Advertisement
‘You need friends’: how a sports club set up by UK-based Hong Kong quartet helps fellow migrants cope with stress and adversity through running
- Harbour Sports Club, a UK non-profit set up by Hong Kong migrants, offers support to fellow migrants through running and training together
- The club devised a training programme for the recent Reading Half Marathon, and members enjoyed a group warm-up before the race
Reading Time:6 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
2
Every year the British town of Reading, 70km west of London, hosts the Reading Half Marathon, an event that draws thousands from the local community and beyond.
This year, among the race day cheers and chants, one Cantonese phrase could be heard loud and clear: “Ga yau!”
That is because around 60 of the runners competing in the April 2 event were from Hong Kong, where ga yau, meaning “add oil”, is used as a phrase of encouragement.
Advertisement
The runners were racing under the banner of Harbour Sports Club, a non-profit established in November 2022 that supports new migrants in the UK through sports.
Since the implementation of the British National (Overseas) visa programme scheme, tens of thousands of Hong Kong residents have emigrated to British cities and towns such as London, Bristol, Sheffield and Reading.
Advertisement
But moving somewhere new is never easy, and that is why Michael Ng – along with UK-based Hong Kong friends Nick Tsui, Eric Wong and Simon Cheng – founded Harbour Sports Club.
Advertisement
Select Voice
Choose your listening speed
Get through articles 2x faster
1.25x
250 WPM
Slow
Average
Fast
1.25x