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Local Sports Extravaganza
The 7th Hong Kong Games
The closing ceremony of the 7th Hong Kong Games (HKG) was held at Kowloon Park Sports Centre on 2 June, marking the end of this biennial sports extravaganza. The HKG is a territory-wide major multi-sport event with the 18 District Councils as participating units. The objectives of the HKG are to provide districts with more opportunities for sports exchanges, and to encourage active public participation in sports.
The events of the 7th HKG kicked off in mid 2018 and the district athlete selection began after the opening ceremony in June 2019. More than 3 300 athletes were nominated by the districts to participate in eight inter district sports competitions in the HKG, including athletics, badminton, basketball, futsal, swimming, table tennis, tennis and volleyball. A Wheelchair Basketball Challenge and Swimming Invitation Competition for People with Intellectual Disabilities was also held to give people with disabilities a chance to demonstrate their talents. In the HKG this year, a Rugby Sevens Demonstration Event was held for the first time to help the public learn more about rugby.
The HKG also had a series of community participation programmes for the public. Two new events were added to the HKG this year; the first was Sports Legacy – Exercise to Get Super Fit, which helped participants explore their sports potential through physical fitness tests and encouraged them to maintain the habit of regular exercise; and the second was 7-minute School Vitality Run, an event for primary and secondary schools, which enabled teachers, students and parents to share the fun of running by participating in a 7-minute run held by the schools during their athletic meets.
The 18 Districts’ Pledging cum Cheering Team Competition was held at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium, Wan Chai on 24 February this year to mark the readiness of athletes from 18 districts to strive for success in the eight inter-district sports competitions of the HKG and cheer together for all the athletes. One of the highlights of the day was the 18-district Cheering Team Competition in which each team gave their best to offer the audience a visual feast. The Champion, 1st Runner-up and 2nd Runner-up of the “Best Performance” award went to the Yuen Long, Islands and Tuen Mun teams respectively.
The Jockey Club Vitality Run was a healthy sports activity suitable for people of all ages. It was divided into two races: 10 km Run and about 3 km Run. Participants could join the races with their friends and families. Enrolment for the event started in January this year and the quota of 5 300 participants was filled quickly. The Vitality Run was held on 10 March and the mood of the runners was not dampened by the rain that day. Many participants dressed themselves in costumes to compete for the Most Creative Costume Prize and the Overall Best Team Costume Prize. A carnival was also held at Yuen Wo Playground that day with sports demonstrations, game booths and sports play-ins for participants to enjoy the fun of sport with their families.
The opening ceremony of the HKG was held at the Hong Kong Coliseum on 28 April and officiated by Mr Matthew Cheung, Acting Chief Executive. The ceremony featured a variety of performances, including a grand dance show, sports demonstrations and performances by pop singers. Mainland Olympic gold medallists Wei Qiuyue and Wang Zhen joined Hong Kong’s Sarah Lee, Au Chun-ming and Wong Kam-po to conduct the ceremony to light the cauldron that day, and the audience was treated to the wonderful performances of various elite athletes.
The overall champion, first and second runners-up of the HKG were the Yuen Long District, Sha Tin District and North District respectively. Since this major sports event was worth recording, a Dynamic Moments Photo Contest was held to encourage photography enthusiasts to capture the spectacular scenes of the HKG. For a review of the HKG, please visit the dedicated website of the 7th HKG (https://www.hongkonggames.hk/hkg2019/en.html). Let’s meet again in the 8th HKG!
Chong Hing Water Sports Centre makes new additions
Canadian Canoe
Kayaking is no stranger to the people of Hong Kong, many of whom have obtained a 3-star award or higher. However, they may not understand the difference between Canoe and its other name Kayak. Some may even have misunderstandings.
Canoe is the preferred name in general, but the vast majority of canoes used in Hong Kong are actually kayaks, which are vessels with a closed deck. The user sits in the vessel with both feet extended forward, and double-bladed paddles are used to propel the kayak (as shown in the photo on the right).
What is a canoe?
Canoe is also known as Canadian Canoe. The name originates from rivers and lakes in North America. Due to the geographical features of the area in North America, especially in Canada where rivers or lakes exist in abundance, the canoe is used as a tool by traditional Indians for daily transportation, fishing, and hunting, hence the name Canadian Canoe.
The most distinct feature of the canoe is that it has an open deck and can house more than one person. It also uses a single-bladed paddle. In order to promote public awareness and interest in the canoe, Chong Hing Water Sports Centre has recently procured a number of two-seater Canadian Canoes (model: Heron) and single-bladed paddles for public use. Despite having a maximum capacity of two persons, the canoe can be operated in a variety of ways. It can be operated with either one or two users and can be used while sitting or kneeling, which means that participants can have several times the fun while learning skills of different styles.
The Heron is more than 4.5 m (15 feet) in length, with a width of 0.88 m (35 inches). Newcomers may think that the canoe is very heavy, but the boat is made of fibres and only weighs 22.7 kg (50 lbs), which means an adult can easily carry it. The wider hull design increases the space inside the boat and makes it more stable (don’t forget that one of the uses of the canoe is long-distance travel and camping), so it is suitable for first-time canoe users.
Do you want to try the Canadian Canoe? Chong Hing Water Sports Centre will launch the Canadian Canoe training course in the second half of 2019. Those who are interested should pay attention to the publicity materials or the website of water sports centres (https://www.lcsd.gov.hk/en/watersport/).