New World Harbour Race organisers hope to obtain green light for December 12 return
- Entry quota for swimming event to be reduced from 2019’s planned 4,000 swimmers to 1,500 amid Covid-19 concerns
- Race will start from Wan Chai Golden Bauhinia Square public pier to finish in Tsim Sha Tsui, opposite route to last in 2018
Organisers of the New World Harbour Race hope to the receive the greenlight from the government next week but they plan to slash the number of participants to press ahead.
The popular event had an entry list of 4,000 swimmers for the 2019 race before it was cancelled due to a series of social events that year. There was no event last year because of Covid-19.
Now the Hong Kong Swimming Association plans to cut down the entry quota to 1,500, hoping to obtain the nod from the authorities.
“We had initial discussions with the government back in June regarding bringing the event back this year and with the pandemic easing in recent time, we have submitted a plan to the Home Affairs Bureau for approval,” said association honorary secretary David Chiu Chin-hung.
“We plan to restart the race on December 12 and therefore we need time to do all the registration work and also run time trials for those who don’t have a proven record in long distance swimming.
