Sports Federation _ Olympic Committee of Hong Kong_ China Minute

							             Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China
                       Minute of Liaison Committee 4th Meeting



Date :     20 April 2002 (Saturday)
Venue:     11/F Queen Elizabeth Stadium
Time:      0930
Present:   Chairman of Liaison Committee – Mr. Victor HUI
           Members of Liaison Committee – Mrs. Vivien FUNG
                                            Mr. Ronnie WONG
                                            Dr. LEUNG Mee Lee
           Mr. PANG Chung, Hon. Secretary General of SF&OC of Hong Kong, China
           Representatives of NSAs: -
           Dr. David HO, Vice President of Hong Kong Tennis Association
           Mrs. Vivien FUNG, Chairman of Hong Kong Tenpin Bowling Congress
           Mr. Chris COULCHER, Hon. Secretary of Hong Kong Squash
           Mr. CHAN Cheong Lap, Executive Council Member of Hong Kong Wushu Union
           Mr. Cowen CHIU, President of Windsurfing Association of Hong Kong
           Mr. Andrew PATRICK, President of Hong Kong Triathlon Association
           Observers: -
           Ms. Gin CHIU, Senior Executive Officer of Hong Kong Wushu Union
           Mr. Dennis CHAU, Director of Windsurfing Association of Hong Kong


4th East Asian Games, 2005, Macau
1. Mr. Hui first introduced the officers of the Federation present to all representatives of
     NSAs.
2. In response to the issue of the suggested inclusion of squash into the 4th East Asian
     Games by Mr. Coulcher, Hon. Secretary of Hong Kong Squash (HKS), Mr. Pang
     suggested HK Squash should formally write to the Federation with a copy to the Macau
     East Asian Games Organizing Committee. Also HKS was advised to seek support from
     its own AF. Mr. Pang assured Mr. Coulcher that the Federation would be fully behind
     HKS on this application.
3. Mr. Coulcher asked how the Hong Kong Sports Development Board (SDB) would
     support Hong Kong athletes financially in multi-sports Games participation. Mr. Pang
     reported that the Federation had already applied for budget from the HKSAR
     Government through the SDB, as an agent whose reply was outstanding. As agreed,
     HKSAR Government would be responsible for 90% of the total expenditure of the
     Delegation while the remaining 10% is to be topped up by the Federation. Regarding
     commercial sponsorships, he added that the Federation was working very hard at the
     present stage in securing sponsorships from Airlines company and Tailoring firms.


