ENG-2005 — Page 488

422 Recreation, Sport and the Arts

Sports and Recreational Venues

Hong Kong Stadium

The stadium is Hong Kong's largest sports venue with about 40 000 seats. It is used mainly for football and international rugby matches large-scale religious gatherings and fund-raising events for charity are also held there. In total, 435 000 spectators attended 35 events at the venue in 2005.

Water Sports and Holiday Camps

The LCSD manages five water sports centres (Chong Hing, Tai Mei Tuk, The Jockey Club Wong Shek, St Stephen's Beach and Stanley Main Beach) and four holiday camps (Lady MacLehose Holiday Village, Sai Kung Outdoor Recreation Centre, Tso Kung Tam Outdoor Recreation Centre, and Lei Yue Mun Park and Holiday Village). During the year, 102 000 people participated in water sports programmes held at the water sports centres and 515 000 people enjoyed the facilities at the holiday camps. The department also provides 'Evening Camp' programmes to allow more people to enjoy camping facilities after office hours. During the year, 31 000 people camped out after work.

Other Sports and Recreational Venues

The LCSD manages 85 sports centres, 36 swimming pool complexes, 270 tennis courts, 321 squash courts, 24 sports grounds, four golf driving ranges and two public riding schools.

Eight new recreation and sports projects were completed in 2005: Tai Kok Tsui Complex (Phase 2), local open space in Fanling, Kowloon Bay Recreation Ground, district open space in Tai Po, football pitch in Tai Po, district open space in Tung Chung, district open space in Tuen Mun and additional open space adjacent to Tsuen Wan Town Hall.

Work is in progress on seven other projects:

Stanley Complex, Hammer Hill Road Park at Diamond Hill, Cherry Street Park Phase 2 at Tai Kok Tsui, Indoor Recreation Centre in Tin Shui Wai, improvement works to Lei Yue Mun Park and Holiday Village, Hin Tin Swimming Pool - Phase 2, Sha Tin, and local open space in Tin Shui Wai.

Beaches and Swimming Pools

Swimming is one of Hong Kong's most popular summer pastimes. The LCSD provides 41 gazetted beaches 12 on Hong Kong Island and 29 in the New Territories for the public and manages 36 public swimming pool complexes. In 2005, people made 10.42 million visits to the gazetted beaches, and there were 8.64 million visits to the public swimming pools.

As sharks are occasionally sighted in Hong Kong waters, shark prevention nets have been installed for the safety of swimmers. Lifeguard services are also provided during the swimming season. At the four most popular beaches, Clear Water Bay Second Beach, Golden Beach, Silverstrand Beach and Deep Water Bay Beach, lifeguard services are maintained during the winter.