In 2014, the government will intensify the promotional works in the areas of sports for all and push forward the development of competitive sports to a more professional direction. The government will also endeavour to further promote sports to the public through different means, give an impetus to public participation in sport for all activities, enhance the younger generation’s awareness of sports and foster their interest in sports participation. In addition, it is committed to continuously support to recruit professional coaches of competitive sports so as to strengthen athletes’ and sports personnel’s professional training, continuously optimize the modernization of sports facilities and motivate the sports associations to develop sports in a more professional way.

Strengthen Promotion of Sport for All for Active Public Participation

Sport for all is a sport activity which not only enhances physical fitness, but also enriches leisure life and adjusts social emotion. Therefore, the Macao Sar government will continue to strengthen promotion of sport for all to encourage the residents’ active participation in physical sports and activities via regular activities. The government, in particular, aims at enhancing the younger generation’s interest in and understanding of sport activities so as to instill them the philosophy of lifelong sports. As a result, apart from continuously organizing activities for teenagers such as Sport Ground, Sport for All Day, Summer Activities and Sport for All Fitness and Recreational Class, the government will also collaborate with educational departments on a continuous basis, with a view to strengthen promotion of sports and health knowledge in schools and to enhance students’ interest and level in sports participation.  

The government will intensify the cooperation with non-governmental organizations. Through mutual collaboration sponsorship, the government will encourage the concerned organizations to make use of their sports facilities to organize sports for all activities and enable more residents to take part in physical exercises and activities. Also, it will endeavor to allow more sports facilities of non-governmental organizations and schools to be included in “Public Sports Facilities Network”, in hopes of providing the public with more sports space and relieving the pressure for the demand of public sports facilities. Furthermore, the functions of the relevant sports department will be adjusted for a unified management of sports facilities and expand the public sports facilities networks.

Strengthen Various Support Programs to Comprehensively Cultivate Sports Talents

Technical manpower in sports is the fundamental force of implementing specialized training mode. Improving level of sports management personnel enables a more professional development of various sports associations. Therefore, the government will continue to support and subsidize the associations to recruit professional coaches and assist them in planning more effective training programs for the collective training teams as well as formulate a sustainable development scheme. It will also collaborate with academic institutions on a continuous basis to provide sports management personnel with training courses, with an aim to enhance their professional knowledge and sports management level, so as to facilitate the associations’ development in a more professional way.

The government will continue to collaborate with individual sports associations in expanding the training of teenage athletes, facilitating the construction of the athlete echelons, nurturing more teenage athletes, delivering reserve sports talents and strengthening the sustainable development of competitive sports. With appropriate training programs and recruitment of senior coaches and professional technicians, the government aims at training athletes and nurturing local professional coaches, so as to improve the level of training and competition.

Through implementing the grading training subsidy program for elite athletes and the education subsidy program for retired athletes, the government aims to motivate the athletes to fling themselves in competitive sports and strive for their best. In addition, through the education subsidy program, retired athletes can have a continuous education, which supports and enables them to plan their career path after retirement.

Promote Sports Exchange and Collaboration to Optimize Various Sports Events

The government will strengthen exchanges and collaboration with domestic and international sports organizations in order to continuously support the sports associations in organizing athletes to have training abroad and take part in international sports events, which provides them opportunities to have extensive exchanges with athletes from other countries and regions and improve their level in sports. Also, the government will endeavour to organize exchange activities for teenage sports by working with more mainland provinces and cities to allow the young athletes to learn from mainland athletes through mutual practicing and thereby gain valuable competition experiences.

The government will continue to support the sports associations in hosting different types of international sports activities and events, with an aim to enhance the all-round image and influence of Macao SAR in the international sports arena.  In 2014, a number of major international sports competitions will continue to be held in Macao. Through organizing international sports events, the government provides the residents with opportunities to watch high-level sports events, creates a sports atmosphere and inspires enthusiasm for public participation in sports.  

The government will support the sports activities for the local physically disabled and strengthen collaboration with associations for the physically disabled in Mainland China. Through the means of personnel training, collective training, competition and exchanges, the government aims to further promote the development of sports activities for the local physically disabled so as to improve their sports performance.

Deepen Scientific Fitness Knowledge to Manage Sports Information Systematically

The government will deepen the promotional work of scientific fitness and continue to make use of different forms and channels such as sport for all activities, brochures, seminars and websites to provide the public with scientific fitness knowledge. With fitness testing service, the residents are able to know their health conditions and select sports activities which suit them according to their own fitness level. On the other hand, the government optimizes and introduces the scientific training indicator and service on a continuous basis to provide the athletes with an all-round sports capability test. This enables the coaches to promptly know the health condition of the athletes and implement appropriate training programs to enhance the training effectiveness.

Monitoring physical condition of residents is the most direct way to understand the physical condition of the Macao residents and to know the current status and changes of their physical fitness. The data collected provides a reference of introducing sport for all activities and formulating sports policies in the future. In order to conform to the national physical condition monitoring which is held every five years, the third physical condition monitoring will be conducted among all residents in Macao in 2015, after the first two in 2005 and 2010 respectively. As a result, various preparatory works will be started for the third physical condition survey research in 2015, including research scheme formulation, collaboration agreement signing with various cooperating organizations and personnel training, etc.

Athletic Training and Collective Training Centre has entered the preparatory stage, which marks that competitive sports will enter another more specialized phase. In order to strengthen various training and management after being stationed in the center in the future, an information database for sports training and collect various athletic training and competition information will be set up. Through a systematic scientific management method, the government will be able to obtain different athletic information and allow the coaches to set out the training programs in a more scientific way as well as be well prepared for athletes to be stationed in the training centre.

Promote Construction of Sports Facilities and Implement Green Management Concept

The government continues to promote the construction and preparation work of a number of sports facilities. The reconstruction of Mong Ha Sport Pavilion has started in full swing, while the Athletic Training and Collective Training Centre has entered the detailed design phase. The government will strengthen communication and collaboration with relevant civil service departments to ensure smooth implementation of the concerned construction. In addition, it will continue to optimize the equipment and facilities of various sports centres subject to the prevailing condition of usage, so as to be in line with new international sports standard, guarantee and enhance the training effectiveness of athletes.  

In order to fit in with Macao SAR govenment’s environmental protection and energy saving policies, the government continuously introduces a number of environmental protection and energy saving measures for the sports centres, strengthens the philosophy of green management and implements gradually and orderly the green standard certification work of those sports centres. Also, it continues to provide various trainings for the venue management staff, strengthens the public knowledge of environmental protection and energy saving. Through replacement of equipment and maintenance of various mechanical and electrical systems, it aims to ensure a smooth venue operation and provide a quality sports activity venues for the public.    

In response to the popularity of mobile telecommunication devices and to coordinate with the residents’ daily habit of using mobile electronic devices, the government will extend the scope of application of electronic renting service for sports centres. By launching a mobile application, the government brings convenience to the residents as they can check the condition of use of various sports facilities anytime and anywhere, thus select a suitable sports venue for sports activities.