admin – Page 6

2022 World Masters athletic championships Day 4

July 3, 2022 admin 2158 Views

Day 4 – 2nd July at the World Masters Athletics in Tampere Finland saw Willie Kung bag a bronze medal for Hong Kong in the M60 Long Jump. Fantastic achievement by Willie. In the W40 200m heats Grace Tong broke the Hong Kong age group record in 30.36 secs. Way to go Grace!

In the M40 200m heats good solid performance by Charles Wong in his first World Masters Athletics Championships, gaining valuable experience. Jackie Ho was seeded in the A final of the M60 5,000 and ran a very quick 19 mins 39 sec for an overall placing of 14th out of 27 runners. Great result by Jackie. Jackie still has the M60 1,500 metres and M60 Half Marathon later in the week.

Peter Lam M55 rested his sore hamstring and gave the 200m a miss to concentrate on the 400m. Today Day 5 no Hong Kong athletes competing.

Note: Mon 4th July is a rest day for all athletes whilst the WMA general assembly takes place.

You can watch Day 5 events in the main stadium live. Mainly 200 semi and final and Javelin. Starts at 2.30pm hkt.

Results and schedule

Results

Masters Track&Field

2022 World Masters athletic championships Day 1 to 3

July 2, 2022 admin 1793 Views

Hong Kong have 6 masters athletes competing in the 2022 World Masters Athletic Championships being held in Tampere, Finland 29th June to 10th July.

In the first 3 days Charles Wong had a PB in the M40 100m. Peter Lam had a great run in the M55 100m heats and made it to the Semi finals. Narrowly missing a place in the final. Jackie Ho ran a very gutsy M60 800m heat knocking over 10 secs off his PB.

Big day coming on Day 4 – Sat 2nd July 2022. With Grace Tong in the W40 200m heats, Peter Lam M55 200m heats, Jackie Ho in M60 5,000m and Willie Kung in M60 Long Jump.

Later in the week Mike Powell the current World Long Jump record holder (8.95m) competes in the M55 Long Jump.

More information can be found here : https://wmatampere2022.com/

Events in the main stadium are being shown live on YouTube . Day 4 – 2nd

From a very warm Finland, land of the midnight sun.

Message from the Chair

Message from the Chair – June 2022

June 28, 2022 admin 1030 Views

AGM
Our AGM took place over Zoom last week and I would like to thank everyone who joined the meeting or took the time to submit a proxy. Most of our office bearers have been re-elected to serve another term, but I would to thank our out-going treasurer Peter Wong, who has completed his term and therefore had to step down (per our constitution). I am pleased to say that Peter will remain on the committee and will still be involved in our events. Nigel Raymont was elected as our new treasurer and will take over from Peter this summer. Nigel may be familiar to our members as, along with fellow committee member Aldo Kriel, he was instrumental in building our new AVOHK website which launched at the beginning of this year. You might also remember him from the enthusiastic singalong at the end of our 2021 Christmas Party!

World Masters Athletics Championships and General Assembly

Our vice-chair Colin Whittington will be the Hong Kong delegate at the 2022 World Masters Athletics General Assembly, which will be taking place in Tampere, Finland, next month. There will be a small Hong Kong team of 5 athletes competing in the WMA Championships, also in Tampere. We wish them all the best and look forward to hearing all about the meeting in our next newsletter.

Hong Kong Athletics Championships
Closer to home, we have 4 of our runners racing for AVOHK in the Hong Kong Athletics Championships at Tseung Kwan O Sports Ground this weekend.
Good luck to all of them!

Elaine Hall
Chair

AVOHK Activities

Registration of SHK Properties Hong Kong 10K Championships 2022

June 25, 2022 admin 2232 Views

Dear AVOHK runners,

Good to know the captioned competition has been scheduled for 28 August.

Please read carefully the event information attached.

If you have reached the time standard, you are advised to submit your result via the link “Elite Race Application” below, HKAAA will approve and send you a separate application form for the Elite Application.

