Hong Kong team wins 36 medals at the 2^nd Asian Indoor Games

The Hong Kong team won 15 gold, 9 silver and 12 bronze medals (including one bronze medal in the demonstration sport "3on3 Basketball"), at the 2^nd Asian Indoor Games held on 26 October - 3 November 2007 in Macau. Hong Kong ranked third in the medal tally.

A total of 136 athletes represented Hong Kong in 14 sports at the Games.

Athletics team (Hong Kong Paralympic Committee & Sports Association for the Physically Disabled) wins 4 medals and sets 2 new world records at the Japan Paralympic Athletics Championships

The Hong Kong athletics team of the Hong Kong Paralympic Committee & Sports Association for the Physically Disabled won 2 gold and 2 silver medals, as well as breaking 2 world records at the Paralympic Athletics Championships held on 20 - 21 October 2007 in Osaka, Japan.

Cyclist Steven Wong wins a gold medal at the 6^th National Cities Games of the PRC

Hong Kong cyclist Steven Wong won a gold medal in the Men's BMX Race of the 6^th National Cities Games of the PRC held on 25 October - 3 November 2007 in Luoyang City, China.

Rowing team wins 11 medals at the Asian Rowing Championships

The Hong Kong rowing team won 1 gold, 7 silver and 3 bronze medals at the Asian Rowing Championships held on 14 - 20 October 2007 in Seoul, Korea.

Rowing team wins 12 medals at the 29^th Hong Kong Rowing Championships

The Hong Kong rowing team won 4 gold, 6 silver and 2 bronze medals at the 29^th Hong Kong Rowing Championships held on 17-18 November 2007.

Snooker athlete Fu Ka-chun wins his first ranking tournament title at the Royal London Watches Grand Prix

Hong Kong snooker athlete Fu Ka-chun won his first ranking tournament title at the Royal London Watches Grand Prix held on 13 - 21 October 2007 in Aberdeen, Scotland.

Squash athlete Mak Pui-hin claims her first WISPA title at the Pakistan Open

(Photos provided by the Hong Kong Squash)

Squash team wins 3 medals at the China Open

The Hong Kong squash team won 1 bronze and 2 gold medals at the China Open held on 19 - 21 October 2007 in Shanghai, China.

Junior squash team wins 2 gold medals at the Prince Hong Kong Junior Squash Closed Championships

The Hong Kong junior squash team won 2 gold medals at the Prince Hong Kong Junior Squash Closed Championships held on 17-25 November 2007.

Swimmer Au Hoi-shun sets 2 new Hong Kong records at the Hong Kong Age Group Long Course Swimming Championships

Hong Kong swimmer Au Hoi-shun set 2 new Hong Kong records at the Hong Kong Age Group Long Course Swimming Championships held on 16-18 November 2007.

Table tennis athlete Jiang Hua-jun wins a bronze medal at the German Open

Hong Kong table tennis athlete Jiang Hua-jun won a bronze medal in the Women's Singles event at the German Open held on 7-11 November 2007 in Bremen, Germany.

Table tennis athlete Jiang Hua-jun wins a gold medal at the 20^th HTV Asian Cup

Hong Kong table tennis athlete Jiang Hua-jun took the Women's Singles title at the 20^th HTV Asian Cup held on 24-25 November 2007 in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Table tennis team wins a silver medal at the French Open

Table tennis athletes Ko Lai-chak and Li Ching won a silver medal in the Men's Doubles of the French Open held on 31 October - 4 November 2007 in Toulouse, France.

Table tennis team wins 3 medals at the Austrian Open

The Hong Kong table tennis team won 2 silver and 1 bronze medal of the Austrian Open held on 24 - 28 October 2007 in Wels, Austria.

Table tennis team wins 4 medals at the Russian Open

The Hong Kong table tennis team won 1 gold and 3 bronze medals at the Russian Open held on 18 - 21 October 2007 in St. Petersburg, Russia.

