Portraits of National Sports Association

 

Interview with the Hong Kong, China Rowing Association

When it comes to rowing, many people think of the rowing activities at Shing Mun River in Sha Tin or the rowing machines in a gym room.  In fact, Hong Kong is very suitable for the development of water sports as it is surrounded by the sea, and rowing is one such sport.  The Hong Kong, China Rowing Association is committed to promoting rowing locally and hopes to popularise the sport by attracting more people to participate.

Chairman of the Hong Kong, China Rowing Association Mr Ng Kong Wan	Technical Director Mr Chris Perry

Seizing the opportunity to break into new ground

In 1978, the Hong Kong Amateur Rowing Association (the Association) was founded under the leadership of seven founding members, with the mission to promote the development of local rowing and help local athletes gain international recognition.  In 2003, the Association officially changed its name to Hong Kong, China Rowing Association (HKCRA).  Although it was funded by the government then, it faced many difficulties in promoting rowing locally due to its limited resources.

Traditional rowing competitions have certain requirements for flat waters, and the Shing Mun River Course in Sha Tin became the only suitable venue in Hong Kong.  The International Rowing Federation has been promoting coastal rowing vigorously in recent years.  The HKCRA believes that Hong Kong has a wide geographic setting for coastal rowing competitions.  Therefore, it has promoted the development of coastal rowing locally.  In 2018, the HKCRA organised the Asian Rowing Coastal Championships to promote and popularise the sport.  In 2019, Hong Kong became the first Asian city to host the World Rowing Coastal Championships (WRCC).  The WRCC was funded by the Home Affairs Bureau and has become one of the large-scale international events held locally.  It was highly praised by overseas players, and the number of local participants has increased to over 1 000 now.

Making good use of resources for comprehensive development

Other than holding competitions to attract spectators, the HKCRA has made strenuous efforts to nurture local rowers.  With the coordination and funding from the LCSD, the HKCRA promotes rowing at the community level through the Community Sports Club Project.  Outstanding athletes are selected in districts to develop the Project into a territory-wide rowing promotion project.  At the same time, the HKCRA has introduced the School Sports Programme to incorporate rowing into schools’ daily activities, so as to attract young talents.

Full flexibility in response to the epidemic

The whole world has been affected by COVID-19 in the past six months, and the HKCRA has faced unprecedented hardships.  During the outbreak in Asia, the HKCRA arranged for the Olympic training team to train in Europe.  However, as the number of confirmed cases increased in Europe, the training team moved to Canada.  The training team returned to Hong Kong eventually as training facilities were closed one by one due to local implementation of preventive and control measures.  After the team had returned to Hong Kong, team members were isolated and observed.  The HKCRA also followed the government’s anti-epidemic measures by suspending training and competitions, closing venues, and facilities temporarily.  To maintain the athletes’ performance level, the HKCRA made good use of technology; implemented online virtual exercises and competitions; and provided training videos and challenge games through an app to help athletes continue practicing at home in a fun way.

Contents of the School Sports Programme
Phase I – School Promotion & Assessment and Rowing Centre Visit
Phase II – Training Development (Challenge Course) & Joint-school Training (JST) Programme
Phase III – Hong Kong Rowing Youth Academy