Sport in Hong Kong
| Demographics and culture of Hong Kong |
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| Demographics |
| Culture |
| Other Hong Kong topics |
Sports in Hong Kong are a significant part of its culture. Due to British influence going as far back as the late 19th century, Hong Kong had an earlier introduction to Western athletics compared to other Asia regions.
In terms of participation, jogging, swimming, badminton, basketball, fitness, football(soccer) have the most participants.[1] In terms of favourites, badminton (27.5%), swimming (24%), association football (soccer) (18.4%), basketball (9.8%), and tennis (3.8%) are the most popular sports.[2]
Golf is an increasingly popular sport, despite the relatively few number of courses in the city. In 2009, Hong Kong successfully organised the
History
The Hong Kong Open golf tournament is Hong Kong's oldest professional sporting event.
The primary sport in Hong Kong has been football due mainly to British influence going as far back as the late 19th century. The first documented team came from the "Chinese Football Team" of 1904, which began as a club called the "South China Athletic Club" founded by Mok Hing.
Financial Secretary John James Cowperthwaite was one of the first government official to assist Hong Kong going into the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne Australia with a contribution estimate of HK$10,000.[4]
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A large sports park is currently being constructed on the site of the old Kai Tak Airport. Once completed, Kai Tak Sports Park will be the largest sports venue in Hong Kong and will include a 50,000 seat Main Stadium, an Indoor Sports Center, a Public Sports Ground and multiple open spaces.[5]
Transition
After World War II the
A variety of sports are available in Hong Kong, with most having their own association, and many clubs and groups, along with provision by bodies such as
Participant sports
There are many sports available in Hong Kong for participation by residents, including:
Spectator sports
Badminton
Badminton is one of the most popular sports in Hong Kong.
Some of the notable current professionals includes athletes such as Tse Ying Suet/Tang Chun Man in the mixed doubles category reaching the highest world ranking of 2, and Ng Ka Long Angus in the Men's single discipline with the highest ranking of 6.
Basketball
Basketball is one of the most popular sports in Hong Kong.[10][2]
Hong Kong's national basketball team regularly qualifies for the FIBA Asia Cup. In club competitions, its team Regal won the 1997 ABC Champions Cup.
Hong Kong hosted the official 1983 Asian Basketball Championship.
Cricket
Cricket in Hong Kong has been played since at least 1841. Like most cricketing nations, it was part of the British Empire. The national cricket team has been active since 1866, and the
Dragon boat racing
Dragon boat racing is one of the most popular sports in Hong Kong.[10] The traditional Chinese sport of
Football
Football is one of the most popular sports in Hong Kong, with Hong Kong Premier League being the only fully professional sports league in the city.[10][2] Lunar New Year Cup, which is held in Hong Kong Stadium, is a famous international football tournament hosted in Hong Kong.
Formula E
The
Golf
Golf has been played in Hong Kong ever since the establishment of the Hong Kong Golf Club in 1879. The club, which has hosted the Hong Kong Open every year since 1959, has two sites - Fanling, which is home to three championship-calibre courses, and Deep Water Bay, a short nine hole course in southern Hong Kong Island. Hong Kong Golf Club is considered among the premier golf clubs in Asia and, despite being a private members' club, is open to visitors from Mondays through Fridays.
Horse racing
Horse racing is by far the most popular spectator sport in Hong Kong and generates the largest
Lacrosse
Hong Kong men's national lacrosse team is one of Asia's top teams. It has qualified for the World Lacrosse Championship for the fifth consecutive time.
Hong Kong has sent national teams to the Under-19 World Lacrosse Championships.[13]
In October 2021, Hong Kong's women's lacrosse team won bronze Dalmatia Cup in
Rugby union
Rugby is long established, partly as a result of its being a British colony. In contrast to the People's Republic of China, it has had a continuous existence dating back over a hundred years, and is most notable for its sevens tournaments.
The
Organisations
Hong Kong Games
The Hong Kong Games is a territorial multi-sport event first held in 2007. The 18 districts of Hong Kong are the participating units.
Hong Kong Marathon
The Hong Kong Marathon takes place every February and draws as many as 30,000 participants.
