Periscope

Part-time or professional, struggling locals

by Sophia Zhang

“A professional athlete attends at least two to three lessons a day and receives physical training every week. However, it will be very satisfactory already if a part-time athlete can attend one lesson a day,” she said.

Philip Yee Hoi-ping, a member of the Hong Kong Swimming Team, has similar concerns and decided to concentrate on studies rather than his swimming career.

As a student at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Mr Yee majors in accountancy, eyeing to make a better living in the future. Yet he has no interest in the subject, he said.

“A stable life in the future is more important,” Mr Yee said.

The conflict between participation in sport and study or work discourages some other athletes from dedicating themselves fully to their sports.

Lee Ka-ming, a member of the Hong Kong Volleyball Team and a student at the Chinese University of Hong Kong , said he always tried his best to strike a balance between his training and school life, but problems still arose.

“I am sometimes tired of the endless exercises and almost lose interest in them. The formal training and competitions seem to be a kind of duty for me. I don't like the feeling of being controlled,” he said.

“I feel very lonely because my schedule cannot match my schoolmates' most of the time. I have to work hard to maintain the friendship.”

Some of his teammates are frequently absent from training because of their work.

Yip Fu-kuen, who is a salesman, said though he faced fewer clashes between training and work than his teammates, it was still hard for him to manage his time.

“I can't ignore my work for the sake of volleyball,” he said.

When part-time athletes cannot spend as much time as the professionals can on training, their levels may be lagged behind.

Chan Yiu-hoi, the head coach of the Hong Kong Swimming Team, said if athletes spent more time on training, their standard could be raised.

Mr Chan said many athletes were discouraged from being full-time players because sport was commonly regarded as an unstable career without a bright future.

“Public opinion is the biggest barrier. I can only try my best, but I can't force anyone to choose sport,” said Mr Chan with an upset look.

“ Hong Kong culture does not need sport heroes,” he said.

As there are not many Hong Kong professionals, the government is importing more talents from mainland China and foreign countries.

With mainland athletes joining the Hong Kong Wushu Team, Miss Tsang said her local team members had become more motivated to have better training.

“I think the impact is positive rather than negative,” she said.

Mr Yee considers that it is important for local athletes to have opponents to compete with.

“Not everyone can have the chance to communicate with athletes all over the world. It is a very precious experience,” he said.

However, local athletes have doubts over the deployment of imported players to represent Hong Kong in competitions.

“They are not local athletes, and therefore it doesn't give a strong sense of representation even when they win the competition for Hong Kong ,” Miss Tsang said.

Despite the fact that local players face difficulties in their athletic careers, they treasure what they can get from sport.

“Sport gives me a strong sense of superiority and satisfaction,” Mr Lee said, adding that he had learnt something more than skills from volleyball.

“Those things enrich me, widen my horizons and make me humble and respect others,” he said.

Yip Fu-kuen says he cannot ignore his work because of volleyball.
Sophia Zhang

Part-time athletes cannot spend as much time as the professionals can on training.
Sophia Zhang