First Snow
Sports Team Formed in SubTropical Hong Kong
HONG KONG, CHINA – Media OutReach – April 4, 2018 – Following Hong Kong’s first snow sports
athlete, Arabella Ng, at Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics, Club Med and the Ski Association of Hong Kong have officially signed a four year partnership
agreement, while announcing Hong Kong’s first team with hopes of sending a squad
to the next Winter Game in Beijing 2022 and beyond.
Members
of the HK team train together for the first time in NE China at Club Med Yabuli
with Goodwill Ambassadors Cindy Lee (centre) and Gilbert Lam (centre), the
Secretary General of the HK Ski Association and Club Med executives
The partnership gives the Ski Association
access to Club Med resorts and training facilities across the globe with the
aim of growing snow sports participation in the city at elite and grassroots
level.
The Ski Association of Hong Kong was formed in
2003 to promote the development of snow sports in Hong Kong. It has formulated
a vision to send a multi-disciplinary team to Beijing in 2022 with plans to
send some of the 14 newly-minted elite Hong Kong athletes to International Ski
Federation and Asian Ski Federation competitions across the globe.
Each athlete, between 13 and 21, is assessed
by the Ski Association of Hong Kong, some with the support of Club Med and
ranked according to ability. The best are then selected for the national team
with potential hope for a lifechanging participation at an elite level in their
chosen disciplines from alpine skiing to snowboarding.
“The formation of a Hong Kong snow sports team
has taken us 15 years of hard work. We are delighted with the selection of the
first team to represent Hong Kong and the support of Club Med to make this a
reality,” said Edmund Yue, Chairman of the Ski Association of Hong Kong. “These
young people have dreams and aspirations to be great! The best way to improve
is to love their sport and stick to it. With the Club Med partnership, we are
fulfilling their dreams, and daring to dream of an Olympic journey and beyond! The
most important thing now is for the team just to do what they love, learning
and having fun every day.”
Club Med, the leader in Premium All-Inclusive
snow holidays across the globe, estimates that around 200,000 to 300,000
Hongkongers head to a winter destination every year, making it one of the
highest per capita participation rates in the world.
Sebastien Portes, General Manager for Hong
Kong and Taiwan, said: “In a city that has no snow or mountains, we are excited
to be at the start of the journey of these young athletes. With so many skiers
and snowboarders, we are looking forward to supporting the best athletes who
will represent Hong Kong.”
“This partnership is a natural fit for Club
Med as we nurture these young talents on their journey. We have a growing
portfolio of 23 snow resorts in five countries from Hokkaido to the Alps, one
of the world’s largest ski schools, and access to a challenging variety of
terrain for the Hong Kong team to train on, including former and future Olympic
sites,’ he added.
The four year partnership between the Ski Association of Hong Kong and
Club Med gives:
- Access for the Hong
Kong team and instructors to Club Med faciltiies, equipment, meals and ski
passes across the globe twice a year - Exclusive access to
facilities and preferential rates for four Hong Kong interschool trips which
will be used to identify future talents - Ski uniform logo
sponsorship - Support for the
assessment to any future athlete for the Hong Kong team
The creation of the Interschools trips supported by
Club Med have also been designed to serve the Hong Kong snow sports community
with progressive training with involvement from professional coaches. The Interschools group teaches the children to
master the fundamentals, learn the insights of advance techniques, while
recognizing each player is on their own elite journey, with the best talent
identified for future international competition on the Hong Kong team.
ABOUT CLUB MED
Club Med is the worldwide leader in upscale Premium All-Inclusive
holidays. Guests have the freedom to enjoy the wide variety of services and
activities that our Resorts offer, be it on their own or with others. The
extraordinary Club Med experience includes accommodation with refined comfort,
all gourmet meals, all-day bar and snacking, ski passes and snow sports with
lessons, night entertainment and parties, as well as children’s clubs for all
ages. Guests get to enjoy true quality time with their loved ones knowing that
everything is safe and taken care of. Club Med offers them the chance to
discover amazing moments together, as well as become amazing themselves.
With around 70 resorts located all over the world, 23 being ski
resorts, vacationers may look forward to spending a truly amazing holiday at
exotic locations!
Appendix 1:
Hong Kong’s Inaugural Snow Sports Team
Arabella
Ng, 16, Silver
Audrey
King, 15, Silver
Alexandra
Tse, 13, Silver
Andrea
Cheng, 13, Silver
Emma
Huang, 20, Silver
Chloe
Cornu-Wong, 13, Silver
Jerome
Wong, 16, Gold
Jeremy
Wong, 13, Silver
Lucas
Ng, 14, Silver
Matthew
Lee, 14, Bronze
Otto
Yuji Leung, 12, Bronze
James
Wu, 12, Bronze
David
Leung, 13, Bronze
Nathan
Leung, 13, Bronze
Jack
Archer, 14, Silver
