LPAT 2010 writing 2A

Write a letter to the Editor responding to the letter above. In your letter, give your opinion on whether Parkour should be promoted to help Hong Kong people become fitter. You should also give two other suggestions, with justifications, of suitable activities to improve the (physical) fitness of Hong Kong people.


Outline
Not promote Parkour
-- itself Dangerous (many accidents)
-- Too crowded for the general public in Hong Kong
-- the general public may not understand the danger of Parkour

Hiking and running,
-- suitable for all ages,
-- suitable in many place,
-- based on its own pace,
-- aerobic exercise,
-- a large competition in Hong Kong.





Dear Editor,
I am writing to respond to the letter from Martin Wat, the chairman and Founder, HK love for Parkour Association. Absolutely, Pakour is an challenging sport for those lovers of Pakour to keep their bodies fitted. However, it is questionable for the general public to follow the suit of those lovers.

The suitabilities of Parkour could be assessed on the safety of the sport, the limitation in the Hong Kong environment, and the popularity in Hong Kong.

It is undeniable that Pakour is a danger sport for the general public. The practitioners have to jump over and around obstacles, such as benches, even the gap between buildings. If sportmen concentrate on every single movement, they can overcome any obstacles they face. However, even professional practitioneres get hurted as they loss concentration suddenly or other uncontrolable factors exist such as moving humans or animal, damaged benches or others. the conseuqences of Pakour accidents can damage the human body eternally, irrecoverably and serviously. .

Other than the danger of Pakour, the design of the Hong Kong city and the density of population would serviously hinder the development of this sport for the general public.To promote this sport for the general public, enough space for practising Pakour should be found out or developed but is a scare resource in Hong Kong.  Some professional practitioners will just jump over the building of several floors, wherseas most of the building in Hong Kong  are skyscrapers, which are designed for commercial and recreational use but not for jumping over. someone will ague that the sportmen can practise the jumping in predestrian areas. However, every day most of citizens do shopping in those areas , which are no longer reserved for the sport. lack of space must limit the sport for only professional practitioners instead of the general public.




Sincerely,
Peter Choi