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Recreation, Sport, Culture and the Arts

swimming pool complexes. In 2013, some 12.51 million people used the public beaches and 12.07 million visited public swimming pools.

With the improvement in water quality in the western part of the Victoria Harbour following the commissioning of the Advance Disinfection Facilities of the Habour Treatment Scheme Stage 2A in March 2010, the LCSD reopened the fifth of seven beaches in Tsuen Wan in September 2013, while the remaining two beaches (Gemini and Ting Kau) will be reopened in March 2014 after completing improvement works to the beach facilities.

Recreation and Sports Organisations

Hong Kong Sports Institute Limited

The Hong Kong Sports Institute Limited seeks to provide an environment in which sports talent can be identified, nurtured and developed. Besides access to high quality sports facilities, the support given to athletes includes coaching and training, sports science and sports medicine, education and employment support. In 2013, athletes in 16 'Tier A' sports (athletics, badminton, billiard sports, cycling, fencing, gymnastics, karatedo, rowing, rugby sevens, squash, swimming, table tennis, tenpin bowling, triathlon, windsurfing and wushu) received dedicated support under the institute's 'Elite Training Programme. The institute also supports athletes in ten 'Tier B' sports (dance sports, equestrian, judo, lawn bowls, mountaineering, orienteering, roller sports, sailing, skating and tennis) as well as outstanding athletes under the Individual Athletes Support Scheme and the Disabled Sports Elite Training Programme.

Construction of the major new facilities under the institute's $1.8 billion redevelopment was completed in 2013, providing new, state-of-the-art facilities for training high-performance athletes. The $7 billion Elite Athletes Development Fund established in 2012 provides a sustainable long-term source of financial support for the institute's operation.

Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China

The Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China (SF&OC) is recognised as a National Olympic Committee (NOC) by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and is a member of the IOC, the Olympic Council of Asia, the Association of National Olympic Committee and the East Asian Games Association and is responsible for organising Hong Kong's participation in all major international multi-sports games such as the Olympic Games (Summer and Winter), Asian Games (Summer and Winter) and East Asian Games. At the Tianjin 2013 East Asian Games, the Hong Kong, China team won 56 medals (10 Gold, 16 Silver and 30 Bronze) in 12 sports, ranking fifth in the medal tally.

With a membership of 75 National Sports Associations (NSAs) and sports organisations, the federation represents the collective voice of the Hong Kong sports community. Most of the members of the federation are NSAs, which are in turn affiliated to their Asian federations (AFS) and international federations (IFs). They are empowered to co-ordinate and conduct a wide range of activities related to their sports, ranging from recreational programmes for beginners to training elite athletes. They also organise and sanction participation in overseas multi-sports competitions and train coaches and referees. The NSAs implement and enforce local and international rules and regulations and represent Hong Kong at meetings of the IFS and the

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