By Covi Yan

With the sports craze that came after the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics and Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, Hong Kong has ridden the wave to expand and invest in its athletic talent. So why hasn’t Renaissance College done the same to further promote their athletic program? 

Frankly, sports is not the first thing that comes to mind when Renaissance College is mentioned as our school does not place as much emphasis on sporting events and sport teams in comparison to other activities. Although, this can be changed, through the practice of organisation, motivation, and recognition. How can the school, and its students, put this into action? First, let’s take a closer look at the present situation.

Recognition and participation have a closely linked relationship, and some would even say it's a two-way street: either can be the cause or the effect. Although, technically, no one can be recognised if no one cares about sports. Much like a wild goose chase, if students are not interested in it, then pursuit for more recognition in this area would be a fruitless process. 

In reality though, our students do care about sports; many think it is enjoyable. Although, when taking a closer look at the student body in general, it cannot be denied that most RCHK students do not prioritise athletics – some students only play for fun, others just tend to avoid sports entirely and focus on academics – it is clear that what students lack collectively is the confidence and motivation to start playing this sport or to play it in a competitive setting.

Out of five Year 11 RCHK students surveyed, four claimed they either lacked the confidence or interest in sports when questioned how willing they would be to participate in a sporting event. 

“I am not confident in my sports skills and ability, it made me feel embarrassed because I couldn’t match up with other people who practised this sport frequently,” Year 11 student Chloe Chan expressed. 

Another Year 11 student, Daniel Cheung, spoke about motivation issues: “[A teacher] forced me to do some event in the athletic carnival when it still used to be a thing. It took away precious card game time, and really I just didn’t want to.” 

Dr Ben Li, associate professor of City University of Hong Kong’s department of social and behavioural sciences, stated that, “Accessibility and variety are often important for the decision [to participate in athletics],” suggesting that the motivation for students to engage in sports relies on how enjoyable and convenient it is. 

One way for schools to engage students’ interest in sports would be the implementation of intramural activities outside of physical and health education (PHE) classes, making access to sporting events more convenient, and making athletics more enjoyable with less competitive stakes. This would provide necessary encouragement and support for students to participate regardless of their skill level and expertise, as well as a higher chance for students’ efforts to be recognised even if they are not in the Black Kites. 

However, the main issue with sports currently in our school is not the events themselves, but how they are organised and presented to students. The events cannot achieve their primary purposes, which is a sense of satisfaction, and time to bond with friends. 

According to a study published by The University of Zagreb, Rijeka, and Ljubljana, it can be concluded that a student’s prior investment in sports directly influences their overall physical activity, expressing how important it is for schools to peak students’ interests in sports at an early age. 

On the other hand, existing student-athletes also do not find the school’s forms of “recognition,” such as the Black Kites athletic assembly helpful. Since the assembly is only attended by athletes, it doesn’t achieve the purpose of college wide acknowledgement for sporting excellence. The school’s current systems are not helping to further motivate students in sports, and they usually only keep participating due to self-motivation. 

“I’m still playing the sport, but definitely not because of the recognition I have received from the school,” Year 11 Black Kites athlete Isaac Lee said. “The recognition they give is not exactly effective in terms of motivating students to play the sport.” 

Despite this, there was a good example that helped with this issue, and it was the Black Kites exclusive hoodies. Year 9 Black Kites athlete Lorraine Ng agreed that the hoodies were “a feasible way of making Black Kites athletes feel at home and proud of being part of a team.” The hoodies give athletes a sense of belonging and pride and it greatly motivates them while also encouraging other students to join the athletic community in RCHK. 

While Black Kites athletes thought the school would continue to use a similar strategy of promotion after the hoodies, it seemed that the situation had gone back to its original, uneventful state. To fix this, Year 11 Black Kite athlete Rex Fung suggests: “More apparel or availability of facilities for athletes would be great,” Once again this expresses the need for the school to take action. 

In the aforementioned study brought up earlier, it was also mentioned that “Poor PA (physical activity) promotion has been highlighted as a major reason for drop-out from organised sport.” This further emphasises the importance of a school’s role when it comes to organising sports events to recognise students’ athletic achievements and motivate students to continue participating. 

Our school needs to realise that our athletic community is lacking in two ways. Firstly, a lack of motivation and confidence for new students to participate, and secondly, the lack of motivational recognition they give towards our existing student-athletes. 

To promote sports, students need the motivation to start playing, and existing athletes need recognition to thrive. The solutions? Organisation for an intramural sports program outside of PHE class to motivate new athletes, and more prominent acknowledgement for competitive athletes.