The LCSD ran some 29 100 recreational and sports programmes for about 1.78 million participants of all ages and abilities during the year at a total cost of $99 million.

District Sports Teams

In order to generate more community interest in sports and to foster a stronger sense of belonging among residents, the LCSD, in collaboration with the respective NSAs, formed basketball, football, handball and volleyball teams in 18 districts. About 11 600 young people took part in more than 260 events organised in 2006.

'Healthy Exercise for All' Campaign

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 drive home the message that people of all ages should do daily exercise to stay healthy. Fitness programmes were drawn up for different target groups. The exercises included hiking, walking, dancing and rope-skipping. A series of mobile exhibitions to promote sports and healthy pursuits were held. In addition, a 30-second film about physical exercise was produced in conjunction with the Department of Health and was broadcast in early August. During the year, about 77 000 people took part in some 1 350 programmes of this kind.

Territory-wide Events

The Corporate Games, designed specially for working people, saw some 8 700 participants from 287 industrial and commercial organisations take part in 14 events organised under the programme in 2006. The Masters Games, for people aged 35 and above, saw some 4 500 people participate in 10 competitions during the year.

Young Athletes Training Scheme

In 2006, the LCSD commissioned 20 NSAs to provide intermediate level training to teenagers to become athletes under the Young Athletes Training Scheme. Some 26 700 young people joined the programme. The ones that showed promise were recommended for further training.

School Sports Programme

The School Sports Programme aims to provide more opportunities for primary, secondary and special school students to participate in sports. To raise the standard of sports in schools, progressive training is provided for students with potential. The scheme incorporates seven subsidiary programmes: the Sport Education Programme, Easy Sport Programme, Outreach Coaching Programme, Sport Captain Programme, Joint School Sport Training Programme, Badges Award Scheme and a newly introduced sportACT Award Scheme which was designed specially to encourage students to take part regularly in sporting activities. In 2006, more than 7 000 sporting events were organised for over 500 000 students.

Community Sports Club Project

The Community Sports Club (CSC) Project is organised by the LCSD in collaboration with the NSAs. In 2006, the department provided support to about 290 CSCs to organise 1 700 sports training activities for 38 000 participants. Seminars and management development programmes were organised for some 600 sports volunteers to help them run community sports clubs.

Last year, the department introduced the CSC Enhancement Programme to encourage CSCs to make use of LCSD venues during non-peak hours. A total of 137 sports training classes were held for 1 700 participants under the CSC Enhancement Programme. CSCs were also encouraged to organise more inter-club competitions to raise the standard of sports at the community level.