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Over hundred local and overseas coaches learnt a fruitful lesson at the 13^th Hongkong Bank Foundation Elite Coaches Seminar which was successfully held on 2 and 3 December at the newly converted Challenge Hall at the Hong Kong Sports Institute (HKSI) where famous high-performance coaches gave tips on coaching excellence.

Four renowned speakers including Glenn Beringen from Australia, Sun Haiping and Chen Zhonghe from Mainland China, and Rene Appel from Hong Kong brought in their successful stories of coaching world-class athletes to victory in the Olympic Games.

Glenn Beringen, coach of Petria Thomas who won a gold medal in the women's 100m butterfly and silver medal in the 200m butterfly at the 2004 Athens Olympics, talked about how he led Petria "From Adversity to Ecstasy" of clinching medals in the Olympics.

Sun Haiping, coach of Liu Xiang, 2004 Athens Olympic gold medallist in men's 110m hurdles, spoke on "Striving for Excellence", where he shared Liu's path to victory and the training methodology involved for the success.

Chen Zhonghe, Chief Coach of China National Women's Volleyball Team, who successfully led the Chinese women's volleyball team in claiming the 2003 World Champion as well as a gold at the 2004 Athens Olympics, shared his view on how he developed team cohesion with a topic on "Volleying the Team Synergy".

Rene Appel, coach of windsurfing queen Lee Lai-shan, talked about "Windsurfing with the Elites" -- the secrets to accomplish Lee with an Olympic gold medal in 1996 and the training plan for the 2008 Olympics.

Professor Frank Fu, Chairman of the Hong Kong Coaching Committee (HKCC), welcomed Z hang Tianbai, Head of China Delegation and Vice General Director of Science and Education Department of the All-China Sports Federation, local and overseas experts at the Opening Ceremony held on 3 December.

"We set the theme as ‘Quest for Excellence – Olympic Gold Medal Coaches in the Spotlight' which we believe is of great interest and benefit to our coaches. It is our great honour to have world's best coaches to share with us their experiences and expertise in coaching the Olympic medal-winning athletes."

"The success of the event would not be made possible without the support from various counterparts. I would like to extend my appreciation to the support of the All-China Sports Federation, the Hongkong Bank Foundation and the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the HKSAR," said Professor Fu.

Apart from the many quality presentations, the two-day event also featured a Coaching Directors' Forum during which experts from Singapore, the Philippines and Mainland China shared their experience in the latest developments in coaching.

Guo Zhongxi, Officer of National Table Tennis & Badminton Centre of All-China Sports Federation, gave a detailed presentation on the development of table tennis coaches in China; Stevenson Lai, Assistant Director of Coaching Programmes & Technical Development, Sports Management & Development Group, Singapore Sports Council, analysed the latest coaching development in Singapore. Concluding the Forum was Jose Caripo, Technical Consultant of Philippine Sports Commission, who introduced the role of Philippine Sports Commission in coaching development.

Jointly organised by the Hong Kong Coaching Committee and the All-China Sports Federation with the funding from the Hongkong Bank Foundation, the aim of the annual Seminar is to provide a platform for exchange of ideas and expertise between overseas and local coaching professionals, with particular emphasis on strengthening the linkage between Hong Kong and Mainland China.

The Seminar is also the first event to take place at the newly opened Challenge Hall. To mark the opening of the Challenge Hall, a Ceremony was held in collaboration with the Opening Ceremony of the 13th Hongkong Bank Foundation Elite Coaches Seminar cum Coaching Director Forum on 3 December 2005.

"With the completion of the conversion work in November 2005, the Challenge Gymnasium was re-named Challenge Hall to support the elite training of table tennis and other sport trainings as well as hosting of conferences and seminars. This would certainly help to take elite sports to a new height," said Dr Eric Li, Chairman of the HKSI at the Ceremony.

All the Olympic gold medal coaches and officiating guests were invited to sign on a display board as a gesture of support to Hong Kong athletes in pursuit of sporting excellence in international arena. On behalf of the table tennis elite athletes, Hui Jun, National Coach of Hong Kong, China Table Tennis Team and Chan Kong-wah, Coach of the Hong Kong, China Men's Table Tennis Team also presented a table tennis racket autographed by Olympic silver medallists Ko Lai-chak and Li Ching to Dr Li in appreciation of the comprehensive support provided by the HKSI for their training.