Despite returning home empty-handed, two local speed skaters said their participation in the Asian Winter Games was an 'eye-opening experience'.
Cordia Tsoi Po-yee, 14, and Christy Ren, 15, had dreamed of taking on world- class competitors and they got their chance in Kangwon, South Korea, last month.
They were part of the Hong Kong speed-skating squad who were making their debut at the prestigious, multi-sport extravaganza. Although they did not win any medals, the girls had one consolation - they beat their Taiwanese opponents, who enjoy better training facilities than their counterparts in the SAR.
'There are only two venues in Hong Kong which meet international standards. But they are so crowded we don't have room to practise,' Po-yee, from Canadian International School, said.
The two teenagers have to wake up as early as 4 am and practise for about two hours before the ice rinks are opened to the public. 'After spending more than an hour on warm-up exercises and basic training, we only have about 30 minutes for speed skating. That's not enough,' Christy, from French International School, said.
The two facilities - at Festival Walk, Kowloon Tong, and Cityplaza, Tai Koo Shing - are mainly used by the public and the Hong Kong Skating Union gets little government support. Despite these obstacles, the teenagers had encouraging re sults in the 500 metre and 1000 metre short-track events. Christy clocked 58.39 seconds and two minutes, 3.85 seconds, and Po-yee 58.65 seconds and 2:07.49, respectively.
Po-yee started figure skating at the age of 11, and moved on to speed skating last year.