Don't skate over a level playing field
Editorial | Mary Ma 24 Jul 2024
The sports sector is rather lively these days.
As the city's Olympic team hopes for the best in Paris, local sports officials are obliged to review improvements internally in light of incidents involving the selection of athletes to ensure youngsters with potential are given a fair chance to prove themselves.
After the case of a nine-year-old swimmer that led to a public row between celebrity swimmer Alex Fong Lik-sun and the Hong Kong China Swimming Association, a teen skateboarder was recently reported to have missed an opportunity that again, allegedly, was due to membership issues.
While the case of the young swimmer has been preliminarily resolved, with the swimming association opening the door for the nine-year-old to compete in a local championship in November, the door is firmly shut for the skateboarder, at least for now.
It would be inappropriate to jump to the conclusion that the 15-year-old skateboarder would have been selected to represent Hong Kong at the games if it had been this or that - as alleged by the teen's coach or refuted by the Hong Kong China Federation of Roller Sports and Skateboarding, which is the local governing body of the sports.
However, it would be reassuring to know that a fair and open system was in place for the selection of athletes.
Although it never surprises me to hear conflicting claims in any dispute - as in the current one surrounding the young skateboarder - there are both claims and facts.
What matters is that these facts and claims are differentiated as one tries to understand the situation.
What are the facts out there?
According to the coach, the skateboarder has won numerous medals, including many golds, in competitions recognized by the nation's sports administration.
Although the information is provided by the coach, it can be considered factual as the medals and events cannot be faked.
Another fact is that the young athlete is now in Nanjing training with the country's youngest skateboarder, who will represent the nation in the games.
That is the basic information about the athlete's talent.
The federation has also offered facts to back its decision. The teen failed to qualify because he did not participate in events recognized by the federation over the past two years to score enough to be rated among the world's top 20.
So the outcome - a shut door - would still be the same even if the teen were a member of the federation rather than another association.
Fair enough, right?
Then there were the claims by the teen's coach, which basically accused the federation of not providing information for him or the youngster to know how to attain those scores in the run-up to the Olympics in order to be selected for the Hong Kong team.
It was also alleged that an athlete participating in recognized events must be recommended by the federation. Since the teen is no longer a federation member, he did not stand a chance.
So, are those claims also true?
Whether true or not, it is primarily sports minister Kevin Yeung Yun-hung's responsibility to ensure an open and level playing field for all.
