Tsing Ma Bridge Marathon and 10km Race
THE Hong Kong Amateur Athletic Association organised two events to celebrate the opening of the Tsing Ma Bridge: an international marathon and a 10K road race. The routes of both races crossed the bridge, making for a very spectacular, though unchalleging, course. A large number of serving officers (about 150) and civilians of all ages ran both races. Anyone one thinks detectives are unfit might like to reconsider their opinion upon learning that a large party from KW organised by DPC Lam Kong-sek of RIU entered and completed the marathon. Sek Chai's group totalled 22 officers of whom 13 work in Crime Stream. Most senior in the group, DVC TST Leung Fui, himself a former crime man explained: "The course itself was not too bad, but for the first couple of hours the weather was appalling and we were all soaked to the skin. I finished in five hours. Not outstanding, but I'm an old man and 42K is a bloody long way!" he joked. Four women officers also ran, WCIP Ngan Shuk-fan (T KW), W/DSgt Tong Wai-ying (RIU KW), WDPC Ko Yuk-ying (Crime YMT), and WPC Tam Fung-shan (MIIDSS KW). The group from KW was not the only informal team to participate, there
were officers from many formations proving that, despite long hours often
spent working shifts, given determination anyone can achieve standards set
by these runners.
HO can cook and he can run too! Having served in the Police Training School as a cook for nine years, the skinny but tough Ho Kam-fuk is very skillful at preparing three or four-course meals. However, his world is not limited to the kitchen. As a veteran runner for more than eleven years, Ho is a familiar face in such Force-wide races as the Henry Shield, the Dowman and on and on. It was his good record in the Standard Chartered Marathon Hong Kong to Shenzhen Race '97 that brought him to the attention of the Hong Kong Amateur Athletic Association which in turn selected him as a member of the Hong Kong team for the historical Swire Group Tsing Ma Bridge Marathon. Defying heavy rain and strong winds, Mr Ho participated in the race ranking eleventh among a field of international competitors. He completed the 42 kilometre race in 2:41:34 just sixteen minutes behind the winner. "I felt good during the race. The driving rain cooled me down and made me more energetic. It was the longest but the best race I have ever run," he said. "It was a valuable experience for me to compete with runners from such countries as Belgium, Kenya, the UK, Malaysia and Taipei."
MARINE Outer Water District took gold in the 19-day Luscombe-Leslie Cup
Inter-District Basketball Competition which courted 16 teams and over a
hundred aspiring Air Jordans. Second and third placings went to Lantau Island
District and Traffic Hong
THE Helen Lee Siu-foon Institute of Sports Medicine is again offering its services to Force members and their families. The clinic in Sha Wan Drive, Sandy Bay. Those interested in any of these four tests can contact Assistant Force Welfare Officer To Ming-yin at Personnel Services Branch HQ: 2804-1109. The tests are: Osteoporosis Bone Density Test for the whole body ($800) or for a specific part of the body ($500). This test is particularly suitable for those over 45, or for those with a history of bone weakness, especially for post-menopausal women who are more prone to the disease. The General Health Check involves basic level testing of blood quality
for cholesterol and triglycerides; a kidney function test; liver function
test and a test for fasting glucose. Cost $750. The Complete Physical Health Test includes all of the above plus a much more in-depth examination of medical history and overall physical condition; nutritional advice, resting heart and lung tests; cardiac stress test and full counselling, advice and referral service should the tests reveal it to be necessary. Cost $3300. Some people who took the Complete Physical Health Test last year felt that the post-test debriefing could have been better. If you undergo these tests make sure the doctor gives a comprehensive run down of the meaning of all the figures and their significance, and how to rectify problems the tests may identify. Ask specifically for advice on nutrition.
PTS holds a "sports morning" every two months, usually on the Saturday after a passing out parade. The timing is important as it helps to raise morale of those trainees left at the school after seeing their friends and colleagues leave for outside divisions. The sports morning consists of nine "core" events (soccer, basketball, pillow fight, volleyball, football tennis, captain ball and ergometer rowing relay), where squads compete on a rotational basis. The last sports morning was held in early May with 18 squads taking part, and differed to a normal sports morning in that a special event was held to mark the re-opening of the Brick Hill Road, namely the infamous "Brick Hill Race". The Brick Hill race requires two competitors from each squad, male or female, to take part with the women's race starting ten minutes before the men's. The total field including staff came to around 50 competitors. The race is very tough. Upon leaving the East gate of the school a sharp right turn takes athletes up a steep road to the bottom of the Ocean Park steps. This road, although only some 200M long is a killer. Three kilometres later, having climbed in the region of 250M, athletes re-enter PTS via the West gate and sprint for the finish. Sports morning results: Y Squad, first; X Squad, second; Z squad third. The next PTS Brick Hill run will be held in December.
