ENG-2006 — Page 473

Recreation, Sport and the Arts | 397

For half a century, the federation has coordinated a comprehensive four-month Festival of Sport. More than 70 of the festival's sporting activities were organised by over 60 NSAs to promote sport for all. It also organises extensive educational programmes for sports leaders, administrators, coaches and technical officials free of charge, notably through the Hong Kong Olympic Academy which offers free sports management and sport science courses and programmes.

With the support of sponsors, the federation organises the annual Hong Kong Sports Stars Awards, the 'Oscars' of local sport, to recognise the achievements of top athletes. The 2005 prize presentation was held in conjunction with the federation's annual spring dinner in February 2006. Award winners included table tennis star Ko Lai Chak and Li Ching who won the silver medal of the men's doubles at the Athens. Olympic Games - a first for Hong Kong.

Since December 2004, the federation had been entrusted by the Government to manage Sports House, which was renamed Olympic House following the official visit to Hong Kong in July 2005 of International Olympic Committee President, Count Jacques Rogge. Olympic House is located next to the Hong Kong Stadium. The building now houses the President Office, Secretariat of the Federation and 46 sports organisations, including NSAs and local clubs - all under one roof, the hub of sports administration in Hong Kong.

It is also important to note that Hong Kong sports has entered a new era after being approved by the International Olympic Committee as the host of the 2008 Olympiad Equestrian Events at the 117th IOC Session held in Singapore on 8 July 2005. Hong Kong's preparation for hosting the equestrian events for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games kicked off with the formation of a high powered Equestrian Committee (Hong Kong) of the Beijing Organising Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (Equestrian Committee), with the Honourable Timothy T T Fok, SF&OC President, as the committee vice-president, and Mr Pang Chung, SF&OC Honourable Secretary General, as a committee member and a co-chairperson of a coordination committee (on cultural

(on cultural activities, education and community involvement) under the Equestrian Committee which is headed by the Chief Secretary

for Administration.

Furthermore, the official handover of the East Asian Games Association Secretariat to Hong Kong in February 2006 symbolised another big step forward for Hong Kong in the run up to organising the 5th East Asian Games in 2009.

Paralympic Sports Associations

The Hong Kong Paralympic Committee and Sports Association for the Physically Disabled (HKPC&SAPD) in its role as the National Paralympic Committee of Hong Kong, China, is the only sports entity recognised by the International Paralympic Committee for the selection of athletes with disabilities for major international competitions, such as world championships and the Paralympic Games. HKPC&SAPD also plays an active role in the conduct of regional functions and the establishment of close working relationships with neighbouring nations and territories with the ultimate aim of enhancing the level of sports for the disabled in Hong Kong and Asia.