If you want to enter via the “Priority Registration”, please let me know your personal details (as per the excel form attached) before 24/6 Friday at freemanavohk@gmail.com.

Moreover, you should do the athletes personal declaration by yourself, link below.

====================================================================

“Sun Hung Kai Properties Hong Kong 10K Championships 2022” will be held on 28^th August 2022 (Sunday) at Tin Ying Road, Tin Shui Wai. The total of 2,500 quotas are open for registration. The event consists of 8 individual categories including Junior, Senior, Master 1 & 2 for both Men and Women. The deadline of club priority registration will be 27^thJune 2022.

The priority registration if only for the registration of Non-elite Race (15 quotas) and Junior Nomination (2 quotas), each club can nominate 2 Junior athletes (born in 2003-2006) without previous race results to compete in the Elite Race. All club priority applicants must complete the below personal declaration to confirm the registration.

Athletes Personal Declaration: https://bit.ly/3mWa12b

For other age categories Elite Race applicants, please fill in the below application form or visit the “Sun Hung Kai Properties Hong Kong 10K Championships 2022 (Elite Race)” page on our website for more information.

Elite Race Application: https://bit.ly/3xyOXnp

Priority registration for HKAAA Affiliated Clubs is now available until 27^th June 2022. Please be reminded that runners registering via HKAAA Affiliated Clubs must fulfill the requirement of “Registration of Athlete 2022 & Priority Entry for HKAAA Registered Athletes”. Event information and enrollment form have been attached. HKAAA will issue debit notes to clubs before the event (No individual payment will be accepted).

Should you have any enquiries, please do not hesitate to contact Events Team at 2504 8215 or events@hkaaa.com.

*Anti-pandemic and entry requirement will be adjusted according to the latest Hong Kong Government measures.

*Permit of the captioned event is currently pending for Government’s approval.

HKAAA Secretariat

AVOHK Races

RESULTS: 2022 Malcolm Phillips Virtual Age-Graded 5K

June 9, 2022 admin 1455 Views

Thank you to all of our runners who supported The Malcolm Phillips Age- Graded 5k recently. For the second time, the event was held as a virtual event on Bowen Road. After Malcolm’s brother, Graham, and his niece, Kathryn, took part in our 2021 event from England, we decided to include a special overseas category in this year’s race. It was lovely to see results being submitted from England, Spain and Japan. I would also like to thank all the race-walkers who once again supported the race. The race-walk times have been graded with the runners and included in the results below.

Congratulations to Belinda Greer and Frank McNamara who won the Ladies’ and Men’s categories in fantastic age-graded times of 20:36 and 16:31 respectively.

Our overseas category was won by Kathryn Taylor in England (20:39) and Juergen Wittsock in Japan (15:39).

Well done to everyone who participated. The full results are shown below. Prizes will be mailed to the top 3 men and ladies within the week and certificates and souvenirs will be sent to all finishers.

Click here for the results!

Message from the Chair

Message from the Chair – May 2022

May 31, 2022 admin 1006 Views

AGM

Due to current government restrictions, and the number of committee members who are currently overseas, the AVOHK Committee voted to hold a virtual AGM this year. In accordance with our constitution, our AGM will be held at 7pm on Wednesday, 15th June 2022, and formal notice will be sent out next week, along with proxy forms. The business of the AGM will be to receive and consider the Chair’s report and Treasurer’s report, to elect office holders and General Committee members, and to transact any other business of which due notice has been given. Since we are not holding the customary social event after the AGM this year, we will be presenting our Athlete of the Year trophies at a later date, hopefully to coincide with our anniversary celebrations in October.

All members are welcome to attend our AGM and Full Members, but not Junior Members, are eligible to vote. I would urge all members to submit a proxy form if they are unable to attend so that they can nominate a member to vote on their behalf. This year we have vacancies for the post of Vice-Chair and Treasurer and would welcome nominations for these roles. We would also welcome new General Committee members who are keen to get involved in race management, organising social events or sourcing souvenirs and medals.