AT the PSRC on the 2 May the showdown of the 96/97 soccer season took place; not Juventus vs Borussia Dortmund, nor South China vs Instant Dict it was the "Champions of Champions" Cup between the Force League winners, Personnel Services Branch, and the winners of the knockout cup, PTU. The meeting decided the best team of the season. Up until that game, honours in the season had been even, PSB won 3-2 in the league, PTU emerged 2-1 winners in the knockout cup semi-final. It was a tense match with both sides at full strength. The day was a high profile occasion, with many senior officers attending, including DMS Ching Kwok-ho, Chairman of the Sports Council Lam Kin and C PTU Yam Tat-wing who treated his squad to a winner's dinner, plus numerous others bringing the total spectators to around 300, not including the 100-odd members of the public who regularly watch, and bet on, their favourite teams from outside the fence. For the PSB team with an average age of about 38, the weather was very hot, and although they were able to match the PTU team for skill, with at least six SDU men in the their side, PTU adapted to the conditions much better and came out deserving 3-0 winners.
Goals came from Sgt Lo Kwok-wai, Sgt Shum Mau-kuen and PC So Kai-fai. Beaver Yu of SDU, the team manager was very happy: "What can I say? They started well in the first half and showed plenty of spirit,but it's all about 90 minutes, and at the end of the day all credit to our lads who really nailed their colours to the drawing board." Michael Li the PSB team captain said after the game: "The temperature was very hot, and they were fitter than us. We came close to scoring many times in the first half. If we had managed to get a couple of goals, we might have been able to hang on for the win. But it's a game of two halves and they came out all guns blazing." The match was the last time the PSB will play as a team. After many years together representing both PSB and the Force, they are disbanding following downsizing of Sports and Recreation Division. The team formerly called Welfare have won the league, knockout cup and 7-A-Side trophy over ten times each, and have been the "Champion of Champions" five times since the cup's inception in 1990. Next season all teams have a chance to prosper in the absence of PSB, though the league will be very different without the "lo beng".
FORCE holiday bungalow accommodation is available from May 9 to June 30 for Gazetted and Inspectorate officers and their civilian counterparts as follows: Hoi Fu Fa Yuen in Macau, May 9, 12-16, 20-23, 26-27, 30-31; June 1-6, 9-27. Casa Pearl Terrace in Macau, May 10-31; June 1-30. Casa Sagre in Macau, May 11-25, 30-31; June 1-30. Golden Peak Building in Macau, May 12-15, 18-31. June 1-30. Ham Tin 10 1/F in Pui O, May 9-16, 20-29; June 1-6, 9-13, 16-27. Tung Tsz A4 in Tai Po, May 11-14, 18-31; June 1-6, 9-27. Accommodation after July, 1997 will be allocated by ballot. For reservations, apply to Personnel Services Branch Holiday Facilities Unit at 2804-1135. Applicants please use the new application forms (Rev 94). You cannot apply for more than one bungalow during the same period. The following hotels are offering accommodation at reduced rates for Force members: Mandarin Oriental Macau (2800-7338) New Century Hotel Macau (2581-9863) New World Emperor Hotel Macau (2731-3488) Hotel Sintra (2546-6944) Holiday Inn Macau (2800-5646) Hotel Ritz Macau (2739-9928) Nan Hai Hotel Shenzhen (2368-1111) Forum Hotel Shenzhen (2866-7699); and Gold Coast Hotel (2452-8888) Interested colleagues should obtain a letter of introduction from the Personnel Services Branch Holiday Facilities Unit and contact the hotels directly for reservations.
A BIG turnout of around 350 braved the poor weather to represent the Force in the 1997 Torch Run, a disciplined services charity event benefitting disabled athletes in Hong Kong and raising money for them to attend the Special Olympics held in the US in 1999. Once again the Force raised the most money for the cause, and had the biggest turnout. Thanks to the efforts of DMS, ACP ISW, DC KT, C PTS and smaller contributions from 31 other formations, the RHKP was able to raise $429,500. The event involved a parade and a short fun run along Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront. The police party was led by DMS Ching and ACP ISW Peter Halliday, with an especially large contingent from PTS headed by A/C PTS McDouall. They joined the Secretary for Justice (Designate) Elsie Leung in a very successful day despite heavy rain. One of the main organisers Fay Ho was impressed with the contribution of the Force: "Once again the Royal Hong Kong Police has served us well, they are the number one fund-raiser for the second year running. I am also pleased to say that the Force, along with the other services, has also been very generous in cash donations this morning." Anyone wishing to make further donations can call Miss Ho: 2697-3731. |
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