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Hong Kong Athletes·上|Isn't "non-elite" sports worth promoting? |01 Weekly

2021-05-29T04:12:21.455Z


There are less than 100 days left for the Tokyo Olympics to kick off. The SAR government made an extraordinary move earlier to purchase the television broadcasting rights and hand them over to five television stations for free broadcasting, allowing Hong Kong people to watch this international event under the new crown pneumonia. The Hong Kong government looks like ten


weekly

Written by: Liu Yanwen

2021-05-27 17:00

Last update date: 2021-05-27 17:00

There are less than 100 days left for the Tokyo Olympics to kick off. The SAR government made an extraordinary move earlier to purchase the television broadcasting rights and hand them over to five television stations for free broadcasting, allowing Hong Kong people to watch this international event under the new crown pneumonia.

The Hong Kong government seems to attach great importance to sports, but in fact, many policies have made sports practitioners unsustainable—the most typical example. Since the policy of "popularization, elitism, and eventization" was put forward in 2002, the authorities only saw "Eliteness" and continuous tilt of resources have led to "sports" being divided by the system.

It is undeniable that the "elite" system does have a greater chance of bringing honor to Hong Kong, and it is understandable that the authorities have invested more resources.

The problem is that many "non-elite events" actually have elite athletes. They also fight under the name of "Hong Kong Team", but they have not been able to get the support they deserve.

"Hong Kong 01" interviewed three non-elite athletes and asked them to personally talk about the difficulties of developing as non-elite athletes in Hong Kong; and had a dialogue with Hong Kong Association and Olympic Committee Vice President Huo Qigang and sports scholar Lei Xiongde. Causes of uneven resource allocation.

Sports are a right that everyone should enjoy as equals. Sports practitioners can create the "Olympic dream" together.

If the government attaches importance to local sports, it should not only "elite" specific sports, but provide appropriate support to each sport so that potential athletes have the opportunity to become "elite".

As early as 2002, the then Secretary for Home Affairs, He Zhiping, first proposed the policy of "popularizing, elitist, and event-oriented" sports in Hong Kong. For several years, the government issued subsidies to the sports industry and built sports premises.

Recently, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor revealed that since the previous year, the funding for the Hong Kong Association and Olympic Committee and various sports associations has been increased to more than 500 million yuan. He has also allocated funds to support the establishment of a task force to monitor the operation of various sports associations. Hopefully, this will be eliminated. "Black box work" appeared when the Olympic Committee selected athletes.

The Kai Tak Sports Park will be completed in 2023. Hong Kong has a standard venue to welcome international events, which will help promote the "event-oriented" of local sports.

In recent years, the Hong Kong team has made outstanding achievements in various elite events and won 30 "entry tickets" in this Tokyo Olympics. There is no denying that the government's funding is indispensable.



If you pay careful attention, among these 30 "admission tickets", all are the "elite projects" that the government focuses on investment in training; the facilities in the Kai Tak Sports Park are mainly used to hold "elite events" or popular events such as rugby and football. , Badminton and other events.

Furthermore, most of the government's funding will be allocated to the Hong Kong Institute of Sport (hereinafter referred to as the Institute of Physical Education), and it is difficult for non-sports institute support projects to obtain a comprehensive training package.

Even if the sports institutes provide "elite training subsidies", the threshold is very high. If athletes cannot maintain their standards, the sports institutes have the right to cancel the subsidies.

How can non-elite athletes achieve their fullest potential in the face of financial pressure and lack of support?



Archery team: spend nearly 100,000 custom equipment each year, the threshold is high, only one year subsidy

When I came to the Lan Xinfu Archery Range on Yuen Long Mountain, I saw Zhang Xinqian, a member of the Hong Kong Archery Youth Army, practicing with a bow. The arrows were all shot, running through the bullseye 70 meters away.

Zhang Xinqian is 17 years old this year. At a young age, he has been learning archery for about five years. He has represented Hong Kong in many international events such as the World Youth Archery Championships and the International Youth Archery Sports Festival. He will represent Hong Kong in the Tokyo Olympic Qualifying Tournament in June this year.

Just looking at this beautiful "report card", I believe many people will agree that he is an excellent young athlete, but from the government's point of view, he is only worth receiving one year of funding for part-time youth athletes. There is one year of funding for the score, and I have received one year.” Zhang Xinqian admitted that it is difficult for members of the youth group to get the score for funding. “It seems that you need to get points and awards, but usually there are awards. You can get (funding)."

Zhang Xinqian, a 17-year-old member of the Hong Kong Archery Youth Army, has been learning archery for five years and will represent Hong Kong in the Tokyo Olympic Qualifying Tournament next month.

