Three EdUHK athletes share memories from inter-collegiate competitions

Like many other aspects of people’s lives, outdoor and sports activities have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic that started in early 2020. Inter-collegiate competitions held by the University of Sports Federation of Hong Kong (USFHK) have been no exception. In the past two years, all sports competitions among tertiary institutions in Hong Kong were cancelled, suspended or rescheduled. This year, inter-collegiate sport activities have been partially allowed from June onward, as the pandemic situation has slightly improved. The University won six awards in the inter-collegiate competitions finally, with the women’s badminton team successfully winning the championships twice in a row. The Annual Prize Presentation Ceremony was held on 31 July.

Regardless of the pandemic, EdUHK athletes have continued to make use of every opportunity to prepare themselves for open competitions. Having missed the opportunity to show their sporting prowess for so long, EdUHK athletes took advantage of the narrow window in May and June to compete – in teams or as individuals – with representatives from other higher institutions.

Cheung Tsz-ting, team captain of the women’s athletics team (2021-22), has been a member of the University’s team with a focus on the high jump since her first year. Tsz-ting completed her Bachelor of Education (Honours) (Physical Education) programme from the Department of Health and Physical Education in the 2021/22 academic year. In mid-June, she represented the University to compete in the inter-collegiate games for the last time.

“The pandemic has disturbed our training schedule, and my physical condition was not really good during the competition. This year is very special to me as I took up the captain role. I made more observations about my team members. It was unlucky that many members of the athletics team were suffering from injuries. To replace the wounded, we invited athletes from other university sports teams to play in the track and field games. I am delighted that they were more than willing to help. Even though the results were not very satisfactory, I was impressed by our EdUHK sportsmen, who always show a sense of cooperation and collegiality,” said Tsz-ting. After fervent competition with other university teams, EdUHK’s women’s athletics team finished sixth in the USFHK Competition.

Chan Ka-hon joined the University’s volleyball team during his first year of studies. He said the inter-university volleyball competition held by USFHK was last held in 2020 before it was resumed in June this year. “This year, our team was finally ranked at sixth position. Although the EdUHK volleyball team is not very strong, we are proud of our team spirit and attitude of never giving up. Our routine training is very intensive which stresses on building muscle, strength and stamina, to help us put up a strong defence,” Ka-hon said.

After obtaining a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Sports Science and Coaching degree, Ka-hon continued to complete his Postgraduate Diploma in Education at EdUHK. He will start teaching physical education in a primary school in September. 

Cheung Hei-ling, vice-captain of the women’s table tennis team (2021-22), has represented EdUHK numerous times when competing in team events since her second year. She discovered her affection for the sport as a second-year student in secondary school. Hei-ling was very glad that the inter-collegiate table tennis competitions went ahead in May and June as scheduled, even though sports activities have been hit hard by the pandemic in the first few months of this year.

“This year, our team finished in eighth place in the overall ranking. I find it morale-boosting having elite table tennis players like Doo Hoi-kem and Lee Ho-ching in our team, although they have a very packed training and competition schedule and are not always able to represent EdUHK,” Hei-ling said.

While Hei-ling is leaving her table tennis team, she cherishes that EdUHK’s table tennis team, like the University’s volleyball team, always goes all-out for a win whenever they are competing with other school teams. She has already finished her Bachelor of Education (Honours) (Secondary) in Mathematics programme from the Department of Mathematics and Information Technology and will become a mathematics teacher at a secondary school this September.

Students and coaches of all EdUHK sports teams are strengthening their training regimes to prepare themselves for future competitions. They are looking forward to a full recovery of inter-collegiate competitions when the pandemic begins to subside. By then, as always, EdUHK athletes will make an all-out effort to compete for medals with other university teams.

Awards won by EdUHK in this year’s USFHK inter-collegiate competitions: