Rugby veteran teaches students to face ups and downs in life through the sport

Mr Zanio Yong Chi-fung graduated from the then Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd), predecessor of EdUHK, in 2002. After graduation, he kept strong ties with his alma mater by volunteering to take up various coaching positions while working as a full-time PE teacher. Between 2003 and 2006, Zanio came back to HKIEd to study a part-time degree programme. In February this year, Zanio joined the University as a full-time staff member of the Department of Health and Physical Education.

Mr Zanio Yong Chi-fung has been attached to rugby throughout most of his life, ever since he started to play the sport when he was still a secondary school student. When he studied at the then Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd), the predecessor of EdUHK, he was a player-cum-coach of the school’s rugby team. After graduating, Zanio continued to coach HKIEd’s Rugby Team in his spare time while working as a PE teacher at a local secondary school. His passion for rugby is limitless. In addition to serving EdUHK, he taught rugby to different groups of people including young prisoners and firemen, and shared his rugby-playing experiences with a wide variety of audiences on numerous occasions.

“When I was in sixth form, I wanted to try a sport that was not that mainstream in Hong Kong. That’s why I chose rugby,” Zanio recalled. HKIEd had formed its first rugby team just before Zanio started to study physical education and mathematics at the institute in 1999. “When I entered HKIEd, I’d been a member of Hong Kong’s Rugby Team for a while. I stayed with the team until the 2002 Asian Games in Busan. Because of my experience in the sport, I joined the school’s rugby team not only as a player but also as a coach,” the rugby veteran said.

Zanio maintained strong ties with his alma mater after graduating in 2002. He volunteered to coach HKIEd’s Rugby Team for almost ten years until 2010, which he followed up by being the coach of his alma mater’s Men’s Football Team for another ten years. He also came back to study a part-time degree programme between 2003 and 2006.

Apart from training his fellow juniors to play rugby, Zanio has been serving the community through his knowledge and expertise of the sport. He was the head coach of the Hong Kong National Touch Team between 2015 and 2020. He also coached the Hong Kong Women’s Seven-a-side Rugby Team for six years, leading it to seize the bronze medal in the 2009 East Asian Games and second runner-up in the 2010 Asian Games. To spread the sport, Zanio taught people, including young prisoners, firefighters and teachers, to play rugby via various workshops and training classes.

Zanio joined the University in February this year as a full-time staff member of the Department of Health and Physical Education. Zanio has led his alma mater’s rugby and then-football teams for two decades, making EdUHK a familiar place for Zanio to work at. In his new role, he is responsible for coaching EdUHK’s Women’s Rugby Team, and also acts as the assistant coach of its Men’s Football Team.

“Here is where I have been enlightened by many sports experts and professors. Their lives have influenced me. Now, it is time I pass on what I learnt from them to the next generation,” Zanio said. “To many people in the city, life has changed a lot in recent years with the distance between people widening for various reasons. I hope I can teach my students how to connect with one another through sports.” The alumni-turned-staff wants students to learn how to face ups and downs in life through rugby training and competitions: “When we win, we need to stay humble. When loss comes, we should stay on our course.”

Zanio is a fan of sports activity. “I also love football and was a member of the HKIEd’s football team the first time I studied here. We were overjoyed when the school team won the intercollegiate football competition,” he recollected. That was only one of the many memorable moments he has at the University. “My wife was my classmate at HKIEd. Our wedding party was held at CLP-11, the biggest hall at the Taipo campus. We were the first couple to hold a wedding party at the hall,” Zanio proudly shared.

The head coach of the present Men’s Rugby Team of the University, also an alumni, is coincidentally a student Zanio taught at a secondary school. “This is a testament to passing on the torch,” he said. Zanio feels excited about coming back to work at EdUHK. He declared: “My most important mission is nurturing students at EdUHK with all the good qualities I have been nurtured by, from the many brilliant teachers here.”