Sports

Hong Kong Women’s Rugby has come a long way since building it from the ground up. Starting from only participating in one Asia tour per year, to debuting at the 2017 Women's Rugby World Cup in Ireland. According to World Rugby, the Hong Kong Women's Rugby team is now ranked 23rd in the world and is the only team lead by a female head coach in the competition. "Hong Kong women’s development has been improved in the last 5 years on an international level and local level," says Chan Leong-Sze Royce, Women's forward’s coach and ex-national player. Hong Kong National Women's 7s team and 15s team has obtained significant achievements in the last couple of years. Hong Kong Sports Institution (HKSI) has funded the Women's 7s team as a full-time training squad in 2013. "10 years ago we have one tour per year. Players train six weeks before one tour, and after the tour, you dismiss and go back to your class, and train with your coach." said Christy Cheng, Captain of National 7s team. Now, the Hong Kong 7s program has since become Cheng's full-time job. However, there are still players from the 15s team who has to work for a nine to five job besides playing for the National. Cheng hopes that the media can give more exposure to the women's rugby scene, hence benefits more players to be contracted and get resources that are required to focus solely on sports. "The 15s team has also been significant in terms of development, where in the past, there was probably only one team for Hong Kong, whereas now we can talent seek and build two teams that are contenders on the international level," said Jo Hull, Hong Kong National Women's Rugby Head Coach, at the open training which - …

20-year-old football fanatic, Tse Pak-hoi Tonny, had anticipated the VR live football match streaming experience for long, which eventually happened in the 2018 Russia World Cup last Summer. It was the first time ever immersive technology kicked into the field of football. Last Summer, the 2018 World Cup worked with Oculus, a US-based VR technology company, to offer VR live-streaming of matches through Oculus Go, the company's own VR  headset goggles. Fox sports live-streamed four World Cup matches for free on Oculus Venue, while BBC Sports VR app broadcasted 33 live matches. The most ambitious of all went to Spanish company, Telemundo Deportes VR, which covered 64 live World Cup matches with paid TV subscriptions. As an experienced viewer who watches local and international live football matches four to five times each month both on TV and at scene, Mr. Tse explained he felt clueless and confused after having his first trial with a short 360 video of Madrid versus Juventus in the 2017 Champions League Final from Fox Soccer online. "The very first thing that I immediately knew when the game started was I did not know what to focus on. There were too many things happening around," said Mr. Tse. Chief operating officer of VR Educate, Ko Ping-yeung, explained the VR experience of a live-streamed sports game is different from what usual VR experience can offer because the nature of sports games viewing and playing video games are different. "You cannot think of them as the same thing. In VR videos and gameplays, they choreographed animated characters with a fictional plot, which users are guaranteed to experience interactions. However, I guess for live sports, there is probably not much you can do beforehand except making sure you have the equipment you need to make things as real as …

Jeff Tsang Pui-san, a 19-year-old Hongkonger, seldom exercises. The only chance he gets to work out is during his daily commute, running from his home to the metro station for about 10 minutes. "I live in Cheung Sha Wan, a densely populated district in Hong Kong. Although there is a sports ground near my home, it is usually occupied by trainings as well as athletic meets," Mr. Tsang said. "When it is opened to (the) public, it would be packed with people. This makes it difficult for me to jog there." Mr. Tsang’s level of physical activity is far below the standard recommended by the Hong Kong government, that is, to exercise at least 30 minutes a day. Like Mr. Tsang, one-third of the respondents in a  survey conducted by the Chinese University of Hong Kong. said they rarely or did not exercise in the past six months. Yet according to the Planning Department, 2.3 % of the land, equivalent to twice the size of Hong Kong International Airport, is zoned for recreation and sports. An international study conducted by Professor James Sallis of the Department of Family Medicine and Public Health at the University of California found that urban planning is an important element to encourage people to exercise. The findings also indicated residents who live in activity-friendly environments could achieve 68 to 89 minutes more physical activities a week than others. The report said that people who live in walkable neighbourhoods that are densely populated, have interconnected streets, and are close to shops, services, restaurants, public transport, and parks, tend to be more physically active than those in less walkable areas. This is because a less car-dependent lifestyle means people are more likely to walk. Apart from safety, jobs and access to services, Paul Zimmerman, a district councillor …