***********************************************************
The following is issued on behalf of the Major Sports Events Committee:
The Major Sports Events Committee (MSEC) has awarded "M" Mark status with funding support for the World Tenpin Bowling Championships for Women 2011.
The Championships, to be held at the Hong Kong Bowling City, Kowloon Bay from September 1 to 11, will be the first world championships sport event staged in Hong Kong by the Hong Kong Tenpin Bowling Congress Ltd. In addition, there will be two congress meetings, namely the World Tenpin Bowling Association Congress and the Fédération Internationale des Quilleurs Congress, to be held at the Kowloonbay International Trade and Exhibition Centre from September 12 to 14.
The Chairman of the MSEC, Mr William Ko, said today (August 22) the Championships, like all other "M" Mark events, will demonstrate to the international community Hong Kong's capability to host world-class sports events and reinforce the city's position as the events capital of Asia.
"'M' Mark events will also instill a sustainable sporting culture into our community, enhancing the vibrancy of our city. "M" Mark events help generate tangible economic benefits to Hong Kong by attracting tourists," Mr Ko said.
The "M" Mark System was launched in 2004 to help local national sports associations (NSAs) organise more major sports events and nurture them into sustainable undertakings. Sports events meeting the assessment criteria in terms of economic benefits, impact on sports development, and good track record of the organisers, will be granted the "M" Mark status by the MSEC. Funding support will also be provided for some of the event organisers.
In order to support NSAs in hosting mega international sports events which are considered beneficial to the community, a new funding scheme was implemented in April 2011. The World Tenpin Bowling Championships for Women 2011 is the first one-off world sports event awarded "M" Mark status with funding support.
The number of recognised "M" Mark events increased from four in 2005 to eight in 2010. So far, a total of $44.63 million has been approved for supporting recognised "M" Mark events.
For details of application for "M" Mark status, please visit the "M" Mark events website www.mevents.org.hk.
Ends/Monday, August 22, 2011
Issued at HKT 15:40
NNNN
