ENG-2004 — Page 519

Recreation, Sport and the Arts 449

club has called on the Government to modernise the betting duty by replacing it with a tax on gross margin so that the club can maintain its contribution to charity and government revenues.

Recreation and Sports Programmes

With the aim of promoting sport at all levels of the community, the LCSD organised some 28 500 recreation and sports programmes for over 1.66 million participants of all ages and abilities in the year. The total cost of these programmes was $99 million.

District Sports Teams Training Scheme

To generate more community interest in sport and enhance a stronger sense of belonging among residents, the LCSD, with the assistance of the respective NSAs, set up district sports teams in basketball, football, badminton and table tennis in the 18 districts. About 4 000 youngsters participated in 299 activities organised in 2004.

'Healthy Exercise for All' Campaign

To enhance public awareness of the importance of exercising regularly in pursuit of a healthy lifestyle, the LCSD and the Department of Health continued to co- organise the 'Healthy Exercise for All' Campaign. A variety of promotional activities were organised to convey the message of 'daily exercise keeps us fit, people of all ages can do it'. These include specially designed fitness and walking schemes for different target groups, dance for health programmes, rope skipping and stair climbing, roving sports demonstration and exhibitions. In 2004, about 80 000 people took part in some 1 400 programmes.

Territory-wide Events

The Corporate Games, aiming specially at the working population, attracted 12 000 participants from 219 industrial and commercial organisations in 14 activities. The Masters Games, for the age groups of 35 and above, attracted about 3 500 participants in ten competitions.

The territory-wide Age Group Competitions, aimed to encourage people under 35 to take part in sports, attracted over 16 000 participants in 2004.

Young Athletes Training Scheme

With the assistance of the respective NSAs, 624 activities were organised under the Young Athletes Training Scheme, which provided training in badminton, table tennis, football, basketball, swimming, squash and Judo at district level for more than 18 700 participants. Talented young players were referred to the relevant NSAs for further training.

School Sports Programme

The School Sports Programme is a sports promotion scheme specifically designed for students. The programme aims at providing more opportunities for primary, secondary and special school students to participate in sport. To raise the standard of sport in schools, progressive training is provided for students with potential in sport.