1995 — Page 199

Urban Council Proceedings 市政局議事錄 All AI Reviewed

Page 199 of 485

1744

HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL

As regards the third part of the question, the present design of sports shoes and sports equipment is appropriate for use in sports and recreational activities in the U.C. Indoor Games Halls, so there are no special requirements for them.

Since the present requirements are reasonable as well as easy and inexpensive to comply with, we feel that there is no need to amend them at the moment.

MR. WU CHI-WAI (in Cantonese): Mr. Chairman, I have a follow-up question. We have received a lot of complaints from users, saying that they were told by venue staff that their shoes could not be used in the venue as their soles were red or yellow in colour. But according to the reply and as the Department understands, these sports shoes already comply with the design requirements and are non-marking. Obviously, the front line staff of the Department has a simplified practice in respect of our policy, i.e. they interpret 'whether the shoes will deface the courts' as 'colour of the shoes'. Now since we already know that these sports shoes are non-marking, is it still necessary to have such a requirement?

Ms. GRACE AU YUK-HAR (in Cantonese): While some members of the public may share Mr. Wu's views on this matter, I wish to make some clarifications. First of all, users only have to wear flat-soled rubber shoes in Urban Council venues, regardless of the colour of their soles. Such a requirement might have existed years ago, but from what I have found out from the Department, it is confirmed that this requirement has already been cancelled in recent years. Only some Members of this Council or some members of the public may mistake that such a requirement is still in place, they probably get mixed up. This requirement still applies to Regional Council venues. For instance, on my recent visit to the Indoor Games Hall in Po Lam Estate, a staff member pointed out to me that my soles were not plain white. This may lead to the misunderstanding of members of the public that Urban Council venues have the same requirements as that of the Regional Council. Going back to the question which Mr. Wu has raised, we wish Mr. Wu would provide us with the information on any such request made by the Departmental staff as we have the responsibility to alert the Department to such a problem. It has been stated clearly in the reply paper that there is no such requirements for sports shoes and sports equipment as mentioned by Mr. Wu.

MR. WU CHI-WAI (in Cantonese): I thank Ms. Au for her reply. I hope the Chairman would inform the Department to alert front line staff of the actual requirements on sports shoes and equipments, so as to avoid misunderstanding between staff members and users.

MR. LEE KWOK-KEUNG (in Cantonese): Mr. Chairman, just this morning I went to play badminton in a U.C. Indoor Games Hall. Outside the venue, I saw a notice stating that coloured rubber shoes were not allowed. Since this is no longer our policy, will the Department give consideration to replacing such out-dated notices so that users will realize that such requirement is no longer in place?

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Page 199 of 485 Page 199 of 485 1744 HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL As regards the third part of the question, the present design of sports shoes and sports equipment is appropriate for use in sports and recreational activities in the U.C. Indoor Games Halls, so there are no special requirements for them. Since the present requirements are reasonable as well as easy and inexpensive to comply with, we feel that there is no need to amend them at the moment. MR. WU CHI-WAI (in Cantonese): Mr. Chairman, I have a follow-up question. We have received a lot of complaints from users, saying that they were told by venue staff that their shoes could not be used in the venue as their soles were red or yellow in colour. But according to the reply and as the Department understands, these sports shoes already comply with the design requirements and are non-marking. Obviously, the front line staff of the Department has a simplified practice in respect of our policy, i.e. they interpret 'whether the shoes will deface the courts' as 'colour of the shoes'. Now since we already know that these sports shoes are non-marking, is it still necessary to have such a requirement? Ms. GRACE AU YUK-HAR (in Cantonese): While some members of the public may share Mr. Wu's views on this matter, I wish to make some clarifications. First of all, users only have to wear flat-soled rubber shoes in Urban Council venues, regardless of the colour of their soles. Such a requirement might have existed years ago, but from what I have found out from the Department, it is confirmed that this requirement has already been cancelled in recent years. Only some Members of this Council or some members of the public may mistake that such a requirement is still in place, they probably get mixed up. This requirement still applies to Regional Council venues. For instance, on my recent visit to the Indoor Games Hall in Po Lam Estate, a staff member pointed out to me that my soles were not plain white. This may lead to the misunderstanding of members of the public that Urban Council venues have the same requirements as that of the Regional Council. Going back to the question which Mr. Wu has raised, we wish Mr. Wu would provide us with the information on any such request made by the Departmental staff as we have the responsibility to alert the Department to such a problem. It has been stated clearly in the reply paper that there is no such requirements for sports shoes and sports equipment as mentioned by Mr. Wu. MR. WU CHI-WAI (in Cantonese): I thank Ms. Au for her reply. I hope the Chairman would inform the Department to alert front line staff of the actual requirements on sports shoes and equipments, so as to avoid misunderstanding between staff members and users. MR. LEE KWOK-KEUNG (in Cantonese): Mr. Chairman, just this morning I went to play badminton in a U.C. Indoor Games Hall. Outside the venue, I saw a notice stating that coloured rubber shoes were not allowed. Since this is no longer our policy, will the Department give consideration to replacing such out-dated notices so that users will realize that such requirement is no longer in place? Page 485 485

