Perennial girls' champions Heep Yunn School will celebrate a remarkable 20 consecutive Bauhinia Bowl wins when more than 200 of its students attend the awards ceremony at La Salle College tomorrow. 'About one in three of our total student body will be at the ceremony,' said Cheng Suen-ling, Heep Yunn senior mistress.
'It's an important day for us - we are very proud.'
Heep Yunn regained the track and field title, and were also winners in fencing and basketball. The school's dominance comes from a strong team spirit, Ms Cheng said. 'We went all out to defend the title this year. Everyone knew 20 in a row would be special,' said Ms Cheng. 'Our former head mistress Lai Wei-kit always told students that they may not be the best, but they can excel if they try. Every Heep Yunn girl knows the whole school is behind them and will support them no matter what. Our current head mistress Lau Lee Kwok-kin has continued that tradition.'
Three girls from the school will be presented with a cheque for $1,000 each as winners of an Outstanding Athlete Award given to students who have excelled in one sport. In table-tennis, Au Yuen-mei steered her team to the Grade A Division One championship, and in volleyball, Chan Yuen-ting was a key player as Heep Yunn clinched the Grade A Division One beach volleyball and Jing Ying titles. Swimming prodigy Yip Tsz-wa broke school records in both the 100-metre and 200m breaststroke races at the inter-school competition, and achieved the Olympic B standard qualifying time to book her ticket to Athens this summer.
Ms Cheng said: 'Many of the girls are excited for Tsz-wa and have been sending her messages of encouragement.'
Meanwhile, Hong Kong International School (HKIS) will celebrate regaining the co-educational category after finishing runners-up to Island School for the past five years.