of this ground. There seems to be an impression that the ground is only kept for international competition. This is not so. Not everyone is allowed to book but according to the present policy, there are 5 groups of hirers who are entitled to book and they cover a wide field.
One criticism is that usage of the ground is extremely low, but this is an illusion which I hope to dispel. It may be that when one goes past the Ground, one is under the impression that it is not in use when in fact an athletic event is actually taking place there. The wall around the ground is fairly high and activity in the Ground may not be every evident.
The actual usage is increasing. In 1979 when the ground was first opened, the average monthly usage rate was only 14%. In 1980 this went up to 46.5%. In 1981, it went up to 56.2%. Taking into account the summer, which is the off season for athletics because of the heat, I would say the usage is extremely high.
The Wanchai Sports Ground is the only sport ground in Hong Kong whose facilities are up to the standard set by the International Amateur Athletic Federation for international competition. It would be unwise to open it to the public for general use, as this might result in damage to the facilities. Nevertheless, there is no intention to reserve it for the elite only. The usage of
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
Page 86 of 146
129
the ground is kept under review, the intention being to permit its use by serious athletes and to maximize usage while ensuring that the facilities are not damaged.
I would now to say something about the District Boards. The scheme has just started to go into operation and indeed some of the District Boards have not yet been inaugurated. I am a member of the Southern District Board. The inaugural meeting was only held in early December. Obviously, it is far too early to attempt an evaluation of the work of the District Boards. Nevertheless, from my extremely limited experience, what is evident is the great enthusiasm of the Board members.
This Council concerns itself with the urban area as a whole. The Board members are concerned with one district only. Since they live in or are very closely associated with their particular district, they will clearly know it well. If there is an environmental black spot or an area suitable for development for recreational purposes, they will know about it.
They will want to do something and to do it quickly. For instance at a recent meeting of the Environmental Committee of the Southern District Board, we considered a piece of waste land near Stanley which was badly littered. The Urban Council had no immediate plan for developing the area as a playground, but the Environmental Committee agreed in principle to clean up the area and to fence it off for use as a temporary playground.
The Urban Council can only carry out a limited amount of capital work each year. There are constraints both in the amount of funds and also in our capacity to carry out the work. We must therefore establish our own priorities and inevitably there will be some projects which are desirable in themselves, but which we cannot undertake immediately. This is where the various districts can supplement the work of the Council.
The role of the District Boards will certainly not be limited to this. Inevitably, they will put pressure on us to carry out various projects. This is not a bad thing. It will certainly keep us on our toes knowing that other people are looking over our shoulders and urging us to quicker action.
Mr. Chairman, with these remarks, I am happy to support the motion before the Council.
DR. DENNY M. H. HUANG (in Cantonese):-Mr. Chairman, at our last Annual Conventional Debate, I gave up my right to speak in protest against the monopolization of the chairmanship by an appointed Member for four consecutive terms.
In the ninth year after the withdrawal of all the Official Members from the Council, we have at last an elected Councillor in the chair this term. It is, however, less satisfactory in that the candidate was still elected by a unanimous
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