The Windsurfing Association of Hong Kong are demanding exclusive use of the St Stephen's Beach Water Sports Centre in Stanley as their new elite training base if they are forced to leave the Hong Kong Sports Institute (SI).
The SI will be closed down temporarily if Olympic equestrian events are staged in Hong Kong. The government has already started discussions with the 15 National Sports Associations (NSA) based at the elite training centre in Sha Tin (13 elite sports and two disabled sports) on interim arrangements.
'We will propose to the government that we need a training base for our board sailors once the SI has been closed and we have found the one in St Stephen's Bay fits our requirements,' said Dennis Chau Wai-keung, executive director of the windsurfing association.
'We will also ask them to build a smaller centre in Wu Kai Sha which is planned to be the new base for the SI. It will be used mainly for training in summer during the southwest monsoon season. Our athletes can also have access to the support services provided by the SI.'
Rene Appel, head windsurfing coach at the SI, will leave the training camp in Europe and fly back to Hong Kong next week to discuss the proposal with the government.
It is understood only three NSAs have yet to meet with the government to discuss the arrangements during the closure of the SI. The other two are fencing and sports for the mentally disabled.