| The increasingly prominent position and role of sport in modern society, its effect on enhancing national identity and its potential cohesion morale, as well as the remarkable achievements of China in sports in the international arena in recent years, prompt the rapid development of Hong Kong's sport industry. From the historical Olympic Gold to the numerous medals in the Asian Games and the National Games of the People's Republic of China, we can see Hong Kong sports' huge advancement. Of course Hong Kong's strong economic power is one of the success factors; however the crucial factor behind the success of this multi-cultural, international city is her strong national spirit.Studying Hong Kong's sport evolution, system and mode of operation, understanding Hong Kong's sport culture's localized and regional feature, revealing its development pattern, and seeking its modern social value and future direction will be the key mission for this era.Through research in literatures, in-depth interviews, case studies and surveys, this paper examines Hong Kong sport's historical development and current status in the perspectives of history, sociology and cultural studies. Thereafter, the paper puts forward constructive comments on future development of sport in Hong Kong.The studies reached the following conclusions:1. From mid-nineteenth century to 1997, the development of Hong Kong sport can be divided into three phases:introduction, import and rapid independent development. Sport was of typical western system with heavy British influence. Since the 1950s, development of Hong Kong sport gradually accelerated. The interdependent and support between society, economy and sports were the main social reason for the growth of Hong Kong Sport. After reunification with the mainland China, with the implementation of one country two systems, Hong Kong sports are still mainly managed by the local sports community organizations. The Hong Kong Government controls and influences sports development mainly through policy and funding.2. Hong Kong Sports, especially the early sport activities and fundamental sports education, are inevitably subject to the influence of Western ideology and culture. At the same time, Hong Kong sports are closely tied to mainland China due to geographic proximity with mainland China. Hong Kong sports, being at the point where Eastern and Western cultures met, gain experiences from modern Western sports development, while being influenced by traditional Chinese culture, with many inspiration originated from the sports development in Mainland China.3. Hong Kong is a unique civil society in China, and as a result the image of civil sports is deeply inscribed in sports system, as well as in competitive sports and mass sports development, with a community driven sports model. A survey on the involvement of Hong Kong residents in physical activities showed that the level of physical activities engaged by Hong Kong public is on the rise; however, still over half (51.4%) of the people's physical activity level failed to meet the "baseline indicator."4. Hong Kong Sport development originated in the early 20th century, when many local Chinese sports associations were established. During the 150 years under British rule, sports were self-organized by non-governmental organizations. Hong Kong sports organizations are being operated similar to private companies. The Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China, a member of the International Olympic Committee, is the representative of Hong Kong in the international sports community, and is responsible for organizing Hong Kong delegation to participate in large-scale international sporting events. The Hong Kong Sports Institute is the training, research and development center. It promotes and contributes to the development of professional competitive sports in Hong Kong.5. Hong Kong Schools Sports have always drawn attention from the education and sports community. However, with the limited land space and high land value, there is not much room for school sports to further expand. The grossly inadequate sports venues and facilities had been widely criticized throughout the years, but still no solution is in sight. This put Hong Kong's student in a huge disadvantage in terms of physical and social development.6. The Hong Kong sport industry relies on the international sporting goods market rather than the economy driven by domestic sporting activities. All major sports associations in Hong Kong are non-profit organizations. All surplus in operation are used to promote sporting events. With the vigorous development in this area in recent years, we can expect further growth in the coming years.7. Hong Kong's sports community nowadays has developed a good foundation. Government provides the majority of Sports funding, along with a large number of commercial sponsorship. With frequent interaction with foreign sporting community, Hong Kong's competitive sport standard has been raising considerably since mid-1980s. The Hong Kong Elite Athletes Training Center of the Hong Kong Sports Institute has made outstanding contribution since its establishment. After the handover in 1997, the basic sports policy and structure of sporting organizations are maintained, with focus on the further development and advancement of public and competitive sports, strengthen school sports and sport science and education work, and further develop financial sources for sport funding.
|
PDF Full Text Request