(Photo by Gong Jiasheng)

According to the 2020-2021 "Elite Training Funding Evaluation Criteria" (hereinafter referred to as "Evaluation Criteria"), the prerequisite for obtaining funding is that the project must be an official event of the Asian Games and the Olympic Games. Archery events are relatively unpopular and belong to Group B events. Take Zhang Xinqian as an example. He is a part-time athlete in the middle school category. He can get 1,800 yuan per month in subsidies and 90,000 yuan in equipment subsidies.



However, it is not easy to obtain this amount. According to the "assessment criteria", young athletes must obtain medals in the Asian Cup sub-station or national championship; in the World Youth Cup sub-station, the Asian Cup finals and the National Youth Games Wait for fourth to eighth place; or first to eighth place in the World Youth Cup Finals, Youth Olympic Games, etc. Faced with players from all over the country, all of Asia, and even the whole world, it is difficult to break through among dozens of people and achieve scores of less than ten. The subsidy threshold also shows that the government only focuses on medals when setting up the subsidy system, without considering the athletes' training costs and needs.



In order for athletes to achieve excellent results, in addition to long-term practice, they also need suitable equipment, especially archery. When asked about the daily expenses of archery, Zhang Xinqian smiled bitterly: "Wow, it will cost one hundred thousand yuan a year." He ran out of equipment subsidies and living allowances as early as the year he was funded, and then annual practice expenses and equipment costs. I’m still a student, and my parents support me very much. But I have to work and earn money after the exam. After that I have to rely on myself instead of my parents. The



government’s funding threshold is very high. All currently active archery ports The team members are all amateur athletes. Zhang Xinqian said that in the future, he has thought about becoming a full-time shooter and hopes to have the opportunity to enter the Olympics, but he also knows that it is quite difficult to become a full-time athlete. If an archery athlete wants to become a sponsored athlete, he must first chase medals and world rankings. If he accidentally loses accuracy, he will lose his qualifications. Zhang Xinqian feels that the pressure is not light. "I believe everyone will have (pressure) and can only overcome it. . "



" non-elite "as the driving force of our generation taking over



Fortunately, the fact that archery is a non-elite sport did not sink Zhang Xinqian’s fighting spirit. "I will regard it as motivation. We are labelled as non-elite, and we want to win even more, turning the archery project into an elite project. The previous generation could not do it. Our generation helped the previous generation enter elite projects and make the next generation better.” He noticed that many people have begun to be exposed to archery in recent years. In addition to the Archery Association’s promotion, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department also launched experience classes to encourage citizens to participate. .

Therefore, he believes that the prospects for archery development in Hong Kong will get better and better.

Archery is an Olympic and Asian Games event. Of course, the government will promote it more comprehensively. However, this sport requires professional equipment and the entry barrier is higher than other sports.

Bows, bows, and body protection equipment need to be tailor-made, and the equipment should be replaced in time.

Even if the public is attracted by the promotion activities of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department and intends to continue to develop, the lack of appropriate subsidies will only cause constant loss.

The representative of the club tennis Hong Kong team, Mak Ho-chun, first came into contact with club tennis in the university hall. He said with a smile that the University of Hong Kong is the only player "origin".

(Photo by Ou Jiale)

The club tennis team: never received the government's "one point and one cent". Amateur players personally promoted the sponsorship. In the

early days, club tennis was very popular in the United States, Japan and other places. It has now been included in the second tier of the Olympic Games-the World Games, but in Hong Kong , Its birthplace is only the University of Hong Kong. The active Hong Kong team representative of club tennis, Mak Hao-chun, first came into contact with the sport in the community hall of the University of Hong Kong. "The University of Hong Kong has a tradition that freshmen have to play the "new ball game" (new ball game). At that time, they could choose lacrosse ( Cricket tennis), hockey (hockey) and softball.” Cricket tennis has more physical contact and the game process is exciting. Therefore, as a sports enthusiast, he chooses to play it.



It has been 28 years since the establishment of the Hong Kong Club Tennis Association. Mak Ho-chun pointed out that they were only officially recognized by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department this year. "It has always been a group of caring people who handle the conference affairs. Everyone is a graduate of the University of Hong Kong. I just started. When playing, the club tennis club was amateur in nature and it was just a sports club that was not recognized by the government." Mak shared that after learning club tennis for about two or three years, he was selected to join the Hong Kong team. He said frankly, "At that time, Hong Kong was selected to join the Hong Kong team. The level of the team is very low and there is no systematic training. It is a group of students and graduates who play at the University of Hong Kong. They are teamed up and played overseas." The

only player of the

University of

Hong Kong is "origin". The lack of practice time is difficult to match the



establishment of the association for many years. Due to lack of funds, the development of club tennis has not improved, and the University of Hong Kong is the only "origin" for players. Fortunately, in 2013, the Association obtained private sponsorship by relying on the contacts of one of the Hong Kong team members. It was finally able to hire full-time staff and coaches. They also began to promote in primary and secondary schools and social welfare organizations.



