In August, President Xi Jinping lavished rich praise on the country’s Olympic heroes at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. And with ample reason, as China enjoyed its most successful overseas Olympic Games in Paris, winning 40 gold medals to tie with the United States. Even more remarkable is that this was accomplished in just 40 years, beginning with Xu Haifeng’s performance in the men’s 50-meter-pistol event, which earned him China’s first-ever Olympic gold medal at the 1984 Olympics. To some extent, this incredible success story contributed to China’s decision to elevate nationwide fitness to a national strategy in 2014.
While the practice of sport as a human right is etched in the Olympic Charter, science has proved that participation in sports is conducive to academic success and character development; in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, consistent research and findings indicate that an overwhelming 90 percent of the city’s youngsters do not even get the bare minimal 60 minutes of exercise every day as recommended by the World Health Organization. There are also frequent concerns and reports regarding the increasing overweight and obesity rates among Hong Kong children. That myopia has continued to rise among the young over the years is yet another unfortunate but avoidable trend, all linked to a sedentary lifestyle. This doesn’t bode well for Hong Kong’s future leaders. Recent data also highlighted that the number of “chronically absent” students (those who missed school for seven consecutive days) surpassed 5,500 in the 2023-24 academic year, up from 3,000 between 2020 and 2022. This number is less than 1 percent of the 662,000 student population; a third is in the 6-to-15-year-old age group. Again, all this is not surprising, considering how frequently mental health challenges among children were highlighted over the years in media reports on our children’s declining health profile.
What’s most frustrating is that such research findings are often reduced to mere reactive narratives rather than triggering a search for remedial measures, even policy changes. The repetitive, well-intentioned research and reports indicate that most local schools are not learning from this alarming data or adopting better practices to improve their deliverables and address root-cause issues.
We have a lot of work to do if we are to significantly improve our sports culture, and it requires all hands on deck. Currently, the career prospects for a full-time sportsperson in Hong Kong are hardly encouraging, given that most struggle to earn enough to pay rent and put food on the table. Even star athletes soon discover that their transient fame is not of much use in enabling a decent lifestyle in the long term. This is where the government and commercial sector could come in with more meaningful sponsorships and subsidies to show young people that sports could be a viable career option. Their success would encourage more young people to pursue sports as a healthy recreational option and lean toward a more active lifestyle, exemplified by successful sports idols.
The time for mere research, seminars, dialogues, social media posts, and procrastination is over. It’s time for all stakeholders — front-line professional delivery teams and financially strong organizations — to join forces and march toward an all-embracive sports culture
In this challenging scenario, the government’s Education Bureau should be commended for introducing some positive initiatives in July by proposing that Hong Kong primary school pupils have their sports performance evaluated alongside their academic scores under a revised grading rubric for allocation to secondary school. Under the current practice, schools internally evaluate their pupils for secondary school allocation through three rounds of exams — one in the latter term of Primary 5 and two in Primary 6 — and submit those scores to the Education Bureau using a standardized 38-point system. Core subjects such as Chinese language, English, and mathematics currently take up nine points each; general studies, six; music, two; and visual arts, three. Physical education (PE) does not currently account for any points.
The revamped assessment for secondary school places, to be implemented from the 2026-27 academic year onward, proposes that the pupils graded under the new rubric for secondary school allocation would have their performance in PE included, with the subject taking up two points. Weightage to Chinese, English and mathematics would be reduced to eight points each, while the two new courses on science and humanities would each take up four points. With music and visual arts taking up two points each, the total will still add up to 38 points.
Sports have been quintessential to Integrated Brilliant Education Ltd’s (IBEL’s) educational model since its inception. Backed by the foresight to engage with supportive sports organizations in Hong Kong, such as Rugby For Good, Valley Foundation, and the Chinese International School, IBEL has been proactively curating innovative sports experiences for children at its two Education Bureau registered learning centers, as well as its IBEL Rusy and Purviz Shroff Charitable Foundation Kindergarten and Nursery, thus catching them young. The sporting opportunities range from rugby, soccer, netball, volleyball, and basketball to the periodic sports days. Besides the apparent benefits of nurturing an active and healthy lifestyle among children, our experiential learning has shown that it enables children to develop better social skills. Helping children appreciate the importance of collaboration, learning from the competition, and being inspired by every loss and fall so that they can learn to pick themselves up again has been an invaluable playground lesson. Sports as a vehicle of language learning (Chinese and English) has proved to be a most effective innovation. The sharpening of physical, fine, and gross motor skills is too apparent. The associated positivity is that sports intervention is an incredibly effective vehicle for delivering SEL (social-emotional-learning) benefits.
Last but not least, sports nurture an environment of inclusion and equal opportunities. A sound education model will prioritize the child’s physical and emotional well-being, not just academics. In IBEL’s experience, sports have helped dismantle socioeconomic barriers and build bridges across cultural divides. Furthermore, it’s gratifying to observe that gender equality is integral in all events throughout IBEL’s ecosystem.
Proximity makes schools and teachers the prime drivers in inculcating an active lifestyle among children. However, tangible support from the business sector and government is crucial for their initial success to endure. It’s time that we offer our young people viable career options beyond the traditional handful that leverage individual talents, which, over time, could bring honor to themselves and Hong Kong, highlighting our richness of opportunities.
The time for mere research, seminars, dialogues, social media posts, and procrastination is over. It’s time for all stakeholders — front-line professional delivery teams and financially strong organizations — to join forces and march toward an all-embracive sports culture.
Our children deserve to be engaged in doing what they are best at and not confined to the limited options of their parents.
The author is the co-founder and CEO of Integrated Brilliant Education Ltd, an NGO providing inclusive and equal language learning opportunities to Hong Kong’s non-Chinese-speaking children.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
