Contents Highlights


Smart officers catch spectators' fancy

 

All the 14 officers who performed the flag-raising ceremony during the Olympic and Paralympic Equestrian Events stand at a minimum of 185 cm in accordance with the height requirement set by the Beijing Organising Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad. Besides the height requirement, the officers also meet another criterion of the organising committee - having a smart appearance.

The flag-raising ceremony was free from hiccup throughout the Olympic and Paralympic Equestrian Events

No wonder, according to feedback, the officers, dressed in a white uniform tailor-made for them by the organising committee, had caught the fancy of many spectators of the Events, and their impeccable way of executing the flag-raising ceremony had also impressed many athletes.

Finding officers meeting the organising committee's criteria was by no means an easy task. Therefore, this job fell on the Police Basketball Team and the Police Shooting Team, both of which have members with a tall stature. The teams' efforts finally paid off when the 14 officers they had identified readily accepted the offer of an invaluable opportunity to serve the Olympics and the motherland.

These officers, together with two Sergeants from the Police College, made up two teams, each with eight officers, to execute the flag-raising ceremony at the Sha Tin Venue.

Father and son in same team

SGTs Lui Tak-shing and Lam Tak were responsible for training up their team members for the flag-raising ceremony. By sheer coincidence, SGT Lam and his son, Police Constable Lam Chak-hung, served in the same team.

During an interview with OffBeat, PC Lam said: "My father encouraged me to join the team because he considered it a great personal honour. It was a great experience for me and my father to take part in the Olympic Games!"

"We had fully briefed the team members on the Beijing organising committee's requirements and on what it expected them to do at the flag-raising ceremony. Two weeks before commencement of the Olympic Equestrian Events, we started training at the Sha Tin Venue and later went through many rehearsals," said SGT Lui.

PC Lam pointed out that the training was so comprehensive that the flag-raising ceremony was free from any hiccup during both the Olympic and Paralympic Events. However he noted: "No matter how well you've prepared and no matter how many rehearsals you've gone through, mechanic failure may still happen. This happened at the last ceremony on the last day of the Paralympic Events when the national flag of the silver medallist suddenly stopped about half a metre from the top of the flag post. I immediately raised the flag to the top manually, without anybody noticing anything."

Teamwork pays off

Another team member, PC Yeung Chun-pong, has this to say about his team members' performance: "Every team member knew exactly what he had to do, and how important his role was. What they had learned about flag-raising at the Police College was a big help, but they had come up with good teamwork throughout the Events."

"The only regret that I've is I can't keep the smart uniform as a souvenir because it has to be returned to the organising committee," he quipped.

Father and son
Editor: Peter Tiu: 2860-6171
 
Reporters: Herman Fong: 2860-6172
Tony Au Yeung: 2860-6173
 
Photographers: Almon Suen: 2860-6174
Jason Chu: 2860-6175
 
Fax: 2200-4309
 
Address: 10/F, Arsenal House, Police Headquarters,
No.1 Arsenal Street, Wan Chai, Hong Kong
 
Internet: http://www.info.gov.hk/police
 
Email: sio-off-beat-pprb@police.gov.hk
 
Deadline for next edition: October 21, 2008
 

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