Four Lantau-based athletes heading to the International VA’A Federation World Distance Championships are flying the flag for their home countries and local paddling clubs.
Photo by Mihaela Tudor – www.mihaelatudor.com
Four Lantau-based paddlers are heading to Samoa from August 14 to 19 where they will compete in the Olympics of outrigger canoeing – the International Va’a Federation World Distance Championships.
Adrienne Ng and Polly Snaith have both been selected for the Women’s Masters 50 OC6 Team of Hong Kong 2023.
Adrienne is the Founder and Managing Director of Pui O’s Treasure Island Group (TIG) which is now celebrating 26 years of operation, and Assistant Coach of Pui O’s South Lantau Paddling Club (SLPC). She has lived on Lantau since 1996, in Pui O since 2003 and has famously never left the beach since. Adrienne first picked up a paddle 15 years ago.
Polly is a landscape architect/ artist and former Disney Imagineer. A Discovery Bay resident since 1998, Polly also has a deep connection with the ocean as a founding member of DB’s Lantau Boat Club (LBC) Outrigger Paddling Section in 2004, and a keen dragon boater since 1999.
In addition to Adrienne and Polly, two other Lantauers – both DB residents and key members of LBC – are headed to the Worlds this month. These paddlers, who have elected not to be named, will represent their respective home countries in the Women’s and Men’s Masters 50 OC6 categories.
ELITE FEMALE ATHLETES
To have four Lantau-based paddlers competing in the Worlds speaks volumes about the strength of the local water-sports community. The fact that three of the four are women, highlights the talent and dedication of Lantau’s female athletes. In achieving their dreams, these “mature” competitors are breaking barriers and pushing boundaries, while also encouraging a larger conversation on gender equity in sport.
“This is the first time that a Women’s Masters 50 OC6 team and Junior Female (U16 & 19) team will attend this event from Hong Kong, significantly broadening women’s presence in elite level athletics,” Adrienne says. “We feel enormously proud and excited that Cathay has chosen to partner with us, to help shine a light on the core values of our Team of Hong Kong 2023. These values are lifelong women’s health and wellbeing, community building through grassroots clubs and sports associations, and youth development.”
A female entrepreneur in the outdoor education industry, which remains male dominated to this day, Adrienne has long been an inspiration to the Lantau community. Her place at the Worlds enhances her ability to promote women in sport, and draws on her role at SLPC and TIG, where she is dedicated to getting girls (and boys) into water sports, and to shaping young leaders.
For Polly, the significance of being selected for the Team of Hong Kong 2023 is just as personal. As a “transracial” adoptee, raised in a Caucasian family in the UK, who moved to Hong Kong in the 90s, she found out only recently that both her birth parents are Hong Kongers. This, coupled with the sense of belonging she enjoys at LBC, makes representing Hong Kong at the Worlds especially poignant.
“Regardless of our seemingly lofty athletic aspirations, we are normal, busy folk, juggling career, home, family, as well as devoting time to our clubs, building community, promoting inclusiveness and diversity,” Polly says. “Our clubs’ members are a diverse bunch but we’re all ohana, Hawaiian for family, and have an obligation to look out for one another.”
Cathay General Manager Brand, Insights and Marketing Communications Edward Bell adds, “As Hong Kong’s home airline, Cathay is committed to supporting Hong Kong athletes of all generations. This crew embodies the same values that Cathay strives for, such as the pursuit of excellence and sportsmanship at any age, and we are honoured to play a part in providing the resources to help them achieve their dreams.”
TEAM OF HONG KONG 2023
Since Adrienne and Polly’s confirmation of selection by Hong Kong China Outrigger Canoe Racing Association (HKCOCRA) in May, they have been on a fast and intensive track. Weekly training with the Women’s Masters 50 OC6 team (six ladies plus a reserve) comprises three to four days on the water, plus one to two days in the gym, under the guidance of international coach Jeremy Young.
The team’s unique challenge, since most are from different clubs, is learning to paddle together. Despite their immense individual experience, they are working through a challenging process, not just to take their fitness to the next level, but to unlearn, relearn and synchronise their paddling. As mature female athletes, they are invested in making smart decisions about rest, recovery, illness, nutrition and, not least, strength training which is so important for all women over 40.
Each member of the Women’s Masters 50 OC6 Team of Hong Kong 2023 has been passionately involved in the sport at grassroots level for between five to 25 years, many founding their clubs, and all having held key roles in nurturing their respective club communities. “This really is a moment to celebrate Hong Kong’s “work-hard/ play hard” ethos for all who claim this fabulous place as their home,” Adrienne concludes.
USEFUL CONTACTS: International Va’a Federation World Distance Championship, www.ivfiv.org
Lantau Boat Club Paddling Section, outrigger canoeing and dragon boating, www.lantauboatclub.com
South Lantau Paddling Club, Facebook @southlantaupaddleclub
Treasure Island Group, www.treasureislandhk.com