In keeping with the MSAR Government’s policy objectives in positively promoting Sport for All, the Board continuously promotes and popularises Sport for All among residents, encouraging them to actively participate in sports and foster a healthy lifestyle realising ‘life-long participation in sport’, with the ultimate objective of creating a vibrant and healthy society imbued with sportive atmosphere. To consider and cater to the needs of residents of all ages for sports, the Board has organised a variety of Sport for All Fitness and Recreational Classes for them. After years of hard work, the classes have attracted persons from all walks of life to consistently and regularly participate in physical exercise.
The Sport for All Fitness and Recreational Classes are held every two months with some 10,000 quotas provided for each edition to encourage residents to continuously participate in exercise. Application for the classes is easy; first of all, applicants need to register as members of the ‘Sport Easy’ programme launched by the Board, and then go through the registration procedures ‘1. Registration; 2. Ballot Results; 3. Enrolment’ before being accepted as students of the classes. Students who satisfy any of the following conditions can continue to take the same classes in the next edition through their instructors: students who are absent for less than one class in the first month or are seniors aged 65 or above, can directly apply for automatic renewal.Classes are offered to residents from the age of four or above. The target of the sports activities are people of all ages. The classes run through the day from 7:00am to 10:30pm and each session ranges from 1 hour to 1.5 hours. Shift workers may choose sports activities suitable for them in accordance with their spare time. Advanced classes are offered for some sports to enhance students’ interests, skills and knowledge of relevant sports. Parent-child classes are provided for certain sports in order to encourage parents to exercise with their children and foster children’s interest in sports.
Board strives to develop new paths and co-organise variety of sports classes with other civil associations
Over the years that the activities have been held, they have been warmly welcomed by residents with the number of students gradually increasing every year. In 2014, some 60,000 quotas were provided for the year, with registration percentage exceeding 93%. Based on the classes held in the past years, particularly popular sports such as yoga, belly dancing, line dancing and dynamic gymnastics, etc. have been added to the activities. As of 2015, more than 380 classes and approximately 10,000 quotas have been offered in each edition on average. Moreover, in order to provide senior citizens with the opportunity of exercising, the Board jointly holds Baduanjin classes and aerobics for the elderly in conjunction with community centres and elderly centres. The one-hour classes are held once or twice a week; interested local residents aged 65 or above can apply for free at the centres.
In order to fully utilise social resources and promote sports to people from all walks of life, the Macao Sport Development Board has organised various sports classes with the General Union of Neighbourhood Associations of Macao, the Macao Federation of Trade Unions and the Women’s General Association of Macao since July 2010. The classes include Aerobics for the Elderly, the Middle-aged and Youth, Dynamic Gymnastics, Gymnastic Qigong, Taijiquan, Line Dancing, Square Dancing, Softball, Fat-Burning Aerobic Dance (Belly Dancing), Yoga, Ball Room Dancing and Aerobic Dance.
“The following activities are offered in Sport for All Fitness and Recreational Classes:
- Aquatics: hydro-fitness, swimming for fitness, swimming for beginners, swimming for kids, synchronised swimming, mini-sailing, and surfing;
- Dance activities: group aerobics, aerobic gymnastics, step aerobics, kick boxing aerobics, Fat-burning Aerobic Dance (Belly Dancing), dancesport, Latin dance, jazz dance, square dancing, line dance, line dancing for kids and dynamic gymnastics;
- Ball games: badminton, croquet, softball, squash and tennis;
- Parent-child interaction classes: parent-child gymnastics, parent-child line dancing, parent-child, parent-child bowling, parent-child tennis, parent-child squash;
- Gymnastics for kids and others: children’s aerobics, children’s gymnastics, martial arts for kids, yoga for kids, artistic cycling, figure skating, ice hockey, chess, Chinese chess, gymnastics with equipment, Taijiquan, fitness Qigong and yoga;
- Potential development activities: the Board is devoted to establishing a sports environment for the integration of the disabled - swimming and badminton classes are available for the disabled, the mentally handicapped and hearing impaired.
* Advanced classes are offered for some activities such as gymnastics, dance, yoga and Taijiquan.
