Siobhan Haughey dives in as Hong Kong Victoria Harbour race seeks more swimmers
National Games medallist among this year’s 3,700 swimmers, as organisers consider more lifeguards to boost future sign-ups to beyond 10,000
Organisers of the Hong Kong Victoria Harbour Race are considering recruiting mainland Chinese lifeguards to increase the participant limit beyond 10,000 after more than 3,700 swimmers, including National Games medallist Siobhan Haughey, joined Saturday’s annual event.
Hong Kong China Swimming Association President Ronnie Wong Man-chiu told the media after the event that the key factors in raising the quota were the number of available lifeguards and the amount of time competitors spend in the water.
“The target that we hope to reach in the future is over 10,000 competitors, but there are a lot of factors that we have to consider, which are the number of lifeguards and the time spent in the sea by competitors,” Wong said.
According to Wong, more than 3,700 people took part in this year’s race, just a few hundred short of the organiser’s 4,000-person quota.
Wong added that the association was “very happy” most participants completed the race independently, with only one swimmer who felt unwell and dropped out.
Asked what was preventing the association from raising the quota to a previous target of 5,000, Wong said one challenge was ensuring an adequate number of lifeguards, as discussions with the government and local lifeguard associations were required.