Golf introduced to Hong Kong Special Olympics with Club's help

20 June 2008

The 32nd Hong Kong Special Olympics Golf Competition was held today (20 June) at the Jockey Club Kau Sai Chau Public Golf Course, as part of a support package being provided by The Hong Kong Jockey Club to the Hong Kong Special Olympics team to promote golf to people with intellectual disabilities and organise golf training programmes for its athletes. More than 70 local athletes participated in today's event to contest championships in three different competitions.

The Club has long been committed to promoting sports to people with disabilities. Golf is a low intensity sport that can be played more easily than most by people with disabilities, particularly those with Down's Syndrome, who are usually excluded from most types of sports. In view of this, the Club has been providing funding to the Hong Kong Special Olympics to promote golf to people with intellectual disabilities and discover talented players. It has also arranged coaching and training facilities for the team at the Jockey Club Kau Sai Chau Public Golf Course.

The Club's funding additionally covers the hosting of local golf competitions for people with intellectual disabilities and the organisation of a train-the-trainer course that targets teachers at special schools and university students studying Special Education. The purpose is to provide these present or future teachers with basic golf knowledge and encourage them to promote the sport to their students.

In October 2007, a Hong Kong delegation of nine intellectually disabled golfers competed at the 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Shanghai with support from the Club, and achieved the remarkable result of winning three gold medals, three silver and one bronze.

The 32nd Hong Kong Special Olympics Golf Competition marks the first time golf has been introduced to the Hong Kong Special Olympics events. The competition includes (Three Personal Challenges) for athletes who have not received golf training before; (Five Personal Challenges) for athletes who have undergone golf training and (Nine-hole Team Challenge) for both able and disabled trained athletes. It aims to introduce the sport to people with intellectual disabilities and let them test their skills. Out of today's 70-plus participating athletes, almost half were people who had not received golf training before. Club Executive Director of Charities, William Y Yiu, said the Club hoped the competition would attract more intellectually disabled people to take part in the sport in future, so they could enhance their self-confidence and realise their potential.