We are also still looking for someone to take responsibility for our environmental policy.

Of course, members are free to nominate candidates for any of our other roles. A nomination form is attached.

If members would like to bring up any matter at the AGM, please submit notice to chair@avohk.org not less than 48 hours before the AGM.

MALCOLM PHILLIPS VIRTUAL AGE-GRADED 5K

Results are already starting to come in for the annual age-graded 5k! The Malcolm Phillips race is open until midnight on Monday, 30th May, and runners can still enter at:

MALCOLM PHILLIPS VIRTUAL RACE 2022

Please upload results to the link on the entry form. We have had some great temperatures for running lately so this may be your chance to get that age-graded PB!

Elaine Hall
Chair, AVOHK

Message from the Chair

Message from the Chair – Apr 2022

April 24, 2022 admin 1082 Views

As we head towards the summer, restrictions are slowly beginning to ease in Hong Kong and AVOHK are hard at work planning a season of racing.

Our Races for 2022

While the Cap 599 Social Distancing Restrictions remain in place, it is very difficult to organise races and the exemption, which race organisers require, is often only granted a week or two ahead of the race. This makes planning and budgeting for these races extremely difficult and, for this reason, we have decided to alter our race schedule for this season in the hope that focusing our efforts on races towards the end of the year might mean that we no longer have to apply for these exemptions. We are very much hoping to see you all on the startlines!

Malcolm Phillips

Our popular age-graded 5k will take place in virtual format again this year. The race is open for registration now and can be run between Friday, 13th May, and Monday, 30th May, on the usual course on Bowen Road. As many of our members are currently overseas, we thought that it would be nice to include an international element to the race this year. If you are outside Hong Kong, please feel free to sign up. You can run the 5k on any flat course near you (we trust you not to cheat with a crazy downhill course!) and upload your result. There will be a separate prize for overseas runners. For more information and registration, see our website https://avohk.org/index.php/the-14th-malcolm-phillips-5k-2022/.

World Masters Athletics Championships

The deadline for entry to this year’s World Master’s Athletics Championships in Finland is Wednesday, 27th April. There are further details on the AVOHK website. Please consider participating and representing Hong Kong if you will be in Europe in the summer.

40^th Anniversary Race

Many of you will remember the mixed team race which we held at Pak Tam Chung in 2012 to celebrate our 30th anniversary. It was a great day and the unusual format made for some great post-race reflections over a beer! Dave Smith has been planning a similar event to mark our 40th. Please save Saturday 29th October in your diaries and keep an eye on our website for more information nearer the time.

5k and Reservoir Series

We have started to organise a couple of 5k races in November this year, and Reservoir races in February and March. Due to the uncertainty caused by the pandemic, we decided that it was better to treat these as stand-alone races this year rather than part of a series. Details will be announced in due course.

AGM

The AVOHK AGM will be held in June and all members will be notified by email soon. We are very much hoping that it can go ahead at Café 8 but we do have the option of conducting it virtually if necessary. Colin Whittington will be stepping down as vice-chair and Peter Wong will step down as treasurer. So far, Nigel Raymont has indicated that he would be happy to stand as treasurer and we are still looking for nominations to fill the post of vice-chair. If you are interested in serving on the committee, we would be very happy to hear from you. We are particularly looking for people who are able to help with race planning and organization, planning of social events and sourcing of race souvenirs. We have also been moving towards focusing on more environmentally friendly policies (reusable / compostable water cups, reduced packaging, collaboration with recycling companies, etc) and we would welcome anyone who would be able to help with this. Please feel free to email me at chair@avohk.org.

China Coast Marathon and Half Marathon

The China Coast Marathon and Half Marathon will take place on Sunday, 8th January 2023. So, get those training plans out!

