ENG-2000 — Page 471

RECREATION, SPORT AND THE ARTS

Water Sports and 'Evening Camp'

The LCSD manages four water sports centres (Chong Hing, Tai Mei Tuk, Wong Shek and St Stephen's Beach) and four holiday camps (Lady MacLehose Holiday Village, Sai Kung Outdoor Recreation Centre, Tso Kung Tam Outdoor Recreation Centre and Lei Yue Mun Holiday Village). During the year, 63 760 people visited the water sports centres and 537 590 enjoyed the facilities at the holiday camps. To allow more people at work to enjoy camping facilities after office hours, the department introduced 'Evening Camp' programmes from April.

'Healthy Exercise for All' Campaign

To enhance public interest in sport and encourage participation in sports activities on a regular basis, the LCSD joined with the Department of Health in launching the 'Healthy Exercise for All' Campaign. This was a one-year programme that had a wide range of activities. Four large-scale promotional events with seasonal themes were organised in four regions of the HKSAR to publicise the campaign. Fitness programmes were organised for special target groups such as over-weight children, the elderly and people with a disability. Over 70 000 people took part in some 1 500 programmes. In addition, 32 sports stars were invited to be 'Healthy Exercise Ambassadors' to promote the message further. Video tapes, video discs, leaflets, publications, radio and television programmes were produced to publicise the campaign, and an 'Active Living Charter' was launched in October to enhance awareness of the importance of physical activity for health.

Events Across Hong Kong

The Corporate Games, aimed specially at the working population, attracted 10 000 participants from 226 industrial and commercial organisations in 16 sports competitions. The Masters Games, held for the 35 and above age group, attracted around 4 000 participants in 10 competitions. The four Inter-District Age Group Competitions, which aimed to encourage people of all ages to take part in sports. activities, attracted over 29 000 participants. The Recreation and Sports Highlights programme for people with disabilities attracted 5 600 participants.

School Sports Programme

The LCSD will take over the implementation of the School Sports Programme from the Hong Kong Sports Development Board in April 2001. The programme aims at enriching the lives of young people, improving the quality of sports instruction given in schools and providing opportunities for young people to be involved continuously in sport. The programme covers all primary, secondary and special schools and comprises four constituent parts: Easy Sport Programme, Sport Education Programme, Sport Captain Programme and Outreach Coaching Programme. To facilitate effective implementation of the programme, the LCSD and the Education Department will jointly organise various activities and set up an advisory panel to seek advice from education experts. A close working relationship has been developed with schools, community organisations, sports and youth organisations in order to deliver the programme and provide resources and training to the teachers, students, parents, volunteers and organisers who take part.

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