Untitled - Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong ...

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TIMOTHY T. T. FOK
MEMBER
INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE
BANK OF CHINA (HONG KONG) 50TH FESTIVAL OF SPORT
Each Lunar New Year is marked by the Festival of Sport whose aim is to involve the community in activities that
enhance personal health and foster a sense of physical involvement for everybody. This year, that of the porcine sign
of the Chinese calendar, will be even more significant than before. In October, the Chief Executive of the Government
of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, had in his policy address exhorted society to elevate the place of
sports in public life and pledged anew efforts to stir fitness awareness. The plans for a sports hub in what was the Kai
Tak Airport in East Kowloon have gone through a thorough consultative exercise and there will be a concentration
of facilities to match those in other major cities. An initiative has been launched under the auspices of the Education
Department to raise the profile of sports in the curriculum. The districts have been asked, and they have responded
with enthusiasm, to encourage sports participation.
This coming year will see Hong Kong prepare even more intensively for the 2008 Olympics and Paralympics Equestrian
Events. The 2009 East Asian Games (Hong Kong) Limited has established an executive. This is altogether a climate in
which sports can thrive as never before. But a sporting culture cannot prosper on policy directives and multi-sports
extravaganzas. What is required no less is the priority that the community itself places on sports development at
every level from the clubs, schools to the associations under the umbrella of the Sports Federation & Olympic
Committee of Hong Kong, China. To do this means everyone going forward in unison with a common vision. A city
does not succeed simply by being a financial center that focuses on generation of wealth at the expense of health. The
government, the public, the media and individual citizens understand this and must strive to participate.
The Festival of Sport is thus an integral part of the process. Sports are not only about medal tallies but also about
mass participation. The message is simple and direct: Get involved, get fit, get moving and get on with this great project
of sport for all....
Timothy T.T. FOK, G.B.S., J.P.
President
Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China