Culture and Leisure

Students in Lui Cheung Kwong Lutheran Primary School train twice a week for shuttlecock competitions. Ruby Wu

Shuttlecock kicks off again in schools

by Ruby Wu

Chinese shuttlecock, an old leisure activity, is making a comeback in Hong Kong . Many schools have introduced the sport in their physical education while more students are trained for shuttlecock competitions. Shuttlecock has become a more organised sport with a flourishing inter-school league.

Still, enthusiasts say the development and popularity of shuttlecock kicking are restricted in schools because of lack of resources and publicity in the community.

Kwok Siu-tim, chairman of the Hong Kong Shuttlecock Association, said the territory had great potential to develop the sport. “Playing shuttlecock doesn't need a large area. This is especially suitable for Hong Kong , which is heavily populated with limited space,” he said.

It does not take long for beginners to learn the basic skills. “It is very easy to learn. Many children in primary schools can master the sport well,” Kwok said. Shuttlecock is suitable for people of all ages to play, including the elderly, as the chance of injury is relatively low and players seldom knock against each other, he said. “And its fun is no less than other sports.”

For rookies or recreational players, they usually form a circle and kick the shuttlecock to each other. Some practise, or even create, special tricks.

But in a tournament, two teams, which consist of three players each, kick the shuttlecock back and forth over a net. The team with the shuttlecock dropped on its side of the court loses a point.

Ho Ching-ngor, a 40-year-old accounting clerk and a seasoned shuttlecock player, said kicking shuttlecock could train body coordination and exercise the joints.

“It requires great coordination of eyes and legs. You have to be highly concentrated in the shuttlecock. And you have to kick it at the right spot at the right time,” said Ho, who has participated in open competitions for six years.

Despite its fun and favourable conditions for development in the territory, shuttlecock is yet to become a common activity compared to basketball and badminton. “Lack of resources is the biggest obstacle to the popularisation of the sport. For instance, whenever there is a big event, only our association will give support. But the resources we have are inadequate. So what we can do is really limited,” Kwok said.

The government gives the association about $100,000 each year, but according to Kwok, the sum of money can only pay for the wages of referees and coaches. They need at least $500,000 to cover promotional expenses.

Although the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) has been giving financial support by sponsoring some major events, Kwok said that was still not enough. “The LCSD has been providing resources and promoting shuttlecock-related activities. We can see an increase in the number of participants. But it still doesn't live up to our expectation. It definitely needs further development,” he said.

In fact, the LCSD has helped in the promotion of shuttlecock to primary and secondary school students. Since 2000, it has joined the Shuttlecock Association to organise the school sports programme to promote shuttlecock in schools, and at present, the association has 202 school members.

Despite the government's effort, promotion is impeded because few teachers know how to play the sport, Kwok said. “Many PE (physical education) teachers think it's a new sport and shouldn't be included in the syllabus,” he said.

The shuttlecock expert also blamed the media for not giving much coverage to the sport. “When I flip through the sports pages in the newspaper, I see lots of reports on horse racing. The press seldom reports shuttlecock matches.” The popularity of shuttlecock can be boosted if the media have more coverage on the sport, he said.

However, Anthony Lee Ka-lun, a university student who has been playing shuttlecock for 13 years, said there could not be big publicity for the sport because the number of talents was small. “Even the coaches are below standard. How can the sport be passed down?” Lee asked.

He said it was inevitable that resources and support for the sport were inadequate as there were few skilful players and Hong Kong had never won any significant awards in international shuttlecock events. “Without public recognition, no wonder the government allocates only limited amount of resources into shuttlecock.”

But Lee is convinced that the interest in the sport can permeate the community little by little. Some teachers, for example, have turned to him for help. “I'm glad they've come to me. After learning the skills from me, they can teach their students in turn,” he said.

Tse Kam-fat, a physical education teacher in Lui Cheung Kwong Lutheran Primary School , is enthusiastic about promoting the sport. Being a shuttlecock open league player himself, Tse introduced the sport to his students in 1999, the first year he taught in the school.

“Although it was our first year to take part in the inter-school competition, we won the championship. Ever since, we've been participating in many different competitions every year,” Tse said.

Over the past six years, the school has won in 29 contests, including individual and team matches.

Shuttlecock is widely promoted to students in the school. The sport is publicised in the school's Chinese cultural day as it is a kind of quintessence of Chinese culture, Tse said, adding that he hoped students would get to know shuttlecock through more channels.

“During recess or after school, groups of students can be seen clustered around playing shuttlecock. It is our school's characteristic,” he said.

The sports atmosphere has enveloped the school naturally. “When some of the students win prizes in competitions, it will certainly raise others' interest in shuttlecock. Some of the excellent players may give tips to their younger schoolmates on the skills. It is this kind of sharing, learning and playing together among schoolmates that makes shuttlecock very popular in the school,” Tse said.

The school's headmaster, Hui Ming-kin, attributed the students' accomplishments to the school's own promotional effort as the government did not provide any fund for promotion.

The school has taken a lot of measures to back the sport. “We rely on persistent training to keep up the standard of our students,” Hui said. The school's shuttlecock team practises twice a week, with each session lasting two hours.

Hui said financial support and rewards to students were necessary. “A part of our education fund is used for supporting the sport in our school. It includes awarding some outstanding shuttlecock players and paying all the necessary expenditure,” he said.

Despite the fact that the campaign for shuttlecock kicking in primary schools is considerably successful, the promotion aimed at adults is yet to show any promising result. “The LCSD has put effort in promoting the sport in primary schools but that among adults is absolutely not enough,” said Liu Hoi-yan, a university student who has been playing in an amateur shuttlecock team for three years.

But unlike Liu, Lee is optimistic about the development of the sport. He said he found more students playing the sport on his campus at the Chinese University of Hong Kong . “In the Fu Yuen Kwok Cup, I can observe that players are improving and they become more and more indulged in it year by year. I'm really glad to see that,” he said. Fu Yuen Kwok Cup is an annual competition of a series of sports among the halls of the university's Chung Chi College , which includes shuttlecock matches. The halls will also organise their own contests of shuttlecock kicking after the cup.

He called on shuttlecock fans to help push the sport. “Because of the current situation, it's hard to urge any organisation or the government to do anything. Somehow it has to rely on us to promote the sport,” he said.

He has been teaching the sport and passing on the skills to the players in his university. “Just take my hall as an example, more and more of us are kicking shuttlecock.”

Lee said he would come back and continue to promote the sport in the university after graduation. “I will try to influence as many people as possible.” He is passionate about the sport. “I'll play it until the day I die. It's a lifelong sport.”