Eligibility Issue
4. Mr. Patrick raised the communication with the Federation was not effective. He said that
     the decision makers were not always accessible and the correspondences were not
     efficient.
5. Mr. Pang responded that in addition to the bi- monthly Council Meeting, the set up of the
     Liaison Committee like the present format was aiming at providing a useful forum for
     exchange views between the Federation and the member NSAs. Also, members
     welcomed to make good use of the Federation’s website which would be launched very
     soon.
6. Mr. Patrick then raised the issue of Hong Kong athletes’ eligibility in representing Hong
     Kong in internationa l competitions.
7. Mrs. Fung stated that it was not uncommon for the IFs, IOC and OCA to have different
     sets of eligibility rule.
8. Taking into account the complexities of the eligibility issue, Mr. Pang cited that the
     eligibility of Hong Kong athletes should therefore be studied case by case. He assured all
     attendees that, it was the Federation’s intention to help in resolving the eligibility
     problem of each NSA under the circumstance.
9. Mr. Patrick believed that it was important for all NSAs to have a clear understanding of
     the eligibility rule of the Federation so that the former could pull their resources mainly
     on the “eligible” athletes. He therefore requested the SF&OC made the eligibility rule
     transparent and opened to all NSAs.
10. Mr. Pang further explained the difficulty in applying a uniform set of eligibility rule for
     all cases due to each sport’s unique characteristics. He drawn the example of the
     constitution revision exercise recently conducted. He admitted the difficulty of applying
     the “IOC model Constitution” to all five continents due to their differences in historical
     and cultural backgrounds.
11. Dr. Ho agreed and added that as the NOC was responsible for a prudent budget control, it
     was fair for the NOC to have its own discretion over the issue of eligibility. He agreed it
     would not be good for the whole sports community should a set of rigid eligibility rules
     being applied to all NSAs. He believed that a more reasonable approach to the eligibility
     problem of the whole sports community of Hong Kong sho uld be conducted through
     compromise.
Upgrading of Membership
12. Mr. Pang stressed the importance for members to take initiative in applying for
    upgrading. Though the Federation had access to collect some of the supporting
    information, it was necessary for the applicant to provide the Membership Vetting
    Committee with comprehensive information to back up their claim for upgrading she
    added . In the case of HK Triathlon Association, the NSA concerned had not yet
    responded by providing the requested information.
13. Mr. Andrew Patrick argued that these bureaucratic administrative procedures were
    unnecessary, as long as the NSA was an Olympic sport and recognized by the IF, its full
    membership status was unquestionable. Mr. Ronnie Wong added that apart from
    traditional sports, such as aquatics & athletics, there were other events which were
    changed from one Olympics to another.
14. Dr. Leung appreciated Mr. Patrick’s comment. She explained that the Membership
    Vetting Committee was currently handling 10 more applications. She would therefore
    appreciate applicants’ co-operation in providing sufficient information to accelerate the
    vetting process. Mr. Patrick was expected to expedite action as explained above, while
    Federation on the other hand, would seriously consider Mr. Patrick’s above argument to
    short circuit the upgrading procedure.


Venue Issue
15. Mr. Chan took the opportunity to thank the Federation to upgrade their status to full
    member. He raised the problem of its difficulty in securing a permanent venue for Sanda
    “´²¥´” and would like to seek the assistance from the Federation.
16. Mr. Hui suggested HKWU presenting the case to the LCSD directly with a copy to the
    Federation for follow up action.
17. Mr. Ronnie Wong added that it was also important to write to the HAB which was
    responsible for policy making. He added that the request of permanent venue for each
    NSA was included in the Federation’s proposal to the HAB in response to their Sports
    Review.
18. Dr. Leung supplemented that the Federation’s Task Force chaired by Mr. Ronnie Wong,
    would follow up with the Sports Review conducted by the HAB. However,
    notwithstanding our perpetual invitation, Ms. Eva To, Principal Assistant Secretary, was
    unable to grant the Task Force an opportunity for meeting.


Recognition of Profession Staff
19. Mr. Andrew Patrick suggested giving more authority to professional staff (of NSA) in
    terms of the participation in functions and meeting of the Federation.
20. Mrs. Fung clarify that paid staff was also welcomed to the Council Meeting, except that
     they were requested to sit in the gallery. She explained that it was due to the fact that
     they did not have the right to vote in the Council.
21. Mr. Ronnie Wong added that it was also due to the limited seats for Council members.
22. Mr. Patrick pointed out that the recognition of professional staff was a step further
     toward sports professionalism in Hong Kong. He added that as volunteers, it would be
     difficult for them to attend functions and meeting during office hours.
23. Mr. Pang appreciated the concerns raised by Mr. Patrick, but he hastened to draw all
     members’ attention to the fact that only elected officers were invited to OCA and IOC
     meetings and functions, and so were all IF. The NOCs should follow in this regard.
24. Mr. Patrick added that he believed some paid staff even had better knowledge in their
     sports than the elected officers.
25. However Mr. Pang disagreed with Mr. Patrick on the above, explaining that the elected
     officer were professional volunteers. However he added that the Federation would take
     into cons ideration his views and in fact, the issue of paid staff’s attendance to Council
     Meeting was now under review.
26. Mr. Chiu added that in some occasion, it would be more appropriate for paid staff to
     attend on behalf of the NSAs, for example, marching in of the Opening Ceremony of the
     Festival of Sport. The elected officers could sit at the arena to cheer their marching.
There being no other business and the meeting was adjourned at
 11:20 am.