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A total of 86 coaches were honoured at the 2008 Hongkong Bank Foundation (HBF) Coaching Awards Presentation today for their hard work and effort in helping Hong Kong's athletes achieve sporting success in the international sporting arena last year.

Tsang Tak-sing, Secretary for Home Affairs officiated at the Ceremony as a gesture of support of the government to Hong Kong sport.  Tsang also joined hands with Pang Chung, Hon Secretary General of the Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China (SF&OC);Dr Eric Li, Chairman of the Hong Kong Sports Institute (HKSI); Professor Frank Fu, Chairman of the Hong Kong Coaching Committee (HKCC);and Teresa Au, Head of Corporate Sustainability Asia Pacific Region of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, to pay tribute to the top coaches who have been working hard behind the scene.

Organised by the HKCC and funded by the HBF since 1993, the HBF Coaching Awards are the most prestigious Awards and the sole programme to commend the achievements of local coaches from the community to elite levels on a territory-wide basis in recognition of their dedication and contribution to athletes training and the booming sports development in Hong Kong.

Professor Frank Fu, Chairman of the HKCC, said in his welcome speech, “A record high of 131 nominations have been received this year, showing that the Awards scheme has become one of the largest and most anticipated events in the local sporting calendar.” He was also thankful to the government for its support to the Awards, the HBF for its generous contribution to the coach education programme over the years, as well as the National Sports Associations for their effort and cooperation in raising the level of coach education and the profile of coaches.

Teresa Au, Head of Corporate Sustainability, Asia Pacific Region, HSBC, also commended awardees for their effort and enthusiasm. She said: “There is an unfortunate tendency to overlook coaches who work so tirelessly behind the scenes to help the athletes every step of the way, every lap of the track, every hurdle. They clearly deserve more recognition. That’s why the Hongkong Bank Foundation has been funding the coach education programme and the Awards since early 1990s.”

2008 HBF Coaching Awards were presented in six categories, namely Coach of the Year Awards, Distinguished Services Award for Coaching, Coach Education Award, Best Team Sport Award, Coaching Excellence Awards and Community Coach Recognition Awards.

There were four recipients in the Coach of the Year Awards this year. Leading the way in the senior athletes category was wushu coach Yu Liguang in individual sport and table tennis coach Li Huifen in team event. In junior athletes category, the Coach of the Year Awards for individual sport and team event went to wushu coach Wong Chi-kwong and badminton coach Liu Zhiheng respectively, both of them have received the prestigious awards for the first time.

A five-time recipient, wushu coach Yu Liguang collected his sixth Coach of the Year title in the senior athletes, individual sport category this year. Under his guidance, Hei Zhihong clinched a silver medal in the men’s taijiquan & taijijian combined while Cheng Chung-hang won a bronze medal in the men’s daoshu & gunshu combined at the Beijing 2008 Wushu Tournament. Besides, Cheng Chung-hang, He Jingde and Yuen Ka-ying have captured totally 2 silver and 2 bronze medals at the 7th Asian Wushu Championships.

Li Huifen from table tennis has caught the eyes of judges and earned her second Coach of the Year title in a row in senior athletes, team event after leading the Hong Kong table tennis women’s team to win a bronze medal in women’s team event at the 49th World Team Table Tennis Championships, as well as a gold medal in women’s doubles formed by Jiang Huajun and Tie Yana at both the Chile Open 2008 and the ITTF Pro Tour China Open 2008.

First time recipient of the Coach of the Year Awards for junior athletes, individual sport category, wushu coach Wong Chi-kwong led the up-and-coming athletes to achieve excellent results at the 2nd World Junior Wushu Championships, including a gold medal in group B women’s gunshu and a bronze medal in daoshu by Fung Wing-see, a gold medal in group B men’s 24 forms taijiquan by Lo Chun-ming, and three silver medals each by Liu Yee-yin, Mok Uen-ying and Wong Ho-yi.

The Coach of the Year title in the junior athletes, team event category went to Liu Zhiheng from badminton. Liu earned his debut honour by coaching the junior badminton team to return with a bronze medal in mixed team event at the Asian Junior Badminton Championships U19, 2 bronze medals in men’s team and mixed doubles at the Badminton Asia Youth Championships U16, as well as a silver medal in mixed doubles at the Dutch Junior International.

Wheelchair fencing coach Zheng Kang-zhao won the Distinguished Services Award for Coaching for his long-term commitment to the sport. Being a veteran head coach, Zheng is heavily involved in athletes training and has helped Hong Kong team achieve outstanding results at many international tournaments for more than 10 years, including a total of 13 gold, 6 silver and 3 bronze medals at the 2000, 2004 and 2008 Paralympic Games. In parallel, Zheng has also organised and promoted development programmes for wheelchair fencers in Hong Kong.

Law Kin-keung added flying colors to wushu’s impressive winning list by capturing the Coach Education Award for his work in training and enhancing the quality of coaches in his sport. As a mentor of coaches’ training classes over the years and a core member in the Coaching Committee of the Hong Kong Wushu Union, Law has trained up the majority of existing wushu coaches.

Rugby coach Rodney McIntosh repeated his victory in the Best Team Sport Award this year after leading the Hong Kong team to rank 2nd in sevens-a-side at the Rugby World Cup Sevens – Asian Qualifying Tournament.

The Coaching Excellence Awards were presented to 66 coaches who have led an athlete or a team to achieve outstanding performance at major international competitions in 2008, while 19 coaches were presented with the Community Coach Recognition Awards for having made a special contribution to the development of athletes and coaches in the community for a period of not less than three consecutive years.

Meanwhile, guests and athletes shared their views on floor on the strenuous efforts and contribution of coaches to local sport and appreciated the Awards being a big recognition to their achievements. Last but not least, the five officiating guests, accompanied by the recipients of the Coach of the Year Awards and the Distinguished Services Award for Coaching as well as athletes representatives, plugged the “light bulbs” into a giant socket, representing our athletes as well as Hong Kong sport would keep shining at the international sporting arena with the unlimited dedication of coaches.

The HKCC, a joint committee of the SF&OC and the HKSI, was established in 1991 with aims of formulating and implementing short-term and long-term strategies for the development of coach education and accreditation programmes in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Coach Education Programme has been funded by the HBF with a total commitment of more than HK$21 million since 1992. Throughout the years, over 20,000 coaches have been benefited from the training and recognition programmes in the Programme.

List of Recipients for the 2008 Hongkong Bank Foundation Coaching Awards (PDF)