'Mini Olympics' push for schools

Marcus Lum and Michael Shum

The Schools Sports Federation of Hong Kong, China is planning a "mini Olympics" that will bring together the finals of various elite competitions.

This initiative arises from concerns in the sports education sector regarding the practice of local schools attracting elite student athletes through scholarships, which can distort the true essence of sports.

Terry Lau Ka-ho, a basketball coach, said some schools have offered scholarships to recruit elite athletes from primary and junior secondary schools.

"Secondary schools often reach out to talented primary school football players with conditional offers, and some exceptional junior secondary students may be persuaded to transfer to another school for their senior studies," Lau said.

He also said that, due to a lack of participation in certain districts, competitions originally divided into three age groups - A, B and C grades - have been reorganized into senior and junior grades.

However, following the merging of events between the Island and Kowloon districts in the past academic year, many strong schools have been competing against weaker ones.

"The federation might consider further subdividing the groups to provide students with more opportunities to compete against peers of similar skill levels," Lau said.

Also, he said, while the integrated sports meet could enhance the quality and viewership of these competitions, he is concerned about the increased pressure on students participating in multiple events.

"The federation should prioritize the needs of student athletes and assess whether competition schedules would impact those involved in multiple sports, as many may not specialize in just one."

Gordon Nowitzki Yau, chairman of Hong Kong Fitness Guide, said the goal of the "mini Olympics" is to attract people to watch the games, but if the events are scheduled on weekends, achieving this goal may be challenging.

He urged the federation to carefully consider the perspectives of various stakeholders before making decisions.

Lobo Louie Hung-tak, a senior lecturer in health and physical education at the Education University of Hong Kong, said that current inter-school sports competitions primarily promote competitive sports, with much work needed to popularize sports among all students.

"Only 10 to 20 percent of students in a school participate in school teams, yet schools should be promoting sports for everyone," Louie said.

"Theoretically, all students should engage in regular exercise, and competition should not be mandatory. While winning can be a goal, the value of participation and enjoyment should not be overlooked."