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The Government is committed to promoting sports development in Hong Kong and will strengthen collaboration with different sectors in the community to enhance training for budding young athletes, the Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Tsang Tak-sing, said today (October 17).
Noting that the effort to identify more young potential athletes for further training was mentioned in the Policy Address this year, Mr Tsang said the Government would encourage and facilitate sports associations and the Hong Kong Sports Institute to collaborate with different sectors including schools to strengthen the existing feeder system for elite sports and put in more resources to enhance support for elite athletes.
Speaking at the Inter-School Swimming Championships (division one) 2008-2009, Mr Tsang urged students to participate actively in sports.
ˇ§Young people like you are without doubt the greatest asset in our endeavour to strive for excellence in major sports events and to raise Hong Kongˇ¦s profile in the international sports arena. While we are committed to nurturing budding young athletes, I urge you all to participate actively in various training and feeder programmes.
ˇ§Your commitment is where the future of Hong Kongˇ¦s sports development lies,ˇ¨he said.
Mr Tsang also encouraged students who were preparing for upcoming major games, including the Hong Kong 2009 East Asian Games, Guangzhou 2010 Asian Games and Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games, to keep up their good efforts.
Ends/Friday, October 17, 2008
Issued at HKT 19:05
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