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After five year's hard-working, with the witness and blessings of friends and relatives, 23 students of 2005 Class attended the Graduation Ceremony for the Bachelor of Education in Sports Training Programme (the Programme) of the Beijing Sport University (BSU), which was held on 9 October at the Hong Kong Sports Institute (HKSI). The First Assembly for 2008 and 2010 Classes was also held on the same day.

Officiating guests included Prof Frank Fu, Chairman of the Hong Kong Coaching Committee (HKCC) and Prof Ma Bing, Director of Adult Education Department of the BSU.

Prof Fu congratulated the students of 2005 Class for their successful completion of the five-year part-time Programme and also encouraged the students of 2010 Class to prepare for the upcoming challenges. He reiterated the important support from the BSU and role of the National Sports Associations (NSAs) in making the Programme a success."The BSU has been promoting quality teaching and research support since the Programme's first intake in 1999. This year, special thanks are attributed to the Hong Kong Amateur Swimming Association, the Hong Kong Triathlon Association and the Hong Kong Wushu Union for their coordination, which made the Programme and practical sessions successfully held," said Prof Fu.

Prof Ma highly praised the graduates who aimed for high fly by studying in their leisure time. He also said, "Graduation is not the end of the study, it should be the beginning of another stage of study. I hope you all remember BSU's spirit, "in pursuit of excellence" which requests all the graduates not to stop learning and boost personal ability and knowledge."

At the presentation, nine students of 2005 and 2008 Classes who performed excellently in the 2009/2010 academic year were presented with the Hongkong Bank Foundation (HBF) Scholarships totalling HK$35,000 by Kathy Wong, Secretary of the Advisory Committee of the HBF. The HBF has been committing to local coach education programmes by contributing more than HK$21 million to fund the Hong Kong Coach Education Programmes since 1992, and has been offering scholarships to students of the BSU Programme starting from 2000.

One of the scholarship recipients was graduate Ho Siu-lun who was the gold medalist of men's 40km points race at the 2001 National Games. Ho highly treasured the chance that BSU gave him. "When I was a young athlete, I focused on training and missed the opportunity of studying. When I shifted to coaching, I understood that knowledge and theory are equally important; thus I decided to use five years' time to upgrade myself. I am happy now as I can apply my knowledge in coaching which made my study worthwhile," he said.

In addition, Chan Chi-ho and Tang Kai-ming are honoured with the Outstanding Theses Awards which are presented to students who have outstanding theses submission. Chan Chi-ho was flattered to receive this Award. He said, "I told myself once I decided to enroll the Programme, I should never give up. Working as an insurance agent and a swimming coach at the same time in addition to taking up this five-year part-time degree course is no easy task. I am glad that I made it." Chan was also the recipients of the Community Coach Recognition Awards in 2006 HBF Coaching Awards and the HBF Scholarship for BSU students in 2007/08. The graduates of 2005 also include triathlete Lau Ching-yin.

Representatives of 2005 Class gave a sharing and presented souvenirs to show their deepest thanks to the BSU, the HKCC and respective NSAs which have been supporting the Programme over the years.

The First Assembly of 2010 Class was also held on the same day. Twelve students enrolled in the 2010 Class including elite athletes Leung Chun-wai, Tang Yik-chun and Tsui Chi-ho (athletics), Sze Hang-yu (swimming) and Leung Cheuk-hei (wushu).

Organised by the BSU and the HKSI being responsible for the administration work, the Programme is a unique five-year part-time bachelor degree course in sports training education in Hong Kong. Since its first intake in 1999, a total of 58 students had completed the course. The Programme which consists of 25 modules commences in every two years, including sports anatomy, exercise physiology, statistics in sports, sports nutrition, sports-specific theory and practicum, etc. The qualification is equivalent to students who attained their Degrees in the Mainland and is widely recognised by other countries.

The BSU is a cradle for nurturing sports champions. It has educated more than 40 Olympic champions and over a hundred world champions. At the Beijing 2008 Olympics, the teachers and students had grabbed a total of 14 gold, 6 silver and 2 bronze medals. The Programme has also nurtured many elite athletes and professional coaches in Hong Kong, such as To Yu-hang, Cheng Ka-ho, Chan Siu-kit and Angie Tsang (wushu); Chiang Wai-hung, Tang Hon-sing and To Wai-lok (athletics) as well as Wan Shu-wah (triathlon). The students for 2008 Class include Cheng Chung-hang, Leung Man-chun and Zheng Tianhui (wushu).

Lists of Graduates of 2005 Class, the HBF Scholarship Recipients and Students of 2010 Class (PDF)