Multi-tier lifeline
THE Hong Kong Sports Institute will introduce a multi-tier system of support to local sports, with only a selected batch of associations receiving a full commitment leading up to the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok.
It is believed that four of the 11 sports currently receiving support from the Institute will be given a four-year commitment.
Support for other sports will be dependent on results achieved over a specified time.
Institute director Dr Dennis Whitby said he expects a largely unchanged list of sports which receive support from the Institute.
Whitby will meet with the Sports Committee next week to finalise a month-long, post-Hiroshima Asian Games review of the Institute's programmes.
'We've had some very good meetings with the associations, some of which we expect to support right up to the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok,' said Whitby.
'There will be different levels of support with some sports receiving a commitment for a certain time during which they must achieve a certain target.
'A lot will depend on the sports committee.' He said a handful of sports will only receive support until 1996 with an option to continue depending on results achieved.
Similar conditions of two and three-year contracts will be applied to other sports.
'It is very much dependent on targets and whether these targets are met,' added Whitby. 'We want to raise the accountability factor.' Meanwhile, Whitby said there is still a long way to go before deciding on a successor to departing swimming head coach Bill Sweetenham.
Sweetenham's assistant for the last three years, Chan Yiu-hoi, has been touted as the favourite.
But Whitby said a proper development structure must first be implemented before the Institute can go ahead and appoint a coach to replace Australian Sweetenham.
