Hong Kong tennis coaches want courts to stay open despite the threat of future spikes in Covid-19 cases
- Former Davis Cup player Jason Sankey says ‘you can’t stop people from working and then not support them’ as he calls for better guidelines
- Veteran coach Patrick Chan says previous lockdowns have been a ‘disaster’ for his business and that government handouts were not enough
Three government shutdowns of sports facilities since February has had a major impact on the coaching industry in Hong Kong, with many coaches forced to seek jobs in other sectors or having to rely on emergency handouts.
Sports coaches were eligible for a one-off grant of HK$5,000 during the third wave of Covid-19 infections, following a HK$7,500 handout in April. Coach Jason Sankey, a former Hong Kong Davis Cup player, said training programmes for sports such as tennis should continue even during a spike in infections.
“For our coaches who need to live off a month-to-month pay cheque, the shutdown was devastating,” said Sankey, who coaches at the Indian Recreation Club. “Also, for the kids and their families, we built a community with tennis, friendships are made through tennis and stress relief through tennis.
“The third phase of HK$5,000 handouts is not enough. You can’t stop people from working and then not support them. I would say our safety measures are pretty good. If there is another outbreak, the government could work with centres, implement safety measures and if you don’t follow the rules then you are shut down, that’s fair enough.
“We have up to 200 kids, we put them into mini-groups of four, they are separated by cones and they need to apply alcohol spray before and after they get on to the court.”