From left: Ko Lai-chak, Li Ching

Table tennis team (Hong Kong Sports Association for the Mentally Handicapped) wins 7 medals at the 5^th INAS-FID World Table Tennis Championships

The Hong Kong table tennis team of the Hong Kong Sports Association for the Mentally Handicapped won 3 gold, 1 silver and 3 bronze medals at the 5^th INAS-FID World Table Tennis Championships held on 29 October - 5 November 2007 in Chiba, Japan.

From left: Cui Xiao-yan (Coach), Lai Wai-ling, Wong Man-yan, Yeung Chi-ka, Wong Ka-man

(Photos provided by the Hong Kong Sports Association for the Mentally Handicapped)

Tenpin bowling athlete Cheung Chun-chung wins a bronze medal at the 10^th Pearl Bowlers' of Paranaque Bevida-Storm International Classic

(Photo provided by Cheung Chun-chung)

Tenpin bowling athlete Wu Siu-hong wins a bronze medal at the Premier Tenpin Bowling Club Storm English Open

Hong Kong tenpin bowling athlete Wu Siu-hong won a bronze medal in the Open Masters event at the Premier Tenpin Bowling Club Storm English Open held on 5-9 December 2007 in Birmingham, United Kingdom.

Triathlon team wins 3 medals at the Taitung International Competition & Asian Cup Series

The Hong Kong triathlon team won 1 silver and 2 bronze medals at the Taitung International Competition & Asian Cup Series held on 27 October 2007 in Taitung, Taiwan.

Windsurfing team wins 4 medals at the RS:X Asian Windsurfing Championships

Ho Chi-ho

Windsurfing team wins 6 medals at the Hong Kong Open Windsurfing Championships

The Hong Kong windsurfing team won 4 gold and 2 silver medals at the Hong Kong Open Windsurfing Championships held on 4-10 December 2007.

Wushu team wins 9 medals at the 9^th World Wushu Championships

The Hong Kong wushu team won 2 gold, 4 silver and 3 bronze medals at the 9^th World Wushu Championships held on 11 - 17 November 2007 in Beijing, China.

Liu Yang

Law Sum-yin (Third left), Liu Yang (Fourth left), Hei Zhihong (Sixth left)

(Photos provided by the Hong Kong Wushu Union)

Elite results roundup (15 September - 14 November 2007)

Hydration for Exercise: What to drink? When to drink? How much to drink?

Hong Kong Sports Institute (HKSI):
Susan Chung, RD (British Columbia, Canada), Sport Nutritionist

Hydration is important for everyone in maintaining good health. For outdoor workers, dehydration can be fatal, such as those who work in remote construction sites and road repair workers. Working under the hot sun without drinking enough fluids leads to heat illness and heat stroke, which can be life threatening. Hydration is also important for those who enjoy the outdoor and recreational activities. Problems like cramps and fatigue can be prevented if one is properly hydrated during activity. For elite athletes, proper hydration enhances performance and improper hydration is detrimental to performance.

Dehydration and hyponatremia

Back in the 1960s, coaches and athletes tend to ignore hydration. Some coaches and athletes even viewed drinking during exercise as a sign of weakness. Cases of dehydration and deaths due to heat stroke raised public concern. Athletes began to realise the importance of hydration and did so diligently when exercising. However, another problem appeared - hyponatremia, which is as detrimental as dehydration. Hyponatremia literally means ‘too little sodium in the blood'. Severe hyponatremia can cause the brain to swell which may result in death. Hyponatremia and dehydration are somewhat opposite conditions which share similar symptoms. Athletes may not realise which one they are suffering from if they feel sick, nauseated and are vomiting during ultra-endurance exercise. After four to six hours of continuous exercise, intensity usually reduces and the possibility of drinking too much increases. In general, fatal hyponatremia is still rare in athletes and dehydration is much more common.