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Page 199 of 485 Page 199 of 485 1744 HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL As regards the third part of the question, the present design of sports shoes and sports equipment is appropriate for use in sports and recreational activities in the U.C. Indoor Games Halls, so there are no special requirements for them. Since the present requirements are reasonable as well as easy and inexpensive to comply with, we feel that there is no need to amend them at the moment. MR. WU CHI-WAI (in Cantonese): Mr. Chairman, I have a follow-up question. We have received a lot of complaints from users, saying that they were told by venue staff that their shoes could not be used in the venue as their soles were red or yellow in colour. But according to the reply and as the Department understands, these sports shoes already comply with the design requirements and are non- marking. Obviously, the front line staff of the Department has a simplified practice in respect of our policy, i.e. they interpret 'whether the shoes will deface the courts' as 'colour of the shoes'. Now since we already know that these sports shoes are non-marking, is it still necessary to have such a requirement? Ms. GRACE AU YUK-HAR (in Cantonese):-While some members of the public may share Mr. Wu's views on this matter, I wish to make some clarifications. First of all, users only have to wear flat-soled rubber shoes in Urban Council venues, regardless of the colour of their soles. Such a requirement might have existed years ago, but from what I have found out from the Department, it is confirmed that this requirement has already been cancelled in recent years. Only some Members of this Council or some members of the public may mistake that such a requirement is still in place, they probably get mixed up. This requirement still applies to Regional Council venues. For instance, on my recent visit to the Indoor Games Hall in Po Lam Estate, a staff member pointed out to me that my soles were not plain white. This may lead to the misunderstanding of members of the public that Urban Council venues have the same requirements as that of the Regional Council. Going back to the question which Mr. Wu has raised, we wish Mr. Wu would provide us with the information on any such request made by the Departmental staff as we have the responsibility to alert the Department to such a problem. It has been stated clearly in the reply paper that there is no such requirements for sports shoes and sports equipment as mentioned by Mr. Wu. MR. WU CHI-WAI (in Cantonese):—I thank Ms. Au for her reply. I hope the Chairman would inform the Department to alert front line staff of the actual requirements on sports shoes and equipments, so as to avoid misunderstanding between staff members and users. MR. LEE KWOK-KEUNG (in Cantonese):-Mr. Chairman, just this morning I went to play badminton in a U.C. Indoor Games Hall. Outside the venue. I saw a notice stating that coloured rubber shoes were not allowed. Since this is no longer our policy, will the Department give consideration to replacing such out-dated notices so that users will realize that such requirement is no longer in place? 485 485

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Page 199 of 485

1744

HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL

Since the present requirements are reasonable as well as easy and inexpensive to comply with, we feel that there is no need to amend them at the moment.

MR. WU CHI-WAI (in Cantonese): Mr. Chairman, I have a follow-up question. We have received a lot of complaints from users, saying that they were told by venue staff that their shoes could not be used in the venue as their soles were red or yellow in colour. But according to the reply and as the Department understands, these sports shoes already comply with the design requirements and are non- marking. Obviously, the front line staff of the Department has a simplified practice in respect of our policy, i.e. they interpret 'whether the shoes will deface the courts' as 'colour of the shoes'. Now since we already know that these sports shoes are non-marking, is it still necessary to have such a requirement?

Ms. GRACE AU YUK-HAR (in Cantonese):-While some members of the public may share Mr. Wu's views on this matter, I wish to make some clarifications. First of all, users only have to wear flat-soled rubber shoes in Urban Council venues, regardless of the colour of their soles. Such a requirement might have existed years ago, but from what I have found out from the Department, it is confirmed that this requirement has already been cancelled in recent years. Only some Members of this Council or some members of the public may mistake that such a requirement is still in place, they probably get mixed up. This requirement still applies to Regional Council venues. For instance, on my recent visit to the Indoor Games Hall in Po Lam Estate, a staff member pointed out to me that my soles were not plain white. This may lead to the misunderstanding of members of the public that Urban Council venues have the same requirements as that of the Regional Council. Going back to the question which Mr. Wu has raised, we wish Mr. Wu would provide us with the information on any such request made by the Departmental staff as we have the responsibility to alert the Department to such a problem. It has been stated clearly in the reply paper that there is no such requirements for sports shoes and sports equipment as mentioned by Mr. Wu.

MR. WU CHI-WAI (in Cantonese):—I thank Ms. Au for her reply. I hope the Chairman would inform the Department to alert front line staff of the actual requirements on sports shoes and equipments, so as to avoid misunderstanding between staff members and users.

MR. LEE KWOK-KEUNG (in Cantonese):-Mr. Chairman, just this morning I went to play badminton in a U.C. Indoor Games Hall. Outside the venue. I saw a notice stating that coloured rubber shoes were not allowed. Since this is no longer our policy, will the Department give consideration to replacing such out-dated notices so that users will realize that such requirement is no longer in place?

1995 — Page 199

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