Elaine Hall
Chair

AVOHK CCM 2019 w Rod Dixon

Awards and Recognition

Runners’ Stories … Colin Whittington, Vice-Chair AVOHK

April 17, 2022 admin 1503 Views

When we invited Colin Whittington to share his Runner’s Story, we held our breath … Yep, Colin defines the word ‘Veteran’ in AVOHK! We actually heard that Netflix wants the rights to this Post as they’re considering adapting it for a series simply called “Whittington”.

So here’s Colin in his own words – grab a coffee and get comfy, you’re in for a treat, as Colin picks up his story at the tender age of 21 …

I started running in 1978 at the age of 21 when I was based with the British Army in Rheindahlen, Germany. I joined a group that trained at lunchtimes, initially just to keep fit. I had done some running before but never on a regular basis or with any thought or structure to it. There were a lot of experienced runners within the group and apart from lunchtimes some of us met on Sundays for a long run over a very hilly course at Dulken Woods (8 big hills per 10k loop). The area we trained in at lunchtimes was superb, within minutes we were in the forest on some wonderful trails and quite flat. During the winter we raced on Wednesday afternoons in the local forces’ cross-country league. In my first season in 1978/79 I was lucky if I finished in the top 100 but by 1981/82 season after 3 years of regular training, I was able to make the top 10 in some races. During those early years I also started doing some track in the summer but really lacked the speed in the shorter races. So added more speed and speed endurance track work to my training. That really paid off and managed to reduce my 5,000 metre’s time to 15 mins 33 secs. I was fortunate there were a lot of good people to train with. Along with the long Sunday runs this really prepared me well for my first marathon in 1981 at Enschede in the Netherlands. A flat and very fast course but held in July and the weather was quite warm. I finished my first marathon in 2hrs 37mins. I slowed a lot towards the finish, but I was happy with the result. I was asked to be part of a small forces team to run the 1981 Athens marathon. The original course from Marathon to Athens. My time was not that great, but the experience was unforgettable. In September 1982 I moved back to UK and in October that year I ran my best marathon time of 2hrs 33 mins at the City of Gloucester Marathon for 12^th place. In UK I joined a local running club Telford AC and enjoyed running in the 3^rd Division of the Birmingham cross country league. Telford won the league in the 1982/83 season. Telford AC also qualified for the 1982 UK national six stage road relay finals. I really enjoyed being part of the team and regularly attended their weekly club run. I also competed for my local unit in the local West Midlands Police Cross Country league.

In July 1984, I was posted to Hong Kong and lived in Blackdown Barracks in San Po Kong, very close to Kai Tak Airport. Not the ideal place for training but I found some good routes near the airport and made regular trips to train at Shing Mun and Shek Lek Pui reservoirs and the catchment path just off Tai Po Road. Wonderful places to train. I also joined Phoenix AC a local running club that competed regularly in the HKAAA Cross country league and other HKAAA events. Phoenix won the Hong Kong National Cross-Country championships in the first year I was with them. In the mid 80’s there was a thriving HKAAA Cross Country league during the winter and most local running clubs entered. Races were primarily held at Army bases in the New Territories and around Shing Mun Reservoir. The club asked me to represent them at the HKAAA committee meetings. I think it was in 1985 I ended up being co-opted onto the HKAAA distance running committee. I was fortunate there were a few old hands on the committee, Nick and Maggie Brooke and also Mike Field. During my time in Hong Kong, I also competed on Wednesday afternoons in the local forces’ cross-country league. There was quite a depth of talent including some strong runners from the Gurkha’s and RAF. In mid 1986 I was asked to take on the role of Hong Kong Forces Cross Country Secretary and decided also to put together a Hong Kong British Forces Team and enter the local HKAAA Cross Country League and Championship. We had around 20 in the team from various forces units in Hong Kong. All had to be registered with the HKAAA. We were fortunate to get some valuable kit sponsorship from New Balance. In the 1986/87 season the British Forces won the HKAAA Cross Country League and the HKAAA Cross Country Championships. We finished the season off by having a trip to Singapore and competing across the border in the Desaru Half Marathon where Chong Ba Sherpa and Ati Limbu finished 1^st and 2^nd in 1 hour 8 Mins. I left Hong Kong in May 1987 not realizing at the time that I had met my future wife.

