CrossFit: kids to ‘climb Everest’ this weekend as part of push to make Hong Kong children more active
- CrossFit Asphodel’s successful Keep Moving Project, entering its fifth year, will see hundreds of kids workout on Saturday for charity
- Hong Kong’s kids are failing when it comes to exercise, and sport and athletics have been scientifically proven to make them better students
With Hong Kong’s Olympic success fresh in the minds of kids and their parents, two local CrossFit coaches are hoping this rising tide of sport continues to lift many boats, to the highest point above sea level in fact.
CrossFit Asphodel in Kennedy Town is kicking off its fifth year of its Keep Moving Project, and coach Joy Ip, who is spearheading the project along with Michelle O’Brien said Hong Kong’s historic Olympics – one gold, two silvers and three bronze – shows the city is most definitely a sporting town that can properly value athletics.
“Seeing some of the Hong Kong athletes getting on the podium must be an inspiration to all the kids in Hong Kong – when you believe in yourself, work hard and persevere, you can achieve anything you set your mind to.”
“CrossFit specialises in not specialising,” said O’Brien, who is also the youth CrossFit coach at Asphodel. “It involves movements such as squatting, pressing, pulling, pushing, jumping, throwing, gymnastics and Olympic weightlifting. It is everything.”
Hong Kong has six official CrossFit affiliates and the sport is on the rise, with an estimated 15,000 “boxes” as gyms are known as, across the world in more than 150 countries. In 2018 a study by the Chinese University of Hong Kong gave Hong Kong’s kids a failing grade when it came to physical activity levels, compared to 48 other countries, ranking dead last in a number of categories.
