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Hong Kong Sports Institute Upgrades its Facilities to Provide Higher Quality Elite Athletes Training Support

31 May 2010

At the HKSI Soft Opening, Tsang Tak-sing (4th from left), Secretary for Home Affairs; Dr Eric Li (5th from left), Chairman of HKSI; Tong Yun-kai (3rd from left), Vice President of the Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong; Rene Appel (2nd from left), HKSI Head Windsurfing Coach; Tony Choi (3rd from right), HKSI Head Squash Coach; squash player Rebecca Chiu (2nd from right), rower Law Hiu-fung (1st from left); and wheelchair fencer Yu Chui-yee (1st from right) participate in the roast pig cutting ceremony to celebrate the soft opening of the HKSI and tour the upgraded and expanded facilities at the HKSI Fo Tan venues.

With the completion of the first phase of the Hong Kong Sports Institute (HKSI) Redevelopment Project, the HKSI headquarters has recently moved from its temporary location to the Fo Tan premises. Over 100 guests from the Government, Sha Tin District Council, sports sector, sponsors, partners, elite athletes, coaches and media, etc. gathered together on 31 May 2010 to celebrate the soft opening of the HKSI and tour the upgraded and expanded facilities including elite training venues, as well as sports science, sports medicine and fitness training centres.

Tsang Tak-sing, Secretary for Home Affairs, and Dr Eric Li, Chairman of the HKSI, officiated at the event to commemorate this historical moment.

Dr Eric Li said, “We are very pleased to see that, regardless of changes and obstacles, our colleagues, coaches and athletes keep striving with high morale and spirit to achieve outstanding performances especially in last year’s National Games and East Asian Games. The HKSI would continue to provide a better environment for elite training through the rest of the Redevelopment Project.”

Guests and athletes were inspired by the new facilities and services offered at the Fo Tan premises. Rower Law Hiu-fung said, “It was breathtaking of seeing the new Fitness Training Centre.  It was expanded with more new and advanced state-of-the-art fitness equipment. We can have a more comprehensive strength training programme tailored for our needs of enhancing sporting performance.”

Badminton athlete Yip Pui-yin shared her excitement. “Every detail including the colour scheme and acoustic effects of the badminton hall was well taken care of to ensure it is comparable with the environment at international competitions. It helps me visualise myself competing in the international arena.”

The HKSI Redevelopment Project involves almost HK$1.8 billion funding from the Government. The construction works commenced in March 2009 and are in three phases. Phase one works, including the refurbishment of the existing indoor sports complex and the construction of a temporary cycle velodrome at Whitehead, have been completed. Phase two consists of the foundation works for four new buildings and is underway. Phase three consists of the superstructural works of the new buildings.

When all the new facilities are completed in 2012, the HKSI will have a new 52m international standard indoor swimming pool (connected with existing 25m pool), a multi-purpose sports hall with a 12-lane bowling centre, a venue for training of wushu and three double squash courts (convertible to four singles courts), eight tennis courts (including two covered tennis courts and two clay tennis courts), as well as a 9-storey multi-purpose building with a conference centre, athletes' hostel and sports residence for visiting athletes.