Land shortage in Hong Kong is a problem of our own making

Barton Lui Pan-to made a bit of history recently: he became the first male athlete to represent Hong Kong at a Winter Olympics.

In one interview, he talked about how proud he was, and of the sacrifices he and his family had made. Although the Hong Kong Skating Union helped fund him at major tournaments, he had to pay his own travel costs to go to many competitions. His skates had to be tailor-made in South Korea and cost HK$20,000.

Then there is the cost in terms of time. Speed skating requires intensive training, and Barton had to travel to Dongguan every day when he was in Hong Kong; he also trained in Seoul.

After he was eliminated in the heats at Sochi, he was open about his limitations in the face of very fierce competition.

He might have done better - and more Hong Kong athletes might have gone to Sochi - if we had better facilities for ice sports. Although Hong Kong has several ice rinks, most are not suitable for Olympic-class events, and none have proper seating for spectators. Their capacity does not even meet demand from people who skate as a pastime.

Things could be different. A couple of years ago, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce proposed an "Ice Centre" to match the facilities found in Taipei, Shanghai and elsewhere in the region. It was a visionary idea. The multi-storey complex would include extensive rink space for leisure, an Olympic-class practice rink, and a multipurpose arena also suitable for things like indoor soccer.

It would accommodate ice hockey, speed skating, figure skating and even curling both for leisure and at the level of international events. So the facility would be a major community hub as well as a centre for competitive sport. It would encourage more people to take part in ice sports. And it would give Hong Kong athletes proper training facilities.