Hong Kong plans National Games test event for fencing at Kai Tak Sports Park, if venue is built in time
- City’s fencing championships slated as one of the test events Hong Kong has vowed to stage before it co-hosts the Games
- Hong Kong fencing team still seeking training facilities, having declined government’s offer of To Kwa Wan Sports Centre because it is ‘too old and too small’
This year’s Hong Kong Fencing Championships will be a test event for next year’s National Games in the city, provided the new Kai Tak Sports Park is ready to use by November.
The two-day event is scheduled to be held from November 23 to 24, according to the local fencing association. But Antonio Lam Hin-chung, manager of the city’s team, said the dates were tentative and there was no backup plan should the HK$30 billion multipurpose sports venue not be fully complete in six months’ time.
After delays in its construction, the park has a revised timeline of completion by the end of 2024.
“I am aware of the suggestions that [the park] will not be ready until early next year,” Lam said. “If that’s the case, the fencing championships will have to be staged elsewhere.
“It obviously will not be the test event for the National Games should that be the case, but there’s no certainty yet.”