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The fifth annual graduation ceremony for the Bachelor of Education in Sports Training Programme (the Programme) and the presentation of admission certificates to the 2015 new intake took place on 31 October at the Lecture Theatre of the Hong Kong Sports Institute (HKSI).

The ceremony was officiated by Professor Huang Zhuhang, Dean of Beijing Sport University Continuing Education College; Mr Adam Koo, Chairman of the Hong Kong Coaching Committee; and Dr Trisha Leahy BBS, Chief Executive of the HKSI.

The Programme, jointly offered by the Beijing Sport University (BSU) and the HKSI since 1999, is Hong Kong’s first Chinese taught degree course in sports training. It aims to professionally develop sport-specific coaches and athletes, as well as to help provide quality coaches for Hong Kong sports.

Graduation certificates were presented to 10 graduates, including four local elite athletes namely Tang Yik-chun and Tsui Chi-ho (athletics), Sze Hang-yu (swimming) and Leung Cheuk-hei (wushu), in recognition of their endeavour at study over the past five years.

Mr Koo was pleased to see students successfully complete this part-time Programme and also encouraged the new cohort to prepare for the upcoming challenges. He also expressed appreciation to the BSU and National Sports Associations (NSAs) for their long term support. “The BSU has been providing quality teaching and research support since the introduction of the Programme in 1999. This year, special thanks go to the Hong Kong Amateur Athletic Association, Hong Kong Basketball Association, Hong Kong Amateur Swimming Association and Hong Kong Wushu Union for their coordination to arrange successful practical sessions,” Mr Koo said.

Professor Huang congratulated and encouraged the graduates to strive for excellence in their professions.  He said, “Graduation isn’t the destination of your learning.  Learning, in fact, is a life-long journey.  Being a BSU graduate, I hope all of you can continue your pursuit of knowledge and apply the learning to the fullest in your profession.”

Swimming athlete Sze Hang-yu, who holds a couple of Hong Kong records in freestyle and butterfly strokes, expressed gratitude on behalf of all graduates.  She said, “My heartfelt thanks go to BSU, HKSI and all the NSAs for their close collaboration in making this high quality education programme a great success. The Programme not only provided us with in-depth knowledge in sports training and education, but also gave athletes an additional boost of confidence for their professional development. I hope each of us will keep this high morale and forge ahead.”

Four graduates were awarded the Outstanding Theses Certificates, they are Cheung Kin-fun and Tang Yik-chun (athletics), Chan Chi-ching and Leung Cheuk-hei (wushu).  One of the recipients Coach Cheung Kin-fun, who possesses Level 1 coaching qualification from both the Hong Kong Amateur Athletic Association and the International Association of Athletics Federations and also a five-time Coaching Excellence awardee at the Hong Kong Coaching Awards Presentation, shared his tips on writing the thesis.  He said, “Credit must be given to all my classmates for their encouragement and support during the past five years.  Training athletes with intellectual disability (ID) is very different from training the able-bodied athletes.  This Programme inspired me to explore ways to enhance ID sprinters’ ability of interpretation, level of body coordination and flexibility as well as emotional intelligence.  I am pleased that my viewpoint in the thesis is recognised by the BSU.”

Furthermore, six students who performed particularly well in the past academic year were presented with scholarship awards by Mr Koo.  The scholarship recipients included Sze Hang-yu (swimming), Chan Chi-ching (wushu) and Cheung Kin-fun (athletics) of 2010 class and Ng Wing-sze and Ng Wing-cheuk (athletics) and Yip Chi-ong (wushu) of 2013 class.

Following the graduation ceremony, the new cohort of 2015 was presented admission certificates from Professor Huang. Among the freshmen, five are elite athletes including the Asian Games cycling gold medallist Cheung King-wai and four wushu athletes Chan Chung-tin, Hui Tak-yan, Yeung Chung-hei and Zhuang Jiahong.

The Programme is a five-year course which consists of 25 modules comprising sports psychology, sports nutrition, statistics in sports, administration in sports training, Chinese and English writing skills.  In addition, students are required to choose a sports-specific elective module containing theories and 90-hour practicum among athletics, badminton, basketball, fencing, swimming, table tennis, triathlon and wushu.  The qualification of the Programme is equivalent to students who attained BSU Degrees in the Mainland and is widely recognised by other countries.

To date, the Programme has successfully nurtured many elite athletes and professional coaches in Hong Kong, such as current elite wushu athletes Cheng Chung-hang, Leung Man-chun, Zheng Tianhui; former sprinters Chiang Wai-hung, Tang Hon-sing, To Wai-lok; swimming coach Mak Ho-yin and triathlete coach Wan Shu-wah.

Lists of Graduates, Outstanding Theses Awardees, Scholarship Awardees and New Students (PDF)