HK may lose boat race to Thailand

Sharon Lee

The organizer of an international dragon boat championship is considering moving its Hong Kong race to Thailand next year to avoid the city's hotel quarantine regime even after it was whittled down to three days followed by four days of medical surveillance at home.

The 16th World Dragon Boat Racing Championships, organized by the International Dragon Boat Federation, is scheduled for August 7 to 13 next year.

But lawmaker Kenneth Fok Kai-kong, who represents the sports, performance, cultural and publication industries, said yesterday that "despite the new isolation policies, the federation said athletes and their families would be inconvenienced if they must observe hotel quarantine for three days."

The last edition of the biennial race was slated for November 1 to 7 last year, but it was canceled due to pandemic restrictions.

Fok said that authorities are struggling to confirm details with the organizer such as the allowed race capacity, and he cannot promise that anti-epidemic requirements will be lifted by the time of the race.

The news comes after the cancellation of the Sun Hung Kai Properties 10K Championships scheduled for Sunday, as organizers were ordered to cut participant numbers from 1,500 to 500.

The HK Trail Championships, another highly anticipated race set for Sunday, was also ordered to cut participants to 500.

The same participant limit has also affected the New World Harbor Race that is set for October 23.

Over 1,200 people swam the one-kilometer stretch from Wan Chai's Golden Bauhinia Square to the Avenue of Stars in Tsim Sha Shui last year.

Ronnie Wong Man-chiu, president of the Hong Kong China Swimming Association, expressed disappointment over the participant cap, and said the association may put a stop to the race altogether this year.

"It is a waste of resources and effort to organize such a large-scale event for so few swimmers. Restricting water traffic, occupying two public piers, plus deploying 750 staff members for a 500-swimmer event isn't viable," he said.

In regards to the two upcoming major sports events - the New World Harbor Race as well as the Standard Chartered Marathon that is scheduled for November 20 - Fok said the administration has given a positive response and that Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu is paying close attention to the events.

Meanwhile, Southern district council member Paul Zimmerman said authorities have been in touch with hotels and is asking for their interest in being designated quarantine hotels for the ninth cycle of the arrangement, which will begin November 1 and is expected to cover the Christmas and Lunar New Year holidays in December and January.

But he said that due to limited airline seats and quarantine hotel costs, "visitors will continue to shun Hong Kong, postponing any hope of economic recovery."