PUBLISHED ON 01 DEC 2024
Hong Kong China Rugby (HKCR) hosted a first-ever Talent Testing Day on Sunday 1 December at the Hong Kong Sports Institute (HKSI). The event, which feeds into the Hysan HKCR Academy, is part of an exciting new initiative to recruit young talent into elite-level rugby and was attended by 200 youngsters.
The Talent Testing Day was hailed as a resounding success by HKCR CEO James Farndon:
“It was fantastic to see this new initiative come to life today, thanks to our partnership with HKSI, the Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China (SF&OC) and Youth We Go.
“Our Talent ID programme aligns with key elements of our 2024-2035 Strategic Plan, in directing more players into our performance programmes, creating additional role models who inspire people to engage in rugby and ultimately driving more success for Hong Kong China 7s and 15s representative teams – whether that be through qualification for Olympic Games and the World Rugby SVNS Series in 7s rugby, or qualification to World Cups and World Rugby competitions in 15s rugby.”
The Talent Testing Day is led by a promotional campaign that asked: “Are you the next Hong Kong China Rugby Superstar?” accompanied by with the tagline: “Unleash Your Potential”. This requested schools, organisations and sports associations to nominate talented athletes with no prior rugby experience at U16, U18 and U20 categories.
HKCR Executive Director Performance Rugby, Jo Hull, spoke of the impact the Talent Testing Day will bring to HKCR performance pathways:
“Our Hysan HKCR Academy is designed to unite the best youth players in Hong Kong, help them step up their skills and empower them to excel at the highest level of the sport. The academy has grown year-on-year since COVID, and we currently have 42 boys and 42 girls across our U16 and U19 age groups, training across three training blocks of five weeks each.”
“The Talent ID Day helps us to expand our reach beyond the traditional rugby community and discover talented youth athletes who can then move into our pathway system. Building on the success of this first event, which has seen 200 athletes take on skill and endurance tests set by our coaching staff, further testing days will be both at HKSI as well as through roadshow events in our regional district hubs.”
Salom Yiu Kam Shing, who is the Hong Kong China Men’s 7s record cap holder and a double Asian Games Gold Medallist, now plays a key role in HKCR’s Talent ID academy. Salom himself only started playing rugby as an 18-year-old, after previously competing in athletics at the youth level, and was excited at the chance youngsters may have to follow in his footsteps:
“As someone who discovered the sport of rugby quite late, I am incredibly passionate about this project. I know Hong Kong has some talented and committed young athletes, and I’m really glad that we could give this opportunity to 200 boys and girls today.
“There were some great performances out on the field, and after the coaching team analyses all the test scores, I look forward to welcoming back the best performers to HKSI for our awards day.”
At the Talent Testing Day participants completed across seven skill and endurance tests: 20-Metre Sprint; Standing Long Jump; Standing Shot Put; Reaction Run; 60-Second Wattbike; Kicking Test; Bronco Test. The best performers will be recognised at an awards day on Saturday 7 December, and given the opportunity to train alongside the city’s brightest young stars at the HKCR Hysan Academy.
