The Hong Kong Skating Union (HKSU) is bidding to host the Asian Speed Skating Championships as early as next year, with yesterday’s Hong Kong Cup short-track speedskating event at Discovery Bay seen as a trial run to gauge the city’s capacity to host the continental event. “It has been our dream for the longest time, any sporting association, any athletes always wish to bring international events to Hong Kong,” HKSU executive committee member Melody Yip Tan-tan said. “We have been exploring the possibility, without proper competition you cannot see what you need [or what you can do better].” The Asian Championships are usually held in October and any proposals to host the tournament must be submitted to the Asian Skating Union (ASU) by April next year. Yip, a former Asian Figure Skating Championship bronze medallist, said the city needed to act fast to secure the event. “Unlike the world championships which has to be in February or March [and most of the time in Europe], Asian skating events have more flexibility, people are more understanding.” “Even the Fifa World Cup changed to November in Qatar, right? So we are in a whole different world.” Hong Kong national athlete Sidney Chu, who returned from the United States to participate in the Hong Kong Cup, sprinted to an easy win in the opening Elite A 500 metres event. The Olympian said it would “mean the world” if the Asian Championships were to be held in Hong Kong. “I will never reach the Olympics gold medal standard just because I did not have that quality training when I was young,” he said. “Maybe I can go a little bit higher and keep beating my records but I will never be on the podium. I hope the next generation can do it. If we can host the championships it means we are going in the right direction, and then maybe in eight or 16 years we will get there.” The venue, however, could pose a problem as Hong Kong still does not have an Olympic-size rink. The Discovery Bay rink is three metres off the regular width and a metre off the regular length, which is good for any continental competition up to junior levels. “I had been exploring the Hong Kong Coliseum but I just hope the full-size rink promised by the government will pan out one day,” Yip said. “Fast construction domes which can be ready in two to three weeks will be another option but the cost for the dome, mini stands and freezing system cost around HK$20 million.” Yip added that if the Asian Championships did not materialise next year, she was hoping it would happen within the next three years. “It will not be easy and we will have to think outside the box,” the former figure skater said. “If there is no standard rink in a few years then we will have to look at other options. “There is always the Greater Bay Area, we should take advantage of any opportunity we can seize. It is not ideal, but we just want to make it happen, and we will do it if GBA can help us make it happen. That is how determined we are.”