Author: admin

I hope that everyone is managing to enjoy their training through the heat of the Hong Kong summer. Those braving the oppressive conditions have been rewarded with stunning views and gorgeous blue skies.

The racing scene in HK has continued to suffer from the tight restrictions in place but our swimmers are back in the pool and we have had some great results from running races which have taken place.

World Masters Athletics Championships
There is a detailed report from Colin Whittington later in the newsletter about the Hong Kong team who recently travelled to Finland for The World Masters Athletics Championships. We had 6 athletes competing this year and they produced a string of PBs and Hong Kong age group records. Congratulations to all of them and I would particularly like to mention Willie Kung, who competed in the M60 long jump and won bronze. What an amazing achievement!

AVOHK are the governing body for masters athletics in Hong Kong and we have a long history of sending teams to meets around the world. Athletes do not need to be AVOHK members to represent Hong Kong and we welcome athletes from all events and age groups who are keen to take part in international meets. Please keep an eye on our website for details of overseas meets.

Hong Kong Athletics Championships 2022
Closer to home, HKAAA did a great job of organising the Hong Kong Athletics Championships, which were held in blistering heat last month at Tseung Kwan O Sports Ground. AVOHK was able to enter a team of 5 runners. Congratulations to Charlotte Hall who is the new HK 5000m champion.

Sun Hung Kai Properties HK 10k Championships, Tin Shui Wai, 28th August
AVOHK has entered 17 runners for the HK 10k Championships which will take place next month. We are still waiting to hear whether all of our runners will be accepted into the elite race, but we wish all of our runners the very best of luck!

Elaine Hall
Chair, AVOHK

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

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:

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

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