Following is a question by the Hon Jimmy Ng and a written reply by the Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Lau Kong-wah, in the Legislative Council today (June 19):
Question:
In recent years, the darts sport has become increasingly popular in Hong Kong, and Hong Kong's darts athletes have repeatedly attained great results in international competitions. Quite a number of darts athletes and enthusiasts hope that the Government supports the development of the darts sport. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether the Government provided, in the past five years, the darts sport with support on aspects such as finance, venues, organisation of events and promotion; if so, of the respective details; if not, the reasons for that;
(2) whether it has plans to provide, in the coming five years, the darts sport with the various support mentioned in (1); if so, of the respective details; if not, the reasons for that;
(3) whether there is now any subvention scheme open for application by darts sport associations; if so, of the eligibility requirements and other details;
(4) whether the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) has plans to provide, in the coming five years, venues for the darts sport; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(5) given that LCSD is conducting a review on the Sports Subvention Scheme, whether the scope of the review includes relaxation of the eligibility requirements so as to cover new sports such as the darts sport; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(6) whether LCSD will, in the coming five years, include the darts sport in the School Sports Programme so as to cultivate students' interest in the darts sport; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(7) whether it will ask the Commissioner for Sports to (i) include the promotion of the darts sport in his work plan for the coming five years, (ii) strengthen his communication with darts sport associations, and (iii) assist in striving for the inclusion of the darts sport as a medal sport in the Asian Games and the Olympic Games; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
The Government has been committed to promoting the development of different sports through the Sports Subvention Scheme (the Scheme) of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), under which 60 eligible national sports associations (NSAs) are provided with subvention to organise various sports activities. Since 2011-12, subvented NSAs under the Scheme must fulfil six criteria (Note), including that the NSA must be a member of the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China (SF&OC) and concurrently be affiliated to the relevant International Federation (IF). However, 26 organisations which could not fulfil all the six criteria had long been subvented under the relevant subsidy scheme of the two former municipal councils in the past, and were therefore transitioned and included in the current Scheme.
The reply to the enquiries raised is as follows:
(1) to (3) Currently, there is no NSA responsible for darts among the members of the SF&OC. However, the Hong Kong Darts Association (HKDA) had long been subvented under the relevant subsidy scheme of the two former municipal councils in the past, and was therefore transitioned and included in the current Scheme. The HKDA may apply for subvention from the LCSD in accordance with the regulations of the Scheme to organise various activities, including promotional activities, training and local events. The HKDA may also reserve venues for activities subvented under the Scheme and enjoy rental subsidy in accordance with LCSD's booking procedures for recreational and sports facilities. In addition, the HKDA may apply for funding support from the Arts and Sport Development Fund (ASDF) (Sports Portion) to organise international events in Hong Kong.
In the past five years, we did not receive any application from the HKDA on the Scheme or the ASDF (Sports Portion).
(4) To cater for the needs of different sports, most of the leisure venues under the management of the LCSD are multi-purpose sports venues. Some of these venues would be available for use by various new sports, such as darts. We have no plan to provide dedicated venues for darts at this stage.
(5) To further enhance the development of sports in Hong Kong, the LCSD is conducting a comprehensive review of the Scheme, covering the funding principles and eligibility for NSAs and/or sports organisations. The findings and recommendations will be announced upon completion of the review at the end of 2019.
(6) The LCSD has all along been committed to providing a wide range of sports and recreational activities for the public. It would keep in view the development of new sports. Relevant eligible organisations may request to include new sports in the School Sports Programme. The LCSD would take into consideration a number of factors, including community adoption, venues and relevant technical support, when making a decision.
(7) The work of the Commissioner for Sports includes promoting and implementing the policy objectives of promoting sports in the community, supporting elite sports and developing Hong Kong into a centre for major international sports events, as well as taking forward the various initiatives for promoting and supporting sports development. If NSAs or other organisations have relevant suggestions, they are welcomed to put them forward to the Commissioner for Sports.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) are responsible for the events and organisation of the Olympic Games and the Asian Games respectively. Both the IOC and the OCA are non-governmental organisations. The SF&OC, which is a member of both the IOC and the OCA, is responsible for the participation of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in these two major games.
Note: Since 2011-12, the LCSD has required that any sports organisation applying for the Scheme must fulfil all of the following criteria:
(1) it is a member of the SF&OC;
(2) it is affiliated to the IF of the respective sports;
(3) it is registered under the Companies Ordinance and has Articles of Association;
(4) it is a non-profit-making sports organisation;
(5) it has been in operation and has organised sports programmes for at least three years; and
(6) the kind of sports it promotes is one of the medal sports/potential medal sports of the following major games: Asian Games, Asian Winter Games, Asian Youth Games, Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games, Asian Beach Games, Asian Para Games, Asian Youth Para Games, Olympic Games, Olympic Winter Games, Youth Olympic Games, Winter Youth Olympic Games, World Games, Paralympic Games and Paralympic Winter Games.
Follow this news feed: East Asia