Individualised hydration plan

Factors such as duration of exercise, intensity of exercise, environmental conditions, type of clothing or equipment or protection gear influence sweat loss. In addition, individual characteristics such as body weight, genetic predisposition, heat acclimatisation and metabolic efficiency, influence sweat rates for an individual performing a certain type of exercise. As a result, there is a vast range of sweat rate and total sweat loss even for the same individual doing the same exercise under different conditions. For example, a swimmer who trains in indoor pools will lose fluid at a different rate than when training in outdoor pools. A tennis player who plays a game at noon and then a second game later in the afternoon will need to take special care to rehydrate after the first game at noon.

The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) New Position Stand

The ACSM recently renewed their position stand on "Exercise and Fluid Replacement". The new position encourages a customised hydration plan and strategies for preventing overdrinking in prolonged exercise.

Monitoring by body weight change

Individuals need to monitor their hydration status by body weight measurements. For example, measuring one's body weight first thing in the morning for several days under well-hydrated status helps to establish a baseline body weight. In addition, measuring body weight changes before and after exercise reflects sweat losses during exercise and helps individuals to stay within the acceptable level of no more than 2% weight loss after exercise (e.g. a person who weighs 100 lbs before exercise should not weigh less than 98 lbs after exercise). Measuring body weights before and after exercise in different environmental conditions also help to assess fluid loss and plan fluid replacement needs for exercise under different environmental conditions.

Dehydration degrades overall performance

Dehydration is defined as more than 2% weight loss after exercise. This level of weight loss is sufficient to degrade aerobic performance as well as mental or cognitive performance, especially in a warm or hot environment. However, in a cold environment, individuals may be able to maintain performance even when there is 3% weight loss after exercise. For exercise involving muscular strength or anaerobic performance, dehydration of 3-5% may be tolerated without affecting performance.

The updated guidelines of fluid replacement as stated in the ACSM position paper on "Exercise and Fluid Replacement" are as follows:

1. Drink adequate fluid, at least several hours before exercise, to allow urine output at normal levels. Consuming food and beverages with sodium can help stimulate thirst and retain the needed fluid.
2. During exercise, the goal is to prevent excessive dehydration, which is defined as greater than 2% loss in body weight from water deficit and excessive changes in electrolyte balance. Routine weighing before and after exercise is useful to determine sweat rates and customise fluid replacement plans. For example, a starting point for marathon runners would be to drink as needed from 0.4-0.8L/hr. The higher rate applies to faster, heavier runners competing in warmer environments and the lower rate to slower, lighter runners competing in cooler environments. Assess body weight changes before and after exercise and customise hydration plans. The composition of the rehydration fluid should contain 20-30meq/L sodium chloride, 2.5meq/L potassium and 5-10% carbohydrates. During exercise, consuming beverages containing elecytrolytes and carbohydrates provide benefits over water especially in endurance exercise. Apart from fluids, these components may also be obtained via nutritional aids such as carbohydrate gels, energy bars and other foods.
3. After exercise, the goal is to fully replenish fluid and electrolyte losses. Consumption of normal meals and beverages soon after exercise will aid in restoring euhydration. One needs to drink 1.5L of fluid for each kilogram of weight loss for rapid recovery from excessive dehydration.

Physical activity produces sweat and electrolyte losses, primarily in warm or hot weather. If these losses are not replaced, dehydration will happen. Excessive dehydration leads to deterioration in performance, increases risk of exertional heat illnesses such as heat stroke. On the other hand, overdrinking leads to exercise-associated hyponatremia. Both exertional heat illness and exercise-associated hyponatremia can be life threatening.

Reference:
American College of Sports Medicine (2007). Position stand on "Exercise and fluid replacement". Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 39(2), 377-390.

Marco Fu invited as horse statue designer

Hong Kong snooker athlete Marco Fu, being the Champion of the 2007 Royal London Watches Grand Prix held in October 2007, was invited by the Hong Kong Jockey Club to design a horse statue. During the ceremony, he unveiled a horse statue painted with his design and joined some jockeys for a friendly snooker match. The mix of prominent figures in horseracing and snooker attracted a large group of media to report the event.

