Elite Training
The HKSI is the Government’s designated organisation to provide a world-standard training and support environment for high performance athletes, enabling them to excel in the international sporting arena.
Committed to providing science-based, athlete-centred support for elite training, we employ a multi-disciplinary biopsychosocial model. Sustained funding support also plays a pivotal role in athletes’ continuing success. The Elite Athletes Development Fund provides the HKSI with a stable, long-term source of funding, empowering us to ensure financial stability for elite athletes so they can focus on training and international competitions.
Our facilities include an indoor Sports Complex featuring world standard training venues for badminton, billiard sports, fencing, karatedo, squash, table tennis, tenpin bowling and wushu, alongside integrated sports facilities for athletes with disabilities, an Athletic Field, an international standard indoor Swimming Complex, a Rowing Centre and Tennis Courts. Off-site facilities are also provided for other Tier A sports.
HKSI’s 21st Century Elite Training System
The HKSI’s elite sport system framework combines policy/management and science models to articulate a 21st century elite training delivery system.
It is an athlete-centred system bounded by best practice principles of corporate governance on the one hand, and the scientific principles of the biopsychosocial model on the other. The biopsychosocial model of athlete development recognises the interaction of biological, psychological and socio-cultural factors which impact on athlete development.
The HKSI is structured to provide centralised, integrated support systems targeting all aspects of the athletes’ physiological, psychological, social support and personal development needs. The critical success factors, which are directly related to the systematic development of elite athletes, are portrayed inside the circle, while support activities which are not directly related to individual athletes’ development but which improve the provision and efficient functioning of the elite training system, are portrayed outside the circle.
Direct Financial Support to Athletes
In 2021/22, the HKSI provided HK$151.58 million to 1,085 athletes through six Direct Financial Support schemes (DFS) – Elite Training Grant (ETG), Elite Training Grant for Athletes with Disabilities (ETGD), Sports Aid Grant (SAG), Sports Aid Grant for Athletes with Disabilities (SAGD), Individual Athletes Support Scheme (IASS) and the Jockey Club World Championships Performance Scheme (JCWCPS), to provide them with a financially stable environment in which to train and compete in Major Games.
* Also recipients of other DFS
Remarks: recipient lists are at Annex 3, Annex 4, Annex 5 and Annex 6.
Under the Government’s Elite Vote Support Scheme (EVSS), senior and junior athletes’ achievements at major international competitions serve as the selection criteria for identifying the high performance sports to be supported by the HKSI for a four-year period. Sports are categorised into three levels: Tier A*, Tier A and Tier B. A review is conducted every two years and is aligned with the Asian Games and Olympic Games cycles to provide stable support.
In 2021/22, 20 Tier A sports – athletics, badminton, billiard sports, cycling, equestrian, fencing, gymnastics, karatedo, rowing, rugby sevens, sailing, skating, squash, swimming, table tennis, tennis, tenpin bowling, triathlon, windsurfing and wushu – were supported by the HKSI. These were provided with funding for elite training, coaching teams led by a Head Coach, full sports science and sports medicine support, and athlete development programmes. Four of these sports – badminton, cycling, table tennis and windsurfing – whose athletes have consistently performed at the highest level and have the potential to win medals at the Olympic Games were selected as Tier A* sports. They have also received additional resources required to enhance specific areas of their Olympic preparation programmes up to the Tokyo Olympic Games.
Funding and support were also provided to 13 Tier B sports – contract bridge, dance sports, dragon boat, golf, judo, kart, lawn bowls, life saving, mountaineering, orienteering, roller sports, shuttlecock and taekwondo – to support the corresponding Elite Training Programmes.
Under the EVSS for para sports, athletes’ achievements at international competitions are used to identify Tier A and Tier B sports to be supported by the HKSI for a period of four years. Reviews aligning with the Asian Para Games and Paralympic Games cycles are conducted every two years. In 2021/22, Tier A sports included badminton, boccia, table tennis, and wheelchair fencing for athletes with physical disabilities; and swimming and table tennis for athletes with intellectual disabilities. Tier B sports included athletics for athletes with intellectual disabilities, lawn bowls and tenpin bowling for athletes with physical disabilities.
