HK Athletes on the International Stage

HK Athletes Taking Up International Stage

By Nicole Wu | Illustrations by Lea Cheng | Layout by Shuwen Wen

For many generations, Hong Kong has been one of the leading international financial centers in the world, renowned for its extensive networks and trading opportunities. Unfortunately, its sporting community has not garnered much attention in recent years, and is typically viewed as a pastime more than a career. Famously quoted for “Hong Kong athletes are not rubbish”, windsurfer Lee Lai Shan brought home the firstever gold medal for Hong Kong at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Since then her success not only has gained Hong Kong the recognition it deserves in the sporting world, but also encouraged many youth in Hong Kong to participate in sports. Hong Kong athletes have worked hard competing in local, regional, and cross pacific sporting events, giving all that they have to represent their sport and their beloved city. Regrettably, the sports industry isn’t nearly as lucrative and promising as the commercial sector. At one point, discussions were made to dismantle Wanchai Sports Ground to make room for conventions and exhibition space. However, after 25 years, Hong Kong finally saw her second Olympic gold medal when Cheung Ka Long defeated his last opponent in men’s foil (fencing). In addition to the Gold medal, Hong Kong also received two silver and three bronze medals. Conclusively, Tokyo Olympics 2020 was a success for Hong Kong. After witnessing such positive results, the Hong Kong government pledged a $500M funding for sporting events and $32B to open Kai Tak Sports Park, and $6B in developing elite sports respectively. The excitement carried on with the Winter Olympics 2022 taking place just a year later and in the nation’s capital, Beijing, much closer in proximity to many in Hong Kong. Hong Kong was sending in a team of three, the largest ever, to the Winter Games. The team members include two men and one female: Sidney Chu, Adrian Yung, and CIS’ very own alumna, Audrey King, Class of 2021. Interestingly, the first time Hong Kong had ever sent an athlete to compete in the Winter Olympics was in 2002 Salt Lake City. Ever since then, only one to two athletes had qualified for subsequent Games. Although the trio did not bring home any medals, their debut in the Games was already an achievement. Unlike athletes in other elite sports, winter sports athletes receive little funding and unfortunately have to rely on their own efforts to search for training ground and most importantly coaching. Xiao Hua is fortunate to have the opportunity to speak to Audrey about her journey to becoming our Olympian and shed more light on what her sport, ski racing, will look like in the future.

Interview

Xiao Hua:

Audrey:

Xiao Hua:

Audrey: When and how did you first fall in love with skiing?

I first fell in love with skiing when I was four years old. Since then, I’ve always loved it. Skiing was always something I did for fun with my brother. My parents were always worried about our safety, so we always had an instructor with us. From a young age, I really liked working on my technique, and I think my background in gymnastics had corresponded well. I remember I used to always race my brother when we were in the middle of the slope and I would challenge him, “Alright, let’s see who makes it down faster”. That was when I felt most alive and exhilarated. I didn’t know back then, but that was my first taste of racing. When I finally got into racing at the age of 14, I fell even more in love with skiing, because I found something new in the sport every time: a new way to turn, a new way to move my body so that I could get more energy and force out of my skis in order to go faster. I just love the feeling of progressing and the feeling that I got when I finally got something right. Who/what inspires you to come this far?

The primary inspiration for me and a lot of athletes was just the love for the sport. If you don’t love the sport, you can give up easily especially when we have to travel for the majority of the year and be away from our families. In terms of how I feel supported, I have the most amazing support system. My parents are my main source of support. My dad has always told me that I can do whatever I want to do and can be whoever I want to be; that’s a mindset I’ve had when growing up.

So, for skiing, I am not afraid to set big goals and tell people around me about these goals. Even though my goals may have sounded really crazy, I know in my heart that if I work really hard, they can become possible. The most important thing is to have confidence which is something I am thankful that my parents have instilled in me. My mom has been travelling with me to many races all these years, and I really appreciate her for doing this because a lot of my races were in the middle of nowhere. Having her there has been super comforting. My friends have also kept me grounded all this time. They would always send me their work and notes, because they knew I was missing a lot of classes and needed to stay on track. I cannot thank them enough. I’m often so wrapped up in the world of ski racing, so having friends outside prevents me from getting burnt out. I know many kids get burnt out because they start training and travelling at 8 years old, and by the time they’re 16, they don’t want to do the sport anymore. With supporting friends, I can feel exhilarated and refreshed every time I return to the snow. In terms of the CIS community, they have helped me so much because ever since Year 10, they have let me off skiing from January to March. They would send and keep me up to date with work from all my classes, so that I could smoothly integrate with the curriculum when I came back. If I wasn’t able to do that, I wouldn’t be the athlete I am today. I thank CIS for giving me the opportunity to pursue my dream while still not losing out on my education.

Audrey:

Xiao Hua:

Audrey:

Xiao Hua: Currently, funding from the Hong Kong government is dedicated to ‘Elite Sports’. As an athlete of a developing sport, how were you able to make your journey to the Olympics successfully?