The development of club tennis is gradually improving, and the club was recognized by the Hong Kong Association and Olympic Committee at the end of 2016. They are recognized by sports organizations and deserve the government's attention and capital injection, but they still haven't received the government's "one cent". Even if it always receives private sponsorship, the funds are limited and it is not enough to feed the players. "Everyone knows that this is not an elite sport. Players have to spend money to play. But the players are passionate about sports and proud to represent Hong Kong. Some players will even resign or suspend their practice before the competition."



Mai Haojun added that each player has to pay a four-digit practice fee each year. Many players are students or have just graduated, and their income is not high, and the financial pressure is not light. "Many sports are paid for by others to play, or get government funds. The team is funded and players get funding to play the Hong Kong team. But club tennis is not a sport under the government funding structure, and it is difficult for us to get subsidies."

In addition, the problem of venue is a major obstacle to the development of club tennis in Hong Kong.

Mai Haojun said that the team used to practice at King George V School, but the high price of renting a private venue increased the financial burden of the team.

After being approved by the Olympic Committee, the LCSD has strengthened communication with the General Association. "If it was before, there would be no need to think about it. There would be no regular venues. The LCSD gradually cooperated with more and more venues. In the past, there were only three or four venues. There are now ten." But he said that even if the venue increases, the practice time is still difficult to match.

Because all the team members are part-timers, only off-work hours and practice on Saturdays and Sundays are the times when more people rent venues.

Mai Haojun hopes that in the future the government can provide a dedicated field for club tennis so that players can concentrate on practicing.

Mak Ho-jun believes that athletes are willing to promote sports they love, but the government has the responsibility to act as the promoter. "The Education Bureau’s guidelines all say that young people must be trained to have a healthy body and mind. You must exercise more to avoid getting fat. There will be no long-term Patients, that is the value they recognize." The value that sports brings to society far exceeds that of "making young people healthy."

If the government attaches importance to the economic benefits of sports, "the sports industry actually has a lot of room for development. It has great potential to generate more income, but the government ignores this potential." Mak Haojun and the government Officials communicated that some officials attach importance to sports development. Unfortunately, the current "elite" label makes the development trend uniform, and the government will only prefer to invest in a certain type of project.



As a non-elite athlete, when asked whether the government should abolish the "elite" system, Mai Haojun said that from the manager's point of view, it is reasonable to put resources on projects that are easier to win. "Maybe bigger The problem is that when some sports are not awarded, they will not get the resources at all, that is, they will give up those projects in disguise. The problem is not "elite", but how the government treats non-elite projects."


Qiaogu Team: Global Although it ranks firmly in the forefront of the "unpopular sports" that the government coldly treats, "Qiaogu



Ball was introduced to Hong Kong in 2005, and then the Qiaogu Ball Association was established. This is not a new sport, but it is an unpopular sport." When asked Qiao Qiao. During the history of the development of the "new sport" in Hong Kong, Lian Boxi, a member of the women's Qiaogu Hong Kong team, immediately corrected reporters, "If the publicity is not done well enough, the outside world will think this is a new sport." Lian Boxi He and Li Haochang, a member of the men’s Qiaogu Hong Kong team, came into contact with the sport because of the introduction of a middle school teacher. Lian Boxi then founded the Qiaogu team at the Education University of Hong Kong (hereinafter referred to as the University of Education). Li Haozhang also joined the game after entering the University. team.

This sport is not included in the Olympics and the Asian Games, there is no private sponsorship, and the association has not been recognized by the Hong Kong Association, Olympic Committee and the Leisure and Cultural Services Department. Therefore, this sport is like the "basic level" of the sports world.

Lian Boxi, a member of the Women's Qiaogu Hong Kong Team (left) and Li Haochang (right), a member of the Men's Qiaogu Hong Kong Team, learned Qiaogu after being introduced by a middle school teacher. They were worried that it would be difficult to promote popular sports in primary and secondary schools during the epidemic.

(Photo by Huang Baoying)

Lian Boxi pointed out that Qiaogu players are currently in a state of "self-sufficiency." Daily practice, overseas competitions and other expenses are all paid by the athletes.

