The Government announced today (August 4) that following an open-cum-in-service recruitment exercise, Mr Sam Wong Tak-sum will take up the appointment as the Commissioner for Sports in the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau (CSTB), on August 22, 2023. He will be responsible for the formulation of sports policy and its relevant initiatives, and the promotion and implementation of the Government's five policy objectives of sports development, namely to promote sports for all, support elite sports, promote Hong Kong as a centre for major international sports events, enhance professionalism in the sports sector and promote sports as an industry. He will oversee the implementation of such work.
      
     Concerning Mr Wong's appointment, the Secretary of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Mr Kevin Yeung, said, "Mr Wong is passionate about sports. He represented Hong Kong in world-class windsurfing competitions and repeatedly made remarkable achievements. He then became a windsurfing coach to nurture young talent and held a number of key positions in various local national sports associations and institutes. With his dedication to sports, a strong background in athlete training, and substantial experience in the sports sector, I trust that Mr Wong will be able to bring new impetus to the Government on promoting and implementing the five policy objectives of sports development. I look forward to a new chapter of the Sports and Recreation Branch in the CSTB under his leadership the further promotion of our sports development."

     Mr Wong said that he was honoured to be appointed the Commissioner for Sports. He hopes to leverage what he has learned in the sports sector over the years and contribute to Hong Kong's sports development.
      
     Brief biographical notes of Mr Wong are set out below:

Mr Sam Wong Tak-sum
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     Mr Wong was an athlete and a coach before he rose to executive positions. He has been working in the sports sector for over 30 years.
      
     Mr Wong became a full-time windsurfer at the Hong Kong Sports Institute in 1990. He represented Hong Kong to take part in the Olympic Games, the Asian Games, the World Windsurfing Championships and the Asian Windsurfing Championships, and claimed a number of awards throughout the years. In 2000, he retired and became a coach of the Hong Kong Windsurfing Team. His success in nurturing many top windsurfers earned him the "Coach of the Year" award for five consecutive years. In 2008, Mr Wong joined the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China as Department Manager and was entrusted with the task of taking forward the Hong Kong Athletes Career and Education Programme. During his tenure, a wide range of services on education, career and life skills development were provided to retired athletes, and support was given to over 1 000 retired athletes to help them pursue a second career after retirement.
      
     In 2017, Mr Wong entered the field of sports administration with his appointment as the Executive Director of the Hong Kong Amateur Hockey Club and endeavoured to promote youth and women's ice hockey. He was appointed as the Executive Director of the Hong Kong, China Table Tennis Association in 2022 to undertake the mission of promoting table tennis in Hong Kong.
      
     Since 2009, Mr Wong has been appointed to serve a number of public duties, including as a member of the Sir David Trench Fund Committee, member of the Sports Commission and member of the Pilot Scheme on Subvention for New Sports. In 2021, he was awarded the Medal of Honour by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government in recognition of his contributions to the sports sector.
      
     Mr Wong received a Bachelor's degree in Sports Administration from the University of Canberra, Australia, in 1999 before attaining a Master of Arts degree in Guidance and Counselling from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in 2014.

Ends/Friday, August 4, 2023
Issued at HKT 16:44

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