Club supports "Run with Your Heart" to promote sports development

31 December 2009

Five teams of employees from The Hong Kong Jockey Club welcomed in 2010 by joining the "Run with Your Heart" charity relay run at Sha Tin Sports Ground.  The annual event, sponsored again this time by the Club, is an eight-hour relay race held each 31 December to herald the New Year.

Executive Director of Corporate Development Kim Mak said at the opening ceremony that the Club was happy to sponsor "Run with Your Heart" for the third time as it was a very meaningful event.  "It not only helps raise funds for the needy and promotes the health benefits of sport, but it also aligns closely with the Club's commitment of supporting Hong Kong sports development and charity activities," he commented.

As well as sponsoring the event, the Club encourages its staff members to participate in the relay run.  More than 50 employees took up the challenge this time, comprising both regular employee volunteers and young students of the Apprentice Jockeys' School.  An exhibition showcasing the Club's 125-year history and its major contributions to the community was also staged at the relay venue.

The Club has long been committed to supporting local sports development and has played a prominent role in recent major sporting events.  In 2008 it made it possible for Hong Kong to stage the equestrian events of the Beijing 2008 Olympic and Paralympics by creating world-class equestrian facilities as well as providing professional services and support.  Since then, the Club has continued its financial support to The Hong Kong Jockey Club Equestrian Team, an initiative that paid off last October when its team members claimed Hong Kong's first-ever equestrian medals, one gold and two bronze, at the 11th National Games of the People's Republic of China.

The 2009 East Asian Games staged in Hong Kong also had strong support from the Club.  Recently, the Club has pledged further support for the 16th Asian Games to be held in Guangzhou in November 2010.  It is designing and building venues for the equestrian events of the Games, as well as offering supporting and professional services.

Over the years, Club donations have helped create many major sports facilities in the city, including the Hong Kong Sports Institute, the refurbished Hong Kong Stadium, Kowloon Park sports complex, Kau Sai Chau Public Golf Course and many of the city's public swimming pools.  The Club also provided funding recently to The Chinese University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University to establish a joint Sports Medicine and Health Sciences Centre and operate it for the first three years.