Take equipment as an example, the internationally recognized Qiaogu net price is as high as 5,000 yuan for a pair.

Each player needs to pay about 20,000 yuan in overseas competitions every year, and the expenses for overseas training have not been calculated.



Lian Boxi said frankly, "If I don’t have money, I really can’t participate in the competition, even if I am so "elite"." Lian Boxi knows some full-time athletes funded by sports academies. There is an opinion on the funding plan, "In fact, it is not that the "elite" model is problematic, but what is its position in the scope of activities or the definition of identity? As a Hong Kong athlete, I am not disappointed. I also know that I am an elite athlete in unpopular sports. I am also called representing Hong Kong, and I have spent a lot of time. But as an athlete, I am inevitably confused. Why is there so much difference (with elite athletes)?”



Under the epidemic, it is impossible to visit schools to promote and worry about development. The



current development of non-elite sports will be

overturned.

Falling into the "chicken first or egg first" paradox, the government is unwilling to invest resources, sports associations are unable to strengthen promotion, and athletes' skills are difficult to improve. In the end, a vicious circle is created, and some non-elite sports are declining.



Qiaoguqiu is falling into this vicious circle. "From the very beginning to achieving results in the World Championships, before twelve or three years, the association will only put resources in the position of the elite, without special promotion or recruiting more people. Li Haozhang said that before the Qiaogu ball hits the highest international stage such as the Olympics and the Asian Games, it is difficult to promote it among the people.

Lian Boxi believes that the government has over-emphasized economic benefits in the development of sports programs.

As far as the government is concerned, athletes in elite events have value for use, which can build Hong Kong's image and bring economic benefits.

"The "value" that I said in my mouth is actually worthless. Sports need to do it personally to know its value." Lian Boxi said that the current education community does not fully agree with the value of sports, and the public cannot understand that elite athletes and non-elite athletes are equally committed. Many, so it is easier to belittle them.

Last year the new crown epidemic broke out. The government has repeatedly suspended the opening of recreational and cultural facilities. Sports institutes have been "closed" for a time. Major international competitions have also been suspended. This has caused great trauma to the sports world, and even more to the Hong Kong Qiaogu team.

(Profile picture)

Li Haozhang believes that the development of non-elite sports in Hong Kong sometimes emphasizes "fortune". "For example, there happens to be a group of coaches or leaders who are willing to cultivate a group of young people who are willing to fight without hesitation, or there are some very high-profile world games." An example refers to the reason why rope skipping can be promoted. It was exposed in many world competitions in the early years and won many awards for Hong Kong due to the "time, place, and harmony". Therefore, it has attracted the attention of the business and social welfare circles and received funding.

In terms of results, the Hong Kong Qiaogu team ranks quite high in the world. At present, the women's Qiaogu team is fifth and the men's team is sixth.

Was asked why the team's record is shining, but the development has not improved?

Li Haozhang responded that in 2018, the Hong Kong team qualified for the 2019 World Championship in the Asian Championship. At that time, the club also stepped up promotion. The government began to hear their voices. There was a lot of leverage. "But "leverage" is useless, because Everything will be gone in 2020.”



Last year the new crown epidemic broke out, the government has repeatedly suspended the opening of recreational and cultural facilities, sports institutes were once "closed", and major international events were also suspended, which caused great trauma to the sports world and harmed Hong Kong. The solid team is even worse.

Li Haozhang pointed out that the Qiaogu Ball Association is a non-government-recognized sports organization. The promotion activities are all undertaken by amateur athletes. They worry that their efforts over the years will be wiped out. "Our target group is elementary schools and middle schools. During the epidemic, there is no way. Promote it in schools. After the epidemic eases, the school will also allocate resources to more mainstream sports, and the academic community will restart after the epidemic. We do not know when these less popular sports will be scheduled."



He said that each sport or Every athlete has a "peak level" (peak level), and popular athletes have more support. Even if they fall into a low tide, as long as they re-energize, there are still many opportunities. "But our class of players and even many unpopular athletes, if we want to continue When it comes to development, the pressure is focused on the athletes. You keep thinking about (Qiaogu Development). You have been thinking about it for more than ten years. Moreover, for more than ten years, you have not only thought, but have done a lot of things to promote the development of sports. But because of chance And the unpredictable epidemic, it fell down when the road was almost to the top. Can we climb it again now?"

The above is excerpted from the 266th issue of "Hong Kong 01" Weekly Report (May 24, 2021) "Seriously uneven distribution of sports resources is not "non-elite" sports worth promoting?

".

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Source: hk1

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