International sporting events
Hong Kong competes separately from China in various international sporting events. Hong Kong also had its own team during British administration prior to 1997.
Asian Games
Hong Kong has been participating in the Asian Games since the 1954 Games. The most recent participation was the 2022 Asian Games. With the Government's support, the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China submitted Hong Kong's bid for hosting the 2006 Asian Games to the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) in 2000. Hong Kong lost the bid to Doha at the OCA general meeting held in Busan, South Korea on 12 November 2000.
East Asian Games
Hong Kong has participated in every East Asian Games since 1993, being a member of the East Asian Games Association (EAGA). The territory hosted the 2009 East Asian Games.
Commonwealth Games
Hong Kong competed at the
Summer Olympics
Hong Kong has participated in all
The territory participated under the new name and its new regional flag for the first time in the
The equestrian events of the 2008 Summer Olympics was held in Hong Kong. This marked the second time the same edition of the Olympic Games being hosted by two National Olympic Committees, namely by that of the People's Republic of China and Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Sports Institute at Fo Tan, Sha Tin was the site of the show jumping and dressage events. The cross-country phase of the three day event was held in Sheung Shui over both Beas River Equestrian Centre and Fanling Golf Course.
Winter Olympics
Hong Kong participated its first Winter Olympic Games in the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City, USA. Hong Kong has not won a medal at the Winter Games.
Paralympics
The first appearance of Hong Kong was in
Hong Kong Sevens
The Hong Kong Sevens were established in 1976 and since held in March every year except for 1997 and 2005. It is considered the premier tournament on the
World Equestrian Games
Hong Kong participated in its first World Equestrian Games (WEG) in 2014 in Normandy France in Endurance, Show Jumping, and para-Dressage.
Gay Games
Hong Kong was announced as the host city of the 11th Gay Games, at a gala event at the Hotel de Ville in Paris, on 30 October 2017. They won with a clear majority of votes, in the first round of voting. It is the first time that the Gay Games will be held in Asia.
The "longlist" of cities interested in bidding to host Gay Games XI in 2022 was announced in April 2016.[15] An unprecedented seventeen cities were interested in bidding. On 30 June 2016, the Federation of Gay Games announced that eleven cities had submitted their Letter of Intent to formally bid.[16] Anaheim, Atlanta, Des Moines, Madison, Minneapolis and San Antonio decided not to pursue their option to bid. On 31 July 2016, 9 cities submitted their second registration fee to remain in the bid process. Both Cape Town and Tel Aviv dropped out at this stage, stating an intention to bid for Gay Games XII in 2026. On 30 November 2016, Bid Books were submitted by eight candidate cities with Los Angeles dropping out at this stage.
See also
References
- ^ Consultancy Study on Sport for All - Participation Patterns of Hong Kong People in Physical Activities - Summary Report
- ^ a b c Infographic - Asia Research Poll: Most Popular Sports in Asia | EYE ON ASIA
- Home Affairs Bureau. October 2010. Archived(PDF) from the original on 4 December 2013. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
- ^ ISBN 962-209-766-9.
- ^ "Government awards contract for Kai Tak Sports Park (with photos)". www.info.gov.hk. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
- ^ Sport in Hong Kong
- ^ "Welcome! | Hong Kong Activities". Archived from the original on 25 May 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
- ^ Sports to do in Hong Kong Archived 30 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Riding Schools in Hong Kong
- ^ a b c Sport in Hong Kong
- ^ Where to watch sports in Hong Kong Archived 25 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Rory Boland (GoHongKong.about.com). 29 November 2015, Retrieved 19 January 2016.
- ^ "Hong Kong's hardcore gamblers". CNNMoney. Archived from the original on 8 March 2018. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
- ^ Record 23 lacrosse teams to play at Men's Under-21 World Championship Ali Iveson (Inside the Games), 30 May 2021. Accessed 9 June 2021.
- ^ Andrew McNicol (4 October 2021). "Hong Kong women's lacrosse team seal bronze in first international event in more than two year". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
- ^ "Archived copy". www.facebook.com. Archived from the original on 2 June 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Archived copy". www.facebook.com. Archived from the original on 2 June 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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