The Yan Chai Hospital Tung Chi Ying Memorial Secondary School football team will miss out on this year’s annual interschool competition after school staff failed to submit their registration application on time. Photo: Facebook/ @Yan ChaiBefore you read: Yan Chai Hospital Tung Chi Ying Memorial Secondary School football team will miss the interschool competition after failing to submit their application on time. The principal asked for discretionary consideration but was rejected to keep the contest fair
Think about it: Reflect on the importance of meeting deadlines. How can this incident serve as a learning opportunity for other schools to prevent similar situations in the future?
The football team from Yan Chai Hospital Tung Chi Ying Memorial Secondary School, known for its success in the annual interschool competition, will miss this year’s contest after school staff failed to submit their application on time.
The principal of the school in Ma On Shan made an emotional plea earlier this month to the competition’s organisers, urging them to allow the school to participate despite the oversight.
However, the organiser, The Schools Sports Federation of Hong Kong, China, announced on September 20 that it would not make an exemption in this case, citing the need to keep the contest fair.
“After our discussion and taking reference from similar cases in the past, it was unanimously decided that the late enrolment of [the school] will not be accepted,” it said.
The decision was made after Principal Wong Yau-ki apologised for the institution’s negligence and made the tearful appeal for discretionary consideration earlier this month.
Wong explained that the former head of the physical education department had been responsible for the registration in recent years and was the only person with the credentials to log into the relevant system.
But the former head, who had his last day on August 31, did not sign the school up during the registration period between July 22 and September 2. He also claimed the password was lost, the principal added.
“I’m not asking for sympathy from you all. But I really feel that we have let students down. They practised very hard under 30 degrees Celsius weather and received training three days a week at the pitch,” Wong said.
The football team comprised 23 Form Six pupils, with this year’s event marking their last chance to take part. The school has consistently been crowned champions in the Sha Tin and Sai Kung district Division 1 Football Competition since the 2003-04 academic year.
“Regrettable” situation
The organiser had held a special meeting to decide whether to accept the late submission to the interschool event, inviting the school’s principal and physical education head to explain the matter.
“However, having considered the reason for the school’s appeal, the federation is of the view that this is not a valid reason for accepting late registration,” it said.
The organiser added that it was “regrettable” that the students would miss out because the school failed to register on time, saying it had communicated closely with all interested schools during the registration period to ensure they could effectively handle the procedures.
It said it had received an application from the school to reset the password for the online registration system on August 13, which was processed on the same day.
The school sent an email to confirm that the password was reset, and the federation was under the impression that the institution could access the system, it added.
“We would like to reiterate that no penalty had been given to ban [the school] from the competition. The school can still apply for other categories and events that still accept registration.”
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The federation said it hoped the school could handle the matter with a positive attitude and create other opportunities for its students.
“The federation will continue to organise school sports competitions in a fair and open manner,” it added.
Sports sector lawmaker Kenneth Fok Kai-kong said in a Facebook post that he respected and supported the federation’s decision, noting that systems were designed to ensure fairness and justice while balancing different interests. “I hope after this incident, everyone can learn a lesson,” Fok said.
The Education Bureau said on September 21 that it was investigating the matter. “If the incident is discovered to have involved inappropriate handling from the school or professional negligence from teachers, [the bureau] would follow up in a serious manner,” it said.