Jockey Club Ice Hockey Generation Next programme to nurture young talent

01/12/2016

Ice hockey has steadily been gaining popularity in Hong Kong in recent years. To provide the city’s youth with an opportunity to build lifelong participation in the sport and nurture young talent, The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust has made a donation to the Hong Kong Amateur Hockey Club (HKAHC) to implement a three-year Jockey Club Ice Hockey Generation Next programme, so that they will embrace Olympic values including friendship and fair play, during training sessions that follow international rules.

Today (12 January), the Club’s Head of Charities Projects Rhoda Chan joined Secretary for Home Affairs Lau Kong-wah and Chairman of Hong Kong Amateur Hockey Club Thomas Wu, at the launch of the Jockey Club Ice Hockey Generation Next programme.

Ms Chan explained that the Jockey Club Ice Hockey Generation Next programme aims to provide opportunities for young people to get a taste of hockey irrespective of their economic status. Above all it seeks to help them cultivate a positive character, becoming confident and determined.

“We believe sport can help local residents lead healthier lives and create positive values in the community, most especially by helping youth develop emotional resilience and physical health,” she said. “The Club has developed an innovative concept to promote sport for all over the next few years. We would like to use innovation in sport to motivate individuals at all levels to take part, ranging from children to young people, adults, the elderly and the disabled. By injecting fun into sport, our intention is to arouse people’s interest in taking up physical activity and to encourage them to make exercise a regular habit.”

During the three years of the Jockey Club Ice Hockey Generation Next programme, supported by a HK$4.7 million Charities Trust donation, a total of 180 players aged from 13 to 18 who possess basic ice hockey skills will receive intensive nine-month training to enhance their skills, including two to three training sessions or games per month.  In addition, special sessions will be conducted every two months to enhance members’ understanding of the rules, and they will play the role of ambassadors to introduce the sport to the public. The ultimate aim of the programme is to build the character of local young players through the systematic training and inspire them to embrace Olympism.

The majority of ice hockey training in the city is non-body checking in nature, unlike games played in the international arena in which strong physical contact is often a feature. The Jockey Club Ice Hockey Generation Next programme will bridge such a gap between junior development of the game in Hong Kong and international competitive standards.  For details, please refer to HKAHC’s website: http://www.hkahc.com/.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club
Founded in 1884, The Hong Kong Jockey Club is a world-class horse racing operator and Hong Kong’s largest community benefactor, as well as one of Asia’s most prestigious membership clubs. Operating as a not-for-profit organisation, the Club allocates its surplus funds for charitable and community projects. In 2014/15, its donations reached a record HK$3.87 billion, and in the last decade alone it supported over 1,300 projects. The Club is also Hong Kong’s largest single taxpayer, contributing a record HK$20.05 billion in 2014/15. With about 70% of its revenue given back to society every year through donations and tax contributions, The Hong Kong Jockey Club delivers a significantly higher return to the community than any other racing and/or sports betting organisation in the world. As a socially responsible organisation, the Club helps Government combat illegal betting and advocates responsible gambling. The Club is also one of Hong Kong’s largest employers with over 24,000 full-time and part-time staff. Committed to global excellence and giving back to society, the Club is always “riding high together for a better future” with the people of Hong Kong.