Nominal HK$7,500 subsidy for coaches is ‘better than nothing’, says swimming’s Sherry Tsai
- Three-time Olympian Tsai hopes the government can learn from its mistakes and avoid similar woes for coaches in the future
- Almost 17,000 registered coaches expected to benefit from government’s second round of relief funding for businesses amid the coronavirus pandemic
Swimming coach Sherry Tsai Hiu-wai wants the government to learn from its mistakes and avoid leaving sports coaches out in the cold when providing relief funding for businesses hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic.
After lobbying by concern group Hong Kong Sports Alliance (HKSA), the government on Wednesday announced a subsidy of HK$7,500 to each registered sports coach as part of its second wave of anti-contagion relief measures.
Tsai, a three-time Olympian and now a trainer at Tai Po Swimming Club, said the amount was barely enough for any coach struggling to make ends meet for what is expected to be many months of hardship.
“I would say the amount is better than nothing,” said Tsai, who won a relay medal for Hong Kong at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha. “After the closure of public and school facilities, many swimming coaches, especially those working at teaching level, have no income at all.
“No one can survive with only that amount of money. But we also understand there is limited resources and you cannot ask the government to pay every coach who has been affected by the pandemic.
“However, the government must learn a lesson because similar virus attacks may occur in the future and hopefully there will be better ways of dealing with it and not just closing all the sports facilities. In the meantime, we can only hope for the end of the pandemic as soon as possible so that business for everyone can return to normal, including sports coaches.”
Sports coaches to receive a one-off subsidy of HK$7,500
A survey by the HKSA found that 67 per cent of the coaches lost 100 per cent of their income because of the pandemic that emerged as a global threat in January, causing more than 1.5 million infections and nearly 90,000 deaths.
It said 60 per cent are forced to work part-time jobs to make ends meet. Another 20 per cent have taken other full-time jobs, while almost half of respondents said they faced financial difficulties.
Under the government’s second round of its HK$137.5 billion relief funding announced by Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor on Wednesday, a HK$7,500 one-off relief grant will be offered to each coach registered under sports associations and organisations who have a proven record of coaching over the past year. An estimated 17,000 coaches will benefit.
Tsai said all swimming courses offered by her club are suspended because the school facilities they use are closed. She was only able to send out “land training” programmes for senior swimmers to maintain their fitness levels.
‘Give virus-hit coaches HK$10,000 subsidy’, Sports Alliance tells government
Long distance running coach Chan Ka-ho also said the subsidy was nominal and would make little difference during a long and difficult period.
“We all know the buying power for that amount of money, considering the fact that many of the coaches must also pay other expenses such as rent and public utilities,” said Chan, whose running club has not taken any students since the outbreak of the pandemic. “We also hope there won’t be any bureaucratic red tape and that the process to receive the money doesn’t take too long.”
Mixed fighting master Heung Pak-wing, who owns two martial arts and fitness centres, is in a better position. He said his centres may benefit from the relief provided to hard-hit sectors in which businesses are forced to close to safeguard public health.
Each centre operator is eligible to receive a subsidy of HK$100,000, according to the government fund with about 1,660 centres expected to benefit.
“We were forced to close our centres after the government implemented these measures last month,” said Heung. “And now these measures have been extended for two more weeks until April 23, making our life even more difficult.
“The subsidy can be used to pay rent and other charges but of course it is not enough. There is little we can do about the pandemic but just hope we can overcome it with everybody working together and bearing some of the difficulties.”
Heung said his coaches can also benefit from the fund’s employment support scheme with the government providing wage subsidies of up to 50 per cent of monthly salary, capped at $18,000 for six months.