Back in UK and from mid 1987 to Oct 1993 I continued to compete in local forces Cross Country leagues and ran for Bicester Athletic Club. One highlight during this period was competing in the 1989 Ben Nevis race. Unusual terrain for me, but good fun. I left the Army in 1993 and went to work in Zagreb for 18 months. I was fortunate to find a few friends to run with at lunchtime. Not too many local races but still kept up Sunday long runs. In 1995 I went to work in Oman for 2 years. Wonderful location but incredibly hot in the summer (over 50c). The winters were lovely. I joined the Muscat Road Runners and although not many local races the club met three times a week at different locations for some social runs, time trials and club races. During the winter we would organise some longer events and have our own club league. A real social atmosphere. Prior to my last year in Oman someone kindly volunteered me as Chairman. One highlight was the club putting on a club relay race from Sur to the Beach Club in Muscat. Around 210 Kms following the main Sur to Muscat Road. We had 2 teams and each runner would run several 5k stretches during the day. We started at around 4.30am after camping out over night at Sur and managed to make it to the Muscat Beach Club by around 7pm. Followed by a hot shower, BBQ, and some beers. I still have the T-Shirt.

After leaving Oman in May 1997, I spent some time in UK and a year or so in Singapore before deciding to come back to Hong Kong in November 1999. I was still doing some running to keep fit but not that competitive. Soon after arriving back in Hong Kong, I joined AVOHK and paid my HKD 1,000 for life membership. I didn’t race too often for AVOHK, but I did manage to make the team for the 2001 Sedan Chair Race. That was incredibly tough and an event AVOHK dominated for over 20 years. I have always enjoyed helping at AVOHK races, being on the committee and in 2016 took up the challenge of being Chairman of AVOHK for 5 years (2016 to 2021). I don’t run much these days due to a knee issue that occurred around 7 years ago. I do enjoy watching athletics and have been fortunate to attend two Asian Masters Championships (2017 Rugau and 2019 in Sarawak) and the 2018 World Masters Athletic championships in Malaga. I very much enjoy the sport.

Asian Masters Sarawak Malaysia (Dec 2019)

AVOHK Activities

HKAAA races

April 8, 2022 admin 1572 Views

HKAAA are in the process of applying for permission for 2 Track meets, The Hong Kong Athletics Trial 2022 on the 30 April- 1 May, and The Hong Kong Athletics Series 1 on the 7-8 May, both at Tseung Kwan O Sports Ground. Both of these meets are subject to The Home Affairs Bureau granting exemption to Cap. 599 and there will likely be reduced quotas for races and additional social distancing measures in place if they are able to go ahead.

All entries will be done through clubs and schools. If you would like to represent AVOHK, please contact Freeman Lee at freemanavohk@gmail.com.

Club vests are mandatory for all runners and these can be ordered online now if you need one.

Full details of the Meets can be found at https://hkaaa.com

Good luck!

Hong Kong Team: Taipei 2012

Masters Track&Field

World Masters Athletics Championships 2022

April 7, 2022 admin 1483 Views

The 2022 World Masters Athletics Championships will be held in Tampere, Finland from June 29 – July 10.

Hong Kong has a long and successful history at these events and it would be great if we could send a team again this year. With quarantine rules relaxing slightly, some of our runners may be able to considering travelling to Europe this summer.

If you are keen to race, or have any queries, please contact Bill Purves at billpurves@alum.mit.edu.

More information can be found at the website https://wmatampere2022.com

Due to the Covid 19 pandemic, this will be the first World Masters Athletics Championships since the 2018 meet which was held in Malaga.

The WMA Championships have been held by 18 different nations and 23 cities world-wide since its inception in Toronto in 1985.