Hong Kong breaking athletes seek funding boost, international exposure, ahead of Paris 2024 Olympic trials
- The governing body says money and exposure to international events is needed to push the sport forward in Hong Kong
- Breaking makes its Olympics debut in Paris in 2024, but there will only be 32 athletes – 16 men and 16 women – taking part this time around
Hong Kong’s breaking athletes need to be exposed to more international competition if they are to improve, the chairman of the city’s dance sport association has said, although that is unlikely to happen until next year.
While officials want government approval to host the first Asian Breaking Championships in November, and have already booked Queen Elizabeth Stadium for the event, attracting overseas competitors could be difficult in light of Hong Kong’s strict Covid-19 restrictions.
Instead, the governing body is hoping to become one of the host cities next year for the Breaking for Gold Series, which is part of the pathway to Olympic qualification.
Lam Sang-yuen, chairman of the Hong Kong DanceSport Association (HKDSA) Breaking Division, said funding was available to host 80 athletes from 20 countries around Asia for November’s competition, but it would be “hard to persuade them to come” if they had to quarantine for three days.
“They only need to be here for three days, with one-day arrival, one day competing, and leaving the next day, why would they come to go through three days of quarantine plus four days under [medical] surveillance,” Lam, who competes under the name B-Boy Fishball, said.
Still, the association’s president, George Yip, believes it is worth trying to host the championships on November 5, because it would test the city’s breakdancers against the best in the region and provide a platform to bid for the series next year.
“We hope to benefit from the government lifting all quarantine restrictions for the Rugby Sevens and the Asian Financial Forum in early November,” Yip said.
