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Melanie Ho

Athletics team to stay in Hong Kong because of scheduling issues and pollution concerns
Australia's main athletics squad  will be  in Hong Kong to 'acclimatise' while the world celebrates the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics.
Athletics Australia yesterday denied Beijing's notorious  pollution was the over-riding factor in the decision, saying it was more 'logistical'.
Athletes will fine-tune their preparations in Hong Kong,  watching the August 8 opening ceremony on TV. They will go to Beijing  a few days before the athletics competition starts on August 15.
Australian performance director Max Binnington said the decision to base most of the team in Hong Kong was logistical.
'[Pollution is] an issue any major city has and I understand action is being taken to rectify it,' Binnington said. 'More is being made of it than it will be, although we'll have to wait and see. The main reasons are to acclimatise temperature-wise, and our team can't go in early.'
Binnington said the  team could not be accommodated in Beijing until  August 12 and needed somewhere  to complete  preparations.
'We needed a place to get appropriately acclimatised, similar to Beijing, relatively close,' Binnington said. He added that by choosing Hong Kong,  athletes would have the convenience of being able to finalise their Olympic accreditation because Hong Kong was hosting the equestrian events and would have accreditation centres both in the equestrian village and at the airport.
However, Binnington earlier told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation: 'We have had athletes come back from a recent test event and one   had 10 days off training because of a respiratory problem. We don't want our athletes to be undertaking that sort of risk.'
From August 1, the team of about 30 athletes, coaches and support staff will base their training at Hong Kong University's Stanley Ho Sports Centre in Pok Fu Lam.
They will be joined by about a dozen members of New Zealand's track and field team and Denmark's badminton team. Other teams have expressed an interest in using Hong Kong as a pre-Olympic base, but have not  made a commitment. 'Hong Kong is seen  as a good transition geographically, culturally and climatically,' said HKU Institute of Human Performance director Bruce Abernethy, adding that the teams would focus on acclimatisation and fine-tuning rather than major training.
The facilities at the Stanley Ho Sports Centre are under renovation and will have been brought up to IAAF standard in time for the teams' arrival. Abernethy said the facilities routinely underwent maintenance but work to resurface the track, add floodlights and rework the throwing and jumping facilities was pushed ahead to take advantage of the opportunities offered by visiting Olympic teams. 'I think pollution is a consideration for all of [the teams],' Abernethy said. 'That's an issue for all the athletes preparing for Beijing.'
He  said teams had asked about the similarities between Beijing and Hong Kong, including temperature and humidity factors. Hong Kong's pollution was not necessarily a deterrent. 'The teams coming here are aware of pollution being an issue in Hong Kong,' Abernethy said.



Aussies to skip opening ceremony