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SCMP Reporter

You can get hurt when windsurfing, but that does not detract from the pleasure it affords.

'It felt scary when I first tried it. You fall off and plunge into the water. But it doesn't hurt much - not if you don't ram the rocks or fall on the board anyway,' said Sophia Kwok Tung-kin.

Sophia was one of 50 youngsters out of 800 participants in last year's Youth Windsurfing Promotion Scheme chosen to receive intensive training by the Windsurfing Association.

  Some of the students will be elected to the Youth Squad of the Hong Kong team.

'It is an exciting sport. It is so cool when you are struggling out there in the water, or even watching on the shore,' Sophia says.

Last Sunday she raced against her Development Squad team mates, as well as the members of the Hong Kong team and other veteran windsurfers at Tai Mei Tuk.

Sophia likes racing - racing against herself, her rivals and the wind. The competitive atmosphere pushes her to her physical limits, she says.

'You can learn a lot in a race. You feel the pressure, but it is how you improve the level of your game.' For teammate Chan Chor-kwai, windsurfing is not just a sport; he - and his friends - use their boards to travel to favoured spots for outings.

'We've been to the outlying islands near Stanley. It took us 20 minutes to get there when the wind was fine. We ate and played there. You feel extraordinarily good when you get somewhere with your own effort,' he says.

The furthest point they have reached was Po Toi Island, which took them over an hour.

'Even in the chilliest temperatures, when the waves rise high above your head, you feel you just want to conquer the elements,' he said.

Despite the intensive weekly training programmes during his hectic Form Five year, the youngster's enthusiasm for the sport is still growing.

'I don't find it a sacrifice at all. We spend almost all school holidays and every weekend windsurfing. I can find nothing better to do. I would have wasted my weekends if I didn't go for the training.

'It a bit scary when the wind roars, but you soon feel at home,' Chor-kwai added.

The training is much more than a physical effort - it is a tough mind game too.

'You have to use the wind. You learn how to advance as the wind changes its speed and direction. It takes different techniques and tactics, and it trains your mind. This is what makes it challenging,' said the 17-year-old, who regards himself as a beginner in the sport.

At times, he made mistakes - harmless but embarrassing ones - when he tried to show off his skills.

'I was flattered when people watched me head towards the barbecue pits in Stanley. The wind was so great that I just panned in full speed without paying attention to what was ahead of me. I didn't expect to end up ramming the beach, but I did,' Chor-kwai recalled.

Thirteen-year-old Lau Ming-hin, one of the youngest members in the Development Squad, enjoyed the sport as a team-yet-individual sport.

'You feel a spirit of camaraderie when you set off as a group, but when you are out there, you can only count on yourself. You feel so proud when you conquer your fear and the wind,' he said.

But for the youngsters in the Development Squad, their immediate goal was to breeze into the Youth Squad of the Hong Kong team, like 17-year-old Ng Keung, who also started by joining the youth scheme.

  'I like the action of the game. It's swift and it looks gorgeous,' said Keung who aims to represent Hong Kong in international races.

 This year's Youth Windsurfing Promotion Scheme, the sixth, runs from June to September. Over 1,000 students have registered for the four-month programme. The scheme, co-organised by the Urban Council, the Regional Council, the Education Department and the Windsurfing Association of Hong Kong, provides basic windsurfing training to youngsters under 18.



Kings of wind and waves