Hong Kong’s top breakdancers are pleading for more government resources and public recognition ahead of their campaign to reach the 2024 Paris Olympics. Breaking, as the International Olympic Committee calls it, had its monumental place confirmed for the Paris Games last year . It will also debut at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou in September. Though Team Hong Kong’s encouraging outing at this month’s WDSF World Breaking Championships proved they were “not that far off” in level, there is a still a chasm in funds and backing compared to fellow Asian qualifying hopefuls Japan and China. The Hong Kong Dancesport Association (HKDSA) bankrolled flights, accommodation and quarantine arrangements this time around, but it is often up to individual athletes or crews to raise money for domestic and international competitions. “Actually, you could argue we’ve already lost the moment we step on to the international stage. That’s how it feels,” said Hong Kong’s number one-ranked women’s breakdancer Chan Ka-yi, also known as Bgirl Lady Little. The 24-year-old Chan has been breaking for more than 11 years . Her recent local performances have all but confirmed a place in the representative team should they book an Olympic ticket. But even if they do, there are no guarantees they will get there. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Bgirl Lady Little 🇭🇰 (@littlekayi) “Breakdancing isn’t as prominent as fencing, track and field, or even Latin Dance here. People recognise these sports the moment you say their name,” Chan said. “They have support systems, but nobody has a way of supporting our sport. We actually have a lot of people challenging to represent Hong Kong – we wouldn’t have to hold so many events, otherwise – but in terms of plans and promotions it’s sort of up to ourselves. “I hope we can improve our exposure, to show people that this group of young dream-chasers are trying to put Hong Kong on the map.” Delegation team leader Jessica Siu Yue-pui, also known as Bgirl Mirage, finished top-15 of more than 200 in her world championships category three years ago. The 28-year-old Siu – who also oversees local crew UTLR852, which boasts the likes of Chan and first-ranked men’s breakdancer Tsang Tsz-wa (Bboy Think) – has since sacrificed her own national team prospects to provide a devoted platform for others. “People don’t realise how much our breakdancers have gone out of their way to represent Hong Kong. We might win a world championship and come home and nobody would know,” Siu said. View this post on Instagram A post shared by 獅子山下 UNDER THE LION’S ROCK 🇭🇰 (@utlr852) “We have these athletes going overseas – which is potentially history making because it’s the first step to the Olympics – and honestly we need help. It’s really time to raise public awareness.” Siu has arranged countless crowdfunding initiatives to help towards the crews’ overseas contests, while also continuing to maintain contact with domestic sponsors who supported the dozens of her previously organised competitions. “Another thing missing is that everyone who went on this trip took one month’s no-pay leave. It gives us a lot to worry about in terms of paying rent and supporting families. I had to do something to take care of my team,” said Siu, who has three full-time jobs but is “fortunate” enough to work remotely much of the time. “We’re also one of the few places with dancers with full-time jobs. [Chan] also has a full-time job and lives one and a half hours away from our training. She goes right after work, then straight home, sleeps for five hours, and repeats the next day. “That’s not including time invested in making the choreography and training as a team. That’s separate from training for competitions.” On top of grappling practice, jobs and families, local breakdancers face unstable training facility arrangements perpetually limited by Covid-19 restrictions. “There’s more attention with each day closer to the Olympics and Hong Kong is slowly realising, which is a good thing,” said Chan. “But our circle is still quite small and for breakdancers and other dancers in general, there’s a lack of resources, even for our most basic training areas. We used to go to Olympic [MTR station] or other universities to breakdance, but now for various reasons, they’ve cut it. The support is just not enough compared to other international athletes.” Asian powerhouses Japan, South Korea and China’s ventures into the fledgling sport are far ahead, and they are already reaping the benefits three years out from Paris. Japan’s Bgirl Ayumi won this year’s world championships over defending champion and teammate Bgirl Ami. Meanwhile, Bboys Shigekix (Japan) and X-Rain (China) have been impressing since the 2018 Youth Olympics, where breaking featured alongside skateboarding, sport climbing and surfing. “China have a lot of government funding and coaches. They sent about 20 people to the [championships] with a full filming team, a news outlet, and a masseuse. We only had six, four breakdancers plus me and a coach,” recounted Siu. “But we have, and can, still rank well against them at world tournaments. Many people in Hong Kong don’t know this.” Chan said surrounding teams have much more time to train. In contrast, she trains an average twice a week, four hours a session. “In Hong Kong, we still need to think about our livelihoods, so we simply don’t have as much time to train like their elite athletes,” she said. “If I get off work early, I go back to my old secondary school or below my flat to train. I don’t really spend much time with friends because I would rather use the time to recover. They understand that I’m following my dream and need to train.” For the UTLR852 crew, which also includes Hong Kong team Bgirls Fifty and Sia, the next goal is to raise enough funds to open a studio for weekday training. “The current studio we are only allowed to practice twice a week in the evening because they have other classes,” Siu said. “The biggest issue is the practising in our own spot. Even if we don’t earn money at the studio, we at least want to break even so we can practise more often, whether it’s for competitions, raising awareness to the public, teaching kids or promoting elements of hip-hop culture.”