The Hong Kong Rugby Union is delighted to partner with leading property investment, management and development company, Hysan Development Company Limited, for the HKRU Youth Rugby Championship and Hysan Youth Rugby Academy for two years up to the end of the 2023-24 Hong Kong rugby season.

“With a long-established sustainability mindset, Hysan has been committed to promoting wellness as well as community-building through a range of programmes and activities,” says Ricky Lui, Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer, Hysan Development Company Limited. “We have taken a leadership role in supporting sports programmes in the past years, including the sponsorship of Hong Kong’s renowned Rugby Sevens event. Hong Kong has a long history of rugby with many good players and committed coaches. Hysan is proud to support bringing this international sport to our community. This latest partnership with HKRU further emphasises Hysan’s wish to highlight team building and sportsmanship from a young age. We look forward to a fruitful and long-term association with the HKRU.”

The 2022 Hysan Youth Rugby Championship will bring together over 1,200 youth, aged between 12 and 17, representing 17 local community clubs. The ten-week competition will begin in late October 2022 and conclude with the Grand Final before Chinese New Year. Fifty teams are slated to participate from across Hong Kong. Matches will be played every Sunday, with back-to-back games organised for all three age groups. The goal is to create a high-energy rugby culture within youth clubs and build awareness for club rugby at the junior level.

Hysan will also be a supporting sponsor for the New Year’s Day Youth Rugby Tournament alongside other event partners and sponsors. The NYD Tournament has successfully run for 54 years, with the best 50 players from each age group (U16 and U18) from the Hysan Youth Rugby Championship, and players returning from overseas showcasing their skills. This family-friendly tournament is hosted on January 1 every year at the Hong Kong Football Club with food stalls, games and free entry for non-members and the general public.

Kicking off in 2023, the Hysan Youth Rugby Academy provides a programme for boys and girls, between the ages of 14 and 17, to experience how to ”Train Like a Pro”. An 8-week training camp will begin in June 2023. Athletes from the Academy will be recommended to join a rugby club at the end of the camp and participate in the 2023-24 Hysan Youth Rugby Championship. The 8-week programme offers athletes insights into the life of a professional rugby player and an opportunity to receive specialist rugby coaching from the Hong Kong Rugby Union performance coaches. Expert nutritional advice, strength and conditioning training as well as hands on rugby coaching will be provided.

“One of our goals with the Hysan Youth Rugby Academy is to up-skill young rugby players, to empower them to play at the very top levels within the sport,” says Rocky Chow, CCO, HKRUCF. “We will closely follow individual player metrics and performances in the Hysan Youth Premiership Teams, the Annual New Year’s Day Youth Tournament, and those who go on to earn a place at the National Age Group Programme U19/U20 to play for Hong Kong. It’s an unprecedented opportunity to inspire and train players who have the talent, drive, and determination to become high-performance rugby athletes.”

Make sure you keep up to date with fixtures and results for the Hysan Youth League here.