Hong Kong ice hockey boss eyes next step as players take on some of world’s best
Sherman Chan hopes elevation to third tier of city’s Sports Institute marks start of journey towards professionalism
Hong Kong’s ice hockey players have the talent to succeed but lack the platform to showcase their skills to the wider world, and that is something the sport’s top local official plans to change.
Bringing three world championships to the city is just the start of that movement, with Sherman Chan Yan-wing, chairman of the Hong Kong, China Ice Hockey Association, also hoping to convince the government to put a comprehensive development plan for the sport in place.
With the goal of having a professional club team, Chan said last month’s Under-18 Men’s World Championship Division IIIA tournament, and this month’s Women’s Division IIB and Men’s Division IIIB events marked the start of “giving our players more opportunities to compete at a high level”.
There are 1,109 registered players in Hong Kong; unsurprisingly none are professional or full-time given ice hockey has only just reached the third tier of the city’s Sports Institute (HKSI), which provides financial and training support for elite athletes.
“Most of our players are either students or working adults,” Chan said. “There are no full-time athletes because there is no career path – there are no professional ice hockey teams in Hong Kong, so players cannot make this sport their profession,” Chan said.
That has not stopped the city’s teams shining at the world championships, with the under-18s taking silver last month in a tournament where they beat Bulgaria, Israel, Turkey and New Zealand.