The Government implemented a five-year development programme for team sports in January 2018, aiming to progressively enhance the performance of team sports, with a view to attaining elite sports status in the future. This programme covers eight team sports with team sizes of five or above featured in the Asian Games or Asian Winter Games; these include baseball, basketball, handball, hockey, ice hockey, softball, volleyball and water polo.
The programme provides additional funding to the eight NSAs to formulate and implement training programmes for Hong Kong to compete in the two Major Games. From 2021 onwards, the additional funding for each representative team ranges from HK$420,000 to HK$805,000 per year. This has been made according to the number of team members allowed to register in the two Games. Apart from the funding support, members of the Hong Kong team will receive a monthly allowance of HK$4,000 if they meet training requirements.
In 2021/22, a total of HK$25 million was provided to support Tier A sports for international title events held outside Hong Kong, and their national and junior squad training programmes. The HKSI also provided HK$30 million to the Hong Kong Paralympic Committee & Sports Association for the Physically Disabled and the Hong Kong Sports Association for Persons with Intellectual Disability to support their Elite Training Programmes.
In order to provide science-based, athlete-centred support for elite training, the HKSI uses the multi-disciplinary biopsychosocial model to formulate its support strategy. There are six centres in the Elite Training Science & Technology Division: the Scientific Conditioning Centre, Sport Biomechanics & Technology Centre, Sport Nutrition Monitoring Centre, Sport Psychology Centre, Sports Medicine Centre, and Sports Information & External Affairs Centre.
They work as a team to identify any training issues or concerns, and develop evidence-based solutions with coaches. The support procedures are regularly updated through continuous monitoring, discussion and benchmarking against the latest research data. Each year, the Division works with NSAs to identify and develop potential athletes through talent identification programmes, and organises seminars, lectures and workshops for athletes and coaches, NSAs, local and overseas tertiary and sports institutes, as well as other collaborative partners. Publications are produced to boost education and foster exchange between the HKSI and elite sport professionals in applied sports science and medicine.
To enhance the competitiveness of the Hong Kong cycling team at the Tokyo Olympics, the HKSI embarked upon research projects in collaboration with the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology – the Sports Aerodynamics Science Initiative Project funded by Mr Adam Kwok Kai-fai and the Innovation and Technology Fund from the Innovation and Technology Commission of the Government in 2019. The goal was to improve cyclists’ riding posture and improve aerodynamic performance. Champion System Limited developed a racing suit optimised for this. The project deliverables were well-validated using wind tunnel tests.
Following the excellent results achieved by Hong Kong elite athletes at the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, the Government and The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust launched the HK$300 million Sports Science and Research Funding Scheme to strengthen and intensify support in sports science and sports medicine, to enable athletes to pursue sporting excellence in coming major international sports events.
Throughout 2021/22, mission critical continued to be effective risk management for the protection of athletes’ and staff’s health in a biosecure environment where core operations could continue, such that athletes training and preparation for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics remained uncompromised. The key elements of the risk management strategy included cessation of part-time training and non-elite sport access to the HKSI campus, stringent health control and hygiene measures, a regular programme of testings and a vaccination programme delivered onsite.
Overseas Support Provided to Athletes (No. of Staff Days)
Service Sessions Provided to Athletes
Participants in Talent Identification Programmes
No. of Combined Nasal And Throat Swabs Test Conducted
Facilities Development Project
The HKSI is committed to maintaining its status as a leading world-class elite training centre with the ultimate goal of winning medals for Hong Kong at increasingly competitive major international competitions. Over the past decade, the number of athletes at the HKSI and the number of elite sports have greatly increased. The outstanding achievements of Hong Kong athletes hinge on the provision of professional facilities for training and support services. To meet the spacing and building requirements of such facilities, the construction of a new facilities building, including two multi-purpose training venues and a number of facilities related to sports science and sports medicine, commenced.
The new facilities development project was endorsed by the Legislative Council (LegCo) Panel on Home Affairs in August 2021. The funding application for the main works of the project at HK$986.6 million was later approved by the Finance Committee of LegCo in October 2021. It is targeted to have the new facilities building completed in 2024.