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The 2012 School Sports Programme (SSP) Prize Presentation Ceremony cum sportACT Summer Active Challenge Launching Ceremony was held this morning (July 6) at Shek Kip Mei Park Sports Centre to present winning students and schools with the awards of the 2012 Easy Sport Competition and the sportACT Active School Award. The ceremony also marked the start of the sportACT Summer Active Challenge.
Held annually, the Easy Sport Competition aims to provide opportunities for primary students to exchange sport skills so as to arouse their interests and boost their confidence in sport. The competitions for the 2011-12 school year have proven successful with a total of 2,840 students from 114 primary schools taking part.
A total of 191 prizes were presented at today's ceremony under the 2011-12 Easy Sport Competition, covering 11 sports, namely badminton, fencing, athletics, mini-tennis, mini-squash, three-on-three basketball, dragon dance, soft volleyball, TRY rugby, cricket and handball. About 700 teachers and students from different schools attended the event.
Officiating at the ceremony, the Convener of the Student Sports Activities Co-ordinating Sub-committee, Mr Liu Ah-chuen, said that students who had completed the Easy Sport Programme might consider joining the Outreach Coaching Programme and the Joint Schools Sports Training Programme, which provide progressive training to enhance participants' sporting skills. Participants with outstanding performance will have the chance to join the Young Athletes Training Scheme or the District Sports Teams Training Scheme. They may even be selected for high-level training by coaches from the National Sports Associations, holding out hope of becoming elite athletes.
A total of 172 schools were presented with the sportACT Active School Award for having 25 per cent or more of their students achieving the sportACT Award. This is in recognition of the efforts devoted by these schools in encouraging students' regular participation in sports activities and promoting the culture of "one student, one sport" on campus. In this school year, a total of 332 secondary schools, primary schools and special schools with over 166,000 students have participated in the sportACT Award Scheme.
The Easy Sport Programme and the sportACT Award Scheme are subsidiary programmes of the SSP. The SSP is co-ordinated and subvented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) with national sports associations assisting in the organisation of various activities.
With the onset of the summer vacation, officiating guests also called on schools all over Hong Kong to encourage students to make the best use of the holidays, bracing themselves for the eight-week-long sportACT Summer Active Challenge, which was also launched at today's ceremony. The scheme is organised to enable participating students to train for a stronger physique and win relevant awards during the summer vacation. Besides watching an aerobics gymnastic performance, the officiating guests, teachers and students participated together in the dynamic exercise at the ceremony.
Also attending today's ceremony were the Vice-convener of the Student Sports Activities Co-ordinating Sub-committee, Mrs Stella Lau; the Assistant Director of Health (Health Promotion), Dr Regina Ching; the Chief Curriculum Development Officer (Physical Education) of the Education Bureau, Mr Ho Chun-ip; and the Chief Leisure Manager (Sports Development) of the LCSD, Mrs Joan Mak.
Ends/Friday, July 6, 2012
Issued at HKT 15:43
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