ENG-1978 — Page 263

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RECREATION AND THE ARTS

There are 40 gazetted beaches. These comprise 12 beaches on Hong Kong Island under Urban Council control and 28 in the New Territories, managed by the Urban Services Department. The beaches have life-guards and other facilities. The Urban Services Department also manages nine swimming pool complexes in the urban areas for the Urban Council, and two in the New Territories including one in Fanling, which was completed in September. It is estimated that during the swimming season the total number of people visiting beaches was 24 million, with four million attending the swimming pool complexes.

Thirteen new swimming pool complexes are being planned – three on Hong Kong Island, six in Kowloon, and four in the New Territories.

Recreation and Sport Service

As the Recreation and Sport Service of the Education Department moved into its fourth year of operations in 1978, an ever-increasing demand from the public for recreational activities was its most pressing problem. The service has had to use considerable ingenuity in finding venues and facilities which it can use for events.

A measure of the problem becomes apparent when participation figures are com- pared: 300,000 participants in organised events in 1977 and 400,000 participants in 1978. Nearly all events were over-subscribed and the present concern is that the demand cannot be satisfied. This is compounded by the fact that more leisure time is available in Hong Kong as a result of a shorter working week, statutory paid public holidays and seven days' paid annual leave for all employees covered by the Employ- ment Ordinance which was introduced in January, 1978.

Since people in employment constituted approximately 75 per cent of the total applicants for Recreation and Sport Service programmes during the year, a concerted effort was made to plan and execute programmes to suit their needs. One to four-day holidays were planned so that workers could ride, fish, camp, canoe, roller-skate, enjoy an excursion on an adventure ship and even ride in a helicopter. Outdoor activities are preferred by many workers, and greater numbers can be accommodated in camps and outdoors than in organised sports courses or competitive events requiring more sophisticated facilities.

To alleviate a shortage of indoor facilities, the top three floors of Hung Hom Car Park were successfully converted into a sports centre run by the service. Amenities include a room equipped with modern exercise equipment, an indoor archery range, a lawn bowls strip and areas for badminton, dancing and boxing. Training, coaching and practice facilities are in demand and the service is actively considering developing more areas for community use under flyovers and in any other available space.

Much has been accomplished through the work of the Recreation and Sport Service, the Urban Council and Urban Services Department, and various sports associations to further the government's overall policy objective in the recreation field. This is to encourage widespread participation in recreational pursuits and to ensure that adequate facilities are provided, properly managed and maintained. The aim is to provide facilities and services within easy reach of main centres, free or at minimal charge, and to enable activities to be undertaken by people in as safe an environment as possible.