A Celebration of Coaching Excellence
Over one hundred Hong Kong’s top coaches were honoured at the recent annual Hongkong Bank Foundation (HBF) Coaching Awards Presentation. Held on 17 April 2011 at the InterContinental Hong Kong, this glittering gala event attracted a record number of 280 guests from all aspects of the sporting community gathering to pay tribute to coaches who worked tirelessly behind the scenes in 2010.
.jpg) To recognise the many ways in which coaches excel, the awards were presented in six categories, namely Coach of the Year Awards, Distinguished Services Award for Coaching, Coach Education Award, Coaching Excellence Awards, Best Team Sport Coach Award and Community Coach Recognition Awards. The Hong Kong Coaching Committee (HKCC) received 155 nominations for these prestigious titles, from which 104 coaches were ultimately selected for recognition.
The presentation was deeply honoured to enjoy the support of many distinguished guests, including Raymond Young, Permanent Secretary for Home Affairs; Pang Chung, Hon. Secretary General of the Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China (SF&OC); Teresa Au, Head of Corporate Sustainability Asia Pacific Region of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (HSBC), Dr Eric Li, Chairman of the Hong Kong Sports Institute (HKSI) and Professor Frank Fu, Chairman of the HKCC to officiate the ceremony.
In his welcome speech Professor Frank Fu said, “A record high of 155 nominations have been received this year, showing that the Awards scheme has become one of the largest and most anticipated events in the local sporting calendar.” He also expressed his gratitude to the government for its support of the Awards, as well as the HBF for its generous and continuous funding for the Coach Education Programme (CEP), and Hong Kong’s many National Sports Associations (NSAs) for their continual commitment to coach education.
“Behind every great athlete there is a great coach. Coaches are great people who provide the sound advice, the constant support and encouraging words, but they do not always get the recognition they deserve. That’s why HBF has been providing a total funding of over HK$26 million to the CEP and the Awards since early 1990s.” Teresa Au said.
.jpg) This year, there were five recipients of the Coach of the Year Awards. Cycling coach Shen Jin-kang and Wheelchair Fencing coach Zheng Kang-zhao shared the honour in the senior athletes, individual sport category. Table Tennis coach Li Hui-fen repeated her victory in the senior athletes, team event category. In the junior athletes category, the Coach of the Year Awards for individual sport and team event went to Wushu coach Wong Chi-kwong and Badminton coach Liu Zhi-heng respectively.
Veteran cycling coach Shen Jin-kang won his fifth Coach of the Year title in the senior athletes, individual sport category. Hong Kong cycling team bagged three gold, three silver and one bronze medals at the 16th Asian Games (AG) in Guangzhou, marking a significant milestone for the Hong Kong Cycling team.
Wheelchair Fencing coach, Zheng Kang-zhao received his sixth Coach of the Year title in the senior athletes, individual sport category. Zheng led the wheelchair fencing team to win three gold, one silver and four bronze medals at the IWAS Wheelchair Fencing World Championships 2010, followed by one gold, three silver and five bronze medals at the Asian Para Games in 2010.
Table Tennis coach Li Hui-fen earned her fourth title in the senior athletes, team event category by leading the women’s team to many international successes in 2010, including Cheung Yuk and Jiang Hua-jun who snatched a silver medal in the mixed double at the AG.
In junior athletes, individual sport category, Wushu coach Wong Chi-kwong won his second honour in this category for leading athletes to win three gold and one bronze medals at the 3rd World Junior Wushu Championships.
Badminton coach Liu Zhi-heng was awarded for the title in junior athletes, team event. This is his second time of winning this title. Under his guidance, Lee Chun-hei and Ng Ka-long gained a bronze medal in the men’s doubles at the BWF World Junior Championships 2010 and a silver medal at the Dutch Junior International 2010.
Rowing coach Wong Chi-wai, Sam earned the Distinguished Services Award for Coaching on his long-term commitment to the sport. Wong has served as the Rowing coach of the Hong Kong Rowing Team since 1986, and has trained up many athletes, including Kwan Ki-cheong, Leung Chun-shek, Liao Shun-yin, Lo Ting-wai, So Sau-wah, Tang Chiu-mang and Yung Ka-yan to achieve outstanding performances in major competitions.
With the silver medal at the AG in 2010, Rugby coach Rees Dai drew the attention of judging panel and awarded him with Best Team Sport Coach Award for the first time.
.jpg) To recognise the contribution of coaches in coach education, the Coach Education Award went to Leung Yung-kit, Rambo of the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union (HKRFU) this year. Leung has engaged in the coach education work of HKRFU and also served as the key lecturer and course designer of the coach education programme since 1993. He has been an International Rugby Board Rugby Coach Educator since 2005.
A total of 79 coaches were awarded for the Coaching Excellence Awards for leading athletes or teams to the 4-point level or above according to the Hongkong Bank foundation Coaching Awards “Evaluation Criteria” in 2010. In the category of Community Coach Recognition Awards, a further 24 recipients were honoured from a variety of NSAs, district sports associations and community sports clubs.
The Most Supportive National Sport Association Award for the HBF Coach Accreditation Programme (CAP) was presented to the Hong Kong Wushu Union for nominating the largest group of Wushu coaches enrolled in the CAP in 2010/11, demonstrating its tireless work to promote coach education in Hong Kong.
Organised by the HKCC and funded by the HBF since 1993, the annual HBF Coaching Awards is the only territory-wide programme to commend the achievements of local coaches at all levels, from community coaches to elite-level.
List of Recipients
|
