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Celine Sun

Police Tactical Unit members take on gruelling but fun challenges to raise money
Pulling an armoured vehicle using only a cable, fighting off 'attackers' while trying to commandeer a floating bridge in a swimming pool ... members of Hong Kong's Police Tactical Unit were out in force last week to help raise money for Operation Santa Claus.
The day-long drive by the 'Blue Hat Brigade' raised HK$106,521, a record for the annual event, now in its 17th year.
Eighty volunteers representing branches of the Police Tactical Unit  competed in different events, some physically gruelling, others more relaxed, with colleagues and spectators cheering them on.
The competition, held at the unit's Fanling  headquarters on  December 18, opened with teams on stationary rowing machines, trying to reach a 500km target within four hours.
Lau Chun-yip,  a sergeant with  Foxtrot Company, said the event was tougher than daily training. His team placed third.
'Especially in the last 15 minutes, we were  [very tired]. Yet we kept encouraging each other. It created very good team spirit,' said  Sergeant Lau.
On the other side of the venue, a popular event was the 'commander's birthday party', which  required the heads of each team to eat  a cream cake without using their hands.
'At the end, every competitor's face was covered in cream and chocolate topping,' said one of the organisers, station Sergeant Ben Wong Sun-keung.
'It's rare to see your boss like that. We took pictures as they were enjoying the cake.
'The pictures were later auctioned in a charity sale.'
Other games included hauling a 9.5-tonne Saxon armoured vehicle  across the training field.
It was the Saxon's last appearance at the event, as  it will be retired because it does not meet Euro II  emission standards.
The officers also vied  to become 'king of the pool',  in which opposing teams tried to secure a floating mat in the middle of a pool.
Team members rushed along a floating bridge from either side of the pool towards the mat in the middle, using water-filled balloons and water guns to 'attack their enemies' and force them into the water. The last one standing on the bridge or the mat won the game.
'Spectators were allowed to buy 'water grenades' to support their teams and try to hit others,'  Sergeant Wong said. That competition alone raised HK$2,200 through the sale of hundreds of  water balloons.
Officers also raised money from  a charity auction and a barbecue afterwards.
Of the auctioned items, a mini-figure of a Special Duties Unit  member raised HK$2,500 and a long-playing record by Elvis Presley  was sold  for HK$500.
All the proceeds went to Operation Santa Claus.
Organised by the South China Morning Post and RTHK,  Operation Santa Claus, now in its 21st year, is aimed at raising funds for 13 groups. Part of the funds will also go to the  Post's Homes for Hope project to help victims of the May Sichuan   earthquake  rebuild their homes.



Blue Hats don red hats in charity drive