HKSI quarterly magazine Sports Excellence-New Edition published

HKSI quarterly magazine Sports Excellence-New Edition was published on 4 December 2007 as a Chinese supplement with Ming Pao. The primary objective of the revamp is to bring more news of local elite sports and the work of the HKSI to a wider range of readers.

Readers are also welcome to browse the online edition which is available in the HKSI website.

The second issue of Sports Excellence will be published in March 2008.

Moreover, the Sports Excellence magazines published during the period from September 2005 to September 2007 have been uploaded on HKSI website. The local and overseas public who care about the elite sports development in Hong Kong would find numerous interesting topics from the publications.

The Hongkong Foundation Continuing Coach Education Programme (CCEP)

Two seminars organised by the Hong Kong Coaching Committee on "Sports Nutrition – Putting Theory into Practice" and "Core Stability Training for Peak Performance", were held on 27 October and 28 December 2007 respectively at the HKSI.

Susan Chung, HKSI Sport Nutritionist, explained how coaches could develop sport-specific dietary strategies to improve the overall performance of athletes in training and competitions in the "Sports Nutrition – Putting Theory into Practice" Seminar. It attracted over 60 coaches to attend.

Kenneth Liang, Hong Kong Coach Accreditation Programme Tutor, introduced the importance of core muscles in enhancing sports performance and demonstrated exercises in the "Core Stability Training for Peak Performance". It attracted over 80 coaches to attend.

From left: Susan Chung, Avia Chan (HKSI Coach Education Manager)

New references at the Sports Information Centre (SIC)

The triathlete's guide to off-season training
(SIC call no.: GV1060.73 .B89 2004)

Written by Karen Buxton, and published by VeloPress in 2004, this guide includes new and productive ways to integrate a variety of conditioning techniques into triathlon training. It explains how to create a complete off-season training plan and provides methods to improve swimming, cycling and running performance. Triathlon coaches and athletes may find it useful.

Vegetarian sports nutrition
(SIC call no.: TX361 .A8L37 2007)

Written by D. Enette Larson-Meyer and published by Human Kinetics in 2007, the author combines the current research and her practical experiences to explain how to gain optimal vegetarian nutrition for enhancing sports performance, training and health, as well as to monitor the energy, carbohydrate, protein, fat, vitamin, and mineral needs. It also discusses areas that concern athletes, such as questions about vitamin and minerals supplements, meaning of latest nutritional terms, losing weight, gaining muscles or remaining injury-free. The book is a useful reference to athletes and sports nutrition professionals.

15^th Hongkong Bank Foundation Elite Coaches Seminar

The 15^th Hongkong Bank Foundation Elite Coaches Seminar will be held on 26 January 2008. The seminar theme is "Sports Injuries". Renowned speakers from overseas, Hong Kong and China will share their expertise and knowledge with local and overseas coaches at the seminar. For details, please visit the Hong Kong Coaching Committee website at http://www.hkcoaching.com.

The Seminar is jointly organised by the Hong Kong Coaching Committee and the All-China Sports Federation.

International Scientific Symposium -
Elite young athletes: biopsychosocial approaches to sporting excellence

The Hong Kong Sports Institute (HKSI) is organising a 2-day International Scientific Symposium (ISS) to be held on 15-16 March 2008 in Hong Kong, with the main theme being "Elite young athletes: biopsychosocial approaches to sporting excellence".

The 2-day event will bring together international and local experts to share the latest knowledge on evidence-based best practice in nurturing and empowering young gifted athletes to excel through systematic programmes geared toward their specific developmental needs.

In addition to keynote lectures, there will be a symposium on preventing burnout in elite young athletes, workshops, and free papers presented by participants. We cordially invite you to join us.

For registration and free paper submission, please visit the ISS website: http://www.hksi.org.hk/iss, or contact the Symposium Secretariat at 2681 6130, by email: iss@hksi.org.hk

For sponsorship opportunities, please contact Ms Chung, Public Affairs & Marketing Department at 2681 6532.