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PUBLISHED ON 29 NOV 2024
Hong Kong China Rugby’s (HKCR) hugely successful partnership with the Hysan Development Company Limited (Hysan), a leading property investment, management and development company, has now advanced into its third year.
As an integral part of Hysan’s vision in community engagement, a comprehensive chain of rugby training programmes for youth of all ages has been established by Hysan and HKCR over the past few years, promoting the rugby development in Hong Kong. It is highlighted by four core programmes and events: Hysan HKCR Academy; Hysan U14 Development Camp; Hysan Youth Rugby Championship; and Hysan District Primary School Touch Rugby Series.
The partnership proudly supports two of the key pillars identified in HKCR’s recently announced 2024-2035 Strategic Plan, by both driving enhanced engagement, participation and retention in community rugby and creating famous role models in representative rugby. These in turn align with key goals announced by the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau’s (CSTB) Sports Policy in June 2024. One headline success is that through 2024, over 2,000 participants aged 12-17 have taken part in the Hysan Youth Championship, playing both 15s and 7s rugby, with over 100 teams from more than 60 schools taking part.
Ricky Lui, Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of Hysan Development Company Limited, shared his excitement at the partnership’s success so far:
“Hysan has always been supporting the development and promotion of rugby in Hong Kong, driven by our core values of promoting sustainability and community wellness. Rugby is a sport that resonates deeply with the Lee Gardens Community, and we believe our partnership with HKCR can unlock its full potential and extend its reach above and beyond.
“Over the past two years, we have strived to provide 4,500 local youth with more opportunities to engage with the sport, enhance and grow in a professional pathway. We look forward to witnessing the continued growth of rugby in Hong Kong and the positive impact it will have on our youth across all ages.”
Rocky Chow, HKCR’s Executive Director of Community & Participation, talked about the positive impact the partnership delivers to thousands of young players in Hong Kong:
“Hysan’s programmes deliver a huge positive impact for young players in Hong Kong across all age groups, all the way from our primary school touch events through to our representative teams at U19s and U20s. We are fortunate to be able to collaborate with Hysan on what is an ever-evolving partnership, as demonstrated by a number of exciting new initiatives that we have introduced as we move into year three.”
Hysan HKCR Academy
The Hysan HKCR Academy unites the best youth players within Hong Kong’s rugby landscape, with the aim of helping them step up their skills and empower them to excel at the highest levels of the sport. Players are nominated by coaches from the Hysan Youth Rugby Championship and local school coaches for trial sessions in the Academy. The upcoming term will increase in Strength & Conditioning support with more sessions and bespoke programming to improve physical athletic development.
Siân Moore, HKCR’s Head of Performance Pathways, reflected on the impact the Hysan partnership has had on the programme to date:
“Thanks to this partnership, we have been able to grow the Hysan HKCR Academy year-on-year and drive player development as well as positive results for our teams. In the last year in 15s rugby, our U19 boys team won the 2023 Asia Rugby Championship before competing at the 2024 World Rugby U20 Trophy [as U20s], and our girls’ and boys’ teams competed at the U18 Asia Rugby VII Series, winning gold and silver respectively.
“We are delighted to currently have 20 boys and 20 girls in our U16 Academy, and 22 boys and 22 girls in our U19 Academy. Of these six boys played in the U20 Trophy campaign, while seven girls and four boys played in the Asia Rugby VII Series.
“Further to this, our new Talent ID academy is one that we have found players are already responding very well to – and we are all eager to see how many potential new players we engage with through the season.”
The Hysan HKCR Academy now comprises three active five-week training blocks (after running one block in 2022/23), spread throughout Hong Kong’s domestic rugby season, in which players work at U19 and U16 ages. Players are immersed in different environments, including training camps, tournaments and sessions with senior squads – with industry experts guiding the development of lifestyle traits including planning for success, performance behaviours, lifestyle and resilience, and nutrition.
In February 2024, a brand-new Talent ID academy launched. This is aimed at discovering local Chinese youth athletes within the Hong Kong School Sports Federation and A-Grade competitions who have the potential to become part of the Hysan HKCR Academy. It has been designed as a positive and familiar first experience in rugby for local athletes, which helps them eventually transition into the existing youth game in Hong Kong. For 2024/25 this will be delivered as a three-block programme that also incorporates a cultural tour that takes place in February 2025.
Hysan are also a presenting partner of the annual youth showcase, the Hong Kong China Rugby New Year’s Day Youth Rugby Tournament, which will celebrate its 57th edition in 2025. This sees Hong Kong-based U19 and U16 boys and girls, selected from the Hysan Youth Rugby Championship, taking on overseas-based teams – with many players from this tournament going on to represent Hong Kong China at all levels of the game.
Hysan Youth Rugby Championship 2024/25
Youth rugby provides the crucial engagement link to the adult game, with Hysan proudly supporting club youth rugby championships both 15s and 7s versions of the game again this season.
For boys, we welcome the return of the U13 divisions, in addition to the Hysan Premiership & Championship U14, U16 and U18 Divisions. For girls, we are excited to announce that for the first half of the Youth Championships, all girls will be playing the traditional 15-a-side form of the game, for U14, U16 and U18, for the first time since COVID 19.
The top two boys and girls from all divisions of the Hysan Youth 7s Championship will again be featured at the 2025 Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens, and in doing so ensure that next-generation youth talent is showcased at one of the biggest sevens events in the world.
To catch all the information about the Hysan Youth Rugby Championship in Hong Kong, visit hkrugby.com/match-centre
Hysan U14 Development Camp
The Development Camp gives young boys and girls a first taste of the HKCR Hysan Academy, before being eligible to join the Hysan Academy and play in the New Year’s Day Youth Tournament (both from age U16). For 2024, the U14 Development Camp will expand to four days, incorporating new educational elements around strength & conditioning, nutrition, the HKCR development pathway and a self-reflection session on the final day with the duration of each session extended. HKCR’s newly appointed professional coaches will also be supporting in elements of the delivery.
Hysan District Primary School Touch Rugby Series
As a non-contact version of rugby, Touch is the perfect entry to the sport for young players. The game challenges speed, skill and strategy while fostering teamwork and sportsmanship, which echoes Hysan’s goal of engaging players from an early age.
The 2023/24 Primary School Touch Rugby Tournament will return for 2024/25 as the revamped Hysan District Primary School Touch Rugby Series, remaining focused on providing additional exercise and sporting engagement for our youth across Hong Kong Island & Kowloon, New Territories East and New Territories West.
The new competition format accommodates additional teams by giving priority to schools who have not participated before in Phase 1, reducing the game time to 10 minutes per team, engaging new local schools as venue providers and piloting additional non-rugby engagement activities within each tournament.
The Hysan District Primary School Touch Rugby Series kicked off this October, marking the start of nine competitions across three phases as teams battle through the round-robin format and into cross-district Cup, Plate and Bowl Finals throughout the academic year.
