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A total of 100 coaches were honoured at the 2011 Hongkong Bank Foundation (HBF) Coaching Awards Presentation today in recognition of their hard work and effort in coaching Hong Kong’s athletes to achieve sports excellence at the international sporting arena last year.

Organised by the Hong Kong Coaching Committee (HKCC) and funded by the HBF since 1993, the annual HBF Coaching Awards is the only territory-wide programme to commend the achievements of local coaches from the community to elite levels in nurturing athletes and promoting the sports development in Hong Kong. This year’s officiating guests included Tsang Tak-sing, Secretary for Home Affairs; Vivien Lau, Vice President of the Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China (SF&OC); Carlson Tong, Chairman of the Hong Kong Sports Institute (HKSI); Professor Frank Fu, Chairman of the HKCC; and Kathy Wong, Secretary of the Advisory Committee of the Hongkong Bank Foundation.

Professor Frank Fu said in his welcome speech, “The achievements and success of the athletes to a large extent are owed to the sincere and wholehearted devotion of their coaches, who always try very hard to ensure that their athletes are in peak condition. The Hongkong Bank Foundation Coaching Awards is therefore organised to provide a valuable opportunity to pay tribute to dedicated coaches who have made exemplary achievements.” Professor Fu was also thankful to the Government for its support to the Awards, the HBF for its generous and continuous funding to the Coach Education Programme, as well as the National Sports Associations for their effort and cooperation in raising the level of coach education and the profile of coaches.

Kathy Wong also commended awardees for their effort and enthusiasm. She said, “Behind every great athlete there is a great coach. Coaches are great people who provide the sound advice, the constant support and encouraging words. With their devoted efforts and contributions, coaches should also get the recognition they deserve.”

2011 HBF Coaching Awards were presented in six categories, namely Coach of the Year Awards, Distinguished Services Award for Coaching, Best Team Sport Coach Award, Coach Education Award, Coaching Excellence Awards and Community Coach Recognition Awards.

Distinguished Services Award for Coaching went to veteran cycling coach Shen Jinkang in recognition of his long-term commitment to the sport. Shen has served as a coach of the Hong Kong cycling team since 1994 and had nurtured many world class athletes including Chan Chun-hing, Kwok Ho-ting, Lee Wai-sze, Wong Kam-po and Wong Wan-yiu, to attain outstanding achievements at different Major Games and international competitions over the years.

There were six recipients in the Coach of the Year Awards this year. Swimming coach for the athletes with intellectual disabilities Kam Chi-ho and wushu coach Gao Song shared the honour in the senior athletes, individual sport category while table tennis coach Li Huifen and wheelchair fencing coach Wang Ruiji were both recipients in the senior athletes, team event category. In the junior athletes category, the Coach of the Year Awards for individual sport and team event went to wushu coach Wong Chi-kwong and squash coach Leung Kan-fai respectively.

Under his high performance coaching, coach Kam Chi-ho led the swimming team with intellectual disabilities to sweep 5 gold and 7 silver medals at the 3^rd INAS-FID Global Games (World Swimming Championships), enabled him to taste the sweetness of his debut Coach of the Year Award title.

Wushu coach Gao Song was honoured the Coach of the Year Award in the same category again after 2009 by leading the wushu team to return home a record high honour of 3 gold, 6 silver and 1 bronze medal at the 11th World Wushu Championships.

Table Tennis coach Li Huifen collected her fifth Coach of the Year title in a row in the senior athletes, team event category since 2007. Li coached the women’s team by winning 2 bronze medals at the World Table Tennis Championships 2011 and a bronze medal at the Women's Team Cup 2011 respectively.

Wheelchair fencing coach Wang Ruiji earned his Coach of the Year title this year by coaching the Hong Kong team to snatch 2 gold medals in the women’s epee and foil team events, and a bronze medal in the men’s foil team event at the IWAS Wheelchair Fencing World Championships 2011.

Shared the limelight with other multiple Coach of the Year Award winners was wushu coach Wong Chi-kwong, who had won the Award for the third time this year in the junior athletes, individual sport category. Wong led five up-and-coming athletes to win 3 gold and 4 silver medals at the 6th Asian Junior Wushu Championships, the best ever result among the past editions.

Squash coach Leung Kan-fai was honoured the title in the junior athletes, team event category again after his debut victory in 2009. Under his guidance, the promising girls’ team grabbed a gold medal at the 15th Asian Junior Team Squash Championships and a bronze medal at the World Junior Women's Championship 2011.

With his brilliant performance, rugby coach Dai Rees won the Best Team Sport Coach Award again this year by leading the Hong Kong team to get a silver medal at the 7-a-side, Asian Sevens Series - Shanghai.

Vice President (Technical) of the Hong Kong Lawn Bowls Association Claudius Lam caught the eyes of judges to win the Coach Education Award with his continuous devotion to the sport over the years. Lam has been involving in coach education since 2001. He had also helped develop a systematic coaching system on coach qualification, registration and monitoring, and a series of coaching materials and manuals.

The Coaching Excellence Awards were presented to 72 coaches who led an athlete or a team to achieve outstanding performance at many major international competitions in 2011, while 26 coaches were presented with the Community Coach Recognition Awards for having made a special contribution to the development of athletes and coaches in the community for a period of not less than three consecutive years.

Last but not least, gymnast Wong Hiu-ying played a special role on floor this year to invite some guests and athletes to share their views on the strenuous efforts and contribution of coaches to local sport.

The HKCC, a joint committee of the SF&OC and the HKSI, was established in 1991 with aims of formulating and implementing short-term and long-term strategies for the development of coach education and accreditation programmes in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Coach Education Programme has been funded by the HBF with a total commitment of more than HK$26 million since 1992. Throughout the years, over 80,000 coaches have benefited from the training and recognition programmes in the Programme.

For the List of Recipients for the 2011 Hongkong Bank Foundation Coaching Awards, please click here. For the past recipients, please click here.