It was a day of frenzied action at the Football Club yesterday when squash players decked out in fancy dress hotfooted it across the courts to raise HK$1.1 million for charity.
The 12th Wing Ding charity contest brought more than 100 squash players to the Happy Valley venue for a seven-hour fund-raiser that ended with an auction and raffle draw.
The squash tournament is one of the most colourful events during Operation Santa Claus, an annual charity appeal organised by the South China Morning Post and RTHK. This year, Operation Santa Claus hopes to raise HK$12 million for 16 Hong Kong-based groups that help the city's most needy.
The Wing Ding tournament has been part of Operation Santa Claus for six years and has collected more than HK$1.6 million for the campaign. The more than HK$500,000 raised last year was a record.
Event organiser Tim Everest said the target this year was HK$1 million. By last night, the event had raised HK$1.1 million.
'It's absolutely awesome. I'm a natural pessimist but I like a nice surprise,' Everest said. 'It's a community effort and I'm thrilled that we broke through the target.'