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Stephy Zhang

Despite the absence of snow and ice, former world No 4 ice climber Janet Kung Tsz-shan holds high hopes for the technical sport in Hong Kong and wants to see it debut at the 2030 Winter Olympics.
Living in a subtropical city where November temperatures can reach 30 degrees Celsius (86 Fahrenheit) and snow has not fallen in 50 years, Kung’s rise up the rankings remains an anomaly.
In order to showcase the sport locally, and as one of ice climbing’s disciplines does not require ice, Kung has opened a dedicated venue to the public.
Ice climbing typically features two formats: lead, which tests technique, endurance and strategy on artificial walls using crampons and axes within a six-minute limit; and speed, an explosive vertical sprint on real ice similar to a 100m dash, often completed in under 10 seconds.
Kung began her ice climbing career a decade ago without a coach, winning a national championship on her debut.
Before this, she won the Cheung Chau Bun Festival scramble three years in a row.

Earlier this year, the 32-year-old, along with 10 teammates, competed at the Ice Climbing World Cup in Cheongsong, South Korea, joining 120 athletes from 18 nations.
Out of the team, Chan Chi-sang and Lai Man-to ranked 28th and 29th, respectively, in the men’s speed discipline, while Lo Him-wai finished 54th and four others placed 55-58 in the men’s lead event.
Kung admitted the results were subpar but what she expected.
“Currently, most members are competing for the first time, relying solely on the experience of myself and another veteran,” she said. “I also stopped training and competing for two years during a hiatus.”
In the beginning, Kung had to navigate a difficult path for more than a decade to get to where she is today.
“When I first started [with the Hong Kong ice climbing team], there were 10 of us, but the others didn’t continue because there was no development,” she said.
Last November, she co-founded the city’s first indoor ice climbing arena in Lai Chi Kok, which remains the only practice facility in Hong Kong.
The facility now allows training that is “exactly the same as the competition”, moving away from rock climbing, which offers a completely different experience.
The space was rented from a children’s zone in a climbing centre that was not used at night, then modified with wooden boards so the athletes could use ice axes. Her team completed the renovation in just five days.
Starting as an entrepreneur felt like a “maze” to Kung, who learned every detail from scratch.
“If it’s [a] technical [discipline], Hong Kong can be identical,” she said. “I feel we can train for lead competitions; we just lacked experience, coaches or facilities. With them, it is possible to catch up [to world standards], so I feel it can be developed.”
The venue is open to the public and its classes are consistently full. Kung emphasises that no prior experience is required.

“I think we shouldn’t let that framework limit ourselves; as long as they are interested or want to try, they can come,” she said.
Believing that “if you don’t walk, you’ll never know what the road ahead is like”, Kung hopes the venue will attract enough people to form a robust squad rooted in the city.
“I hope more and more interested people can come. If the audience is large enough, it may be possible to further develop the venue or expand the team ... I hope the team can slowly keep up with the world level,” she said.
She also intends to establish a youth team. “Overseas, there are world championships for 14-year-olds; I also want to develop a team for children,” she said.
While ice climbing remains a global niche sport, Kung is optimistic.
“We are also looking forward to seeing if [ice climbing] will enter the 2030 Winter Olympics,” she said.


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Sport

Hong Kong

Former world No 4 Janet Kung has opened a dedicated venue for the public, optimistic about sport debuting at 2030 Winter Olympics in France


Former world No 4 Janet Kung has opened a dedicated venue for the public, optimistic about sport debuting at 2030 Winter Olympics in France.


Hong Kong ice climber aiming to raise awareness of technical sport in subtropical city

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Former world No 4 Janet Kung has opened a dedicated venue for the public, optimistic about sport debuting at 2030 Winter Olympics in France

Former world No 4 Janet Kung has opened a dedicated venue for the public, optimistic about sport debuting at 2030 Winter Olympics in France