Ski racing is definitely a developing sport, so we don’t get the same amount of funding as let’s say rugby or any of the top sports in Hong Kong do. Even though not a lot of people in Hong Kong are involved in ski racing, I feel the sport has definitely received much more recognition throughout the years. In the beginning, we would fund all of our trips, but throughout the years the situation has definitely progressed a lot. So, this year, actually, I have taken a gap year before college and most of my training fees have actually been funded by the government. I’ve also felt an added sense of responsibility to try my best every day which has led me to finally achieve my goals and ultimately getting to the Olympics.

I have been super privileged that my family is able to support me financially with my travels and race fees. I know there are many people who do not receive the same opportunities as I do, so I think this new drive towards more funding for ski racing from the government will encourage the future generation of kids to try winter sports.

One of my teammates was accepted into The University of Hong Kong’s athletic scholarship program in which the curriculum worked around his training schedule. With the government showing interest and making sure that athletes receive an education that they desire and still be able to pursue their sport is very special. I hope many more opportunities like this will come up for the future generations of winter sports athletes.

What were some challenges you encountered and how did you overcome them?

One of the challenges would for sure be the traveling and the time you spend away from home. As a top athlete, we constantly have to travel to different competitions and venues to train. I haven’t been home since June of 2021, and it’s currently the end of March 2022. Ten months will have passed by the time I get back to Hong Kong. Giving up time spent with my family, and friends is tough but a sacrifice I’ve been willing to make, because I know what my goals are and I know what I need to do to achieve them.

Another challenge was finding a balance to pursue the things I loved to do. When I was still a full time student at CIS, I knew quickly that I had to prioritise my goals and passions over things that I could maybe save to do later. I used to be a huge procrastinator but I realized really quickly that in order to be able to achieve my goals, I had to follow a set regimen and be disciplined about my training schedule everyday and be totally committed to whatever I was doing at the moment.

I am really happy because I was able to overcome these two challenges because I learned a lot through the process.

It’s hard to build a mountain with snow in Hong Kong, so what support from the HK government has been helpful and what support do you hope they can provide more of?

Xiao Hua:

Audrey:

Xiao Hua:

Audrey: Yes it is, but I think the fact that the Olympics was in Beijing was very helpful in bringing many projects and snow resorts to China. I think these mountains will allow people in Hong Kong to get a feel for what it’s like to get on snow and actually try racing. There is also a ski dome in Guangzhou, close enough for people in Hong Kong to learn skiing and try ski racing. Because of the consistent conditions all year round, there could be a higher volume of visits. Ski Association Hong Kong also holds these all-paid-for trips every year called “Bring Children to Snow”, so that kids from Hong Kong can actually work with my current race coach and see if they like to race or not. I think that all of these plans currently in place are really helpful in generating interest. At the end of the day, in order to grow a sport, people need to become interested and want to participate. Something that the government could do to help even more would be to fund more of these trips to bring kids on the snow which can help with developing their interest and with their progression in the future. The government could also provide funding for training fees for the First Team (Hong Kong’s first ski team that Audrey is part of) which many families can benefit from. With more Hong Kong athletes like yourself taking up the international stage, what do you think the future holds for winter sports athletes?

I think the future is looking really bright for winter sports athletes. Right now, I’m training with a group of around five people in the First Team who have all developed so much in the last couple years. These kids seem to have real potential in being competitive in the FIS Circuit which is something you enter when you are 16 years old. Many people in Hong Kong go on ski trips and they just ski for fun, and if this demographic can try ski racing, more talent can come through our team.

What message do you have for the younger aspiring winter sports athletes or developing sports?

I think that the most important thing is to keep pushing, and there is no set path because winter sports are unconventional and not a lot of people pursue them. Part of the fun comes from finding your own path and navigating through different challenges yourself and advocating for things that you really care about. For all athletes in general, setting goals and just telling people about your goals are very important to helping you achieve your goals. Many people are actually scared to voice their goals because they’re scared of being judged, seeming like they’re trying too hard or they’re aiming too far, but honestly if you put your mind to something, you’ll be able to achieve it and the process is really what matters. At the start of this season, I was actually pretty far from the qualification mark and had no idea if I would actually be able to get to the Olympics. When I made the decision to commit myself, I didn’t really have enough evidence to show that I would be able to reach the Olympics. However, as long as you have trust in yourself, you know that you’ll put in 110 percent to achieving this goal. The result doesn’t matter, because you’ll know that you’ve done everything. Through this process, you will learn so much. This is the message that I really want to pass onto younger athletes, especially those doing winter sports.

With general awareness, growing support from the government, and commitment from sports associations, winter sports have gained more traction among the sports community both in Hong Kong and China. Already, Sydney Chu has plans to open Hong Kong Speed Skating Academy to offer affordable classes to people of all ages and experience, possibly in Discovery Bay and Lohas Park. As Audrey has shared, the neighboring city, Guangzhou, has the world’s second-largest indoor ski resort, the Guangzhou Sunac Snow Park, where skiing has been made accessible all year round. The future of winter sports indeed looks promising.