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Cheering teams from the 18 District Councils took part in a competition at Tsing Yi Sports Centre today (March 20), with the common goal of giving the best performance to show local characteristics and to cheer on their district athletes competing in the 3rd Hong Kong Games (HKG).
The HKG is held every two years with the 18 districts as participating units. It aims to provide an opportunity for non-elite athletes to compete in sports events and thereby achieving the objectives of strengthening the cohesion of the 18 districts and promoting a strong sporting culture in the community. The Games this year will be held between May 14 and June 5.
Speaking at today's competition, the Chairman of the 3rd HKG Organising Committee, Mr Chau How-chen, said the Games would encourage members of the public to take part in sports, thus fostering a sports culture in the community.
Apart from sports competitions, the 3rd HKG offers a wide range of community involvement activities for people to participate in. Mr Chau said the Cheering Team Competition today was one of the highlights, to cheer for district athletes and also to create a joyful atmosphere for the Games.
Led by representatives of the 18 District Teams, the cheering teams, with between 16 and 50 members, marched into the venue in attractive costumes when the event started. With dances, slogans and dynamic movements, each team displayed the characteristics and vitality of its district in a performance lasting 90 to 150 seconds.
The competition offers The Best Performance Award and The Best Local Characteristic Award; championship, first runner-up and second runner-up will be awarded.
The judging panel comprises representatives from the Community Sports Committee, the Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China (SF & OC), and the Cheerleading Federation of Hong Kong, China. The Best Performance Award will be evaluated according to the content, action arrangements and onstage presentation of the performance, as well as the skills of the movements and the overall assessment. The criteria for the Best Local Characteristic Award will be the overall impression and whether the teams' movements, costumes and appearance, slogans, music and songs selected can manifest the characteristics of their districts.
The competition results will be announced at the 3rd HKG closing cum prizes presentation ceremony to be held at Kowloon Park on June 5.
The 18 district cheering teams who took part in today's competition will cheer on their athletes during the competition period. On May 14, they will also lead their district athletes to march into Siu San Wan Sports Ground where the opening ceremony of the Games will be held.
The guests at today's competition included the Chairman of the Community Sports Committee, Mr William Tong; the Assistant Director of Leisure and Cultural Services, Miss Olivia Chan; the Vice President of the Cheerleading Federation of Hong Kong, China, Mr Chan Wing-hong; and the chairmen/representatives of the 18 District Councils. They joined a ceremony to cheer on the HKG athletes and show their support for the Games. Singers Stephanie Cheng and Sherman Chung gave performances to add joy to the event.
More than 3,000 district athletes will take part in eight competitions, namely, athletics, badminton, basketball, table tennis, swimming, tennis and newly added futsal and volleyball at the 3rd HKG.
Apart from today's Cheering Team Competition, other community involvement activities are underway. These include voting for "My Favourite Sporty District", guessing the "Overall Champion of the 3rd HKG" competitions, the "Dynamic Moments Photo Contest", and elite athletes' demonstrations and exchanges.
For the first time, the HKG has appointed 10 elite athletes as ambassadors to help promote and publicise the 3rd HKG. They include outstanding elite athletes Wong Kam-po and Fu Ka-chun, as well as athletes representing the eight sports of the Games - Tsui Chi-ho (athletics), Yip Pui-yin (badminton), Cheng Kam-hing (basketball), Chan Siu-ki (futsal), Sze Hang-yu (swimming), Ko Lai-chak (table tennis), Yang Zijun (tennis) and Hui Pui-tak (volleyball).
The 3rd HKG is organised by the Sports Commission and co-ordinated by the Community Sports Committee with the 18 District Councils, the SF & OC, relevant National Sports Associations and the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) as co-organisers. The Hong Kong Jockey Club is the "principal contributor" while the Yuen Yuen Institute is the "major sponsor" of the event.
Details of the 3rd HKG and the community participation activities are available at the Games' dedicated homepage: hongkonggames.lcsd.gov.hk .
Ends/Sunday, March 20, 2011
Issued at HKT 16:46
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