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Climbers shouldn't miss the chance to join this year's Bun Scrambling Competition, the finale of the 2012 Bun Carnival. Applications will close this Friday (March 2).
Bun scrambling is one of the highlights of the Cheung Chau Jiao Festival and also a well-known traditional festive event in Hong Kong. The event will be held on the soccer pitch, Pak Tai Temple Playground, Cheung Chau, on the evening of April 28.
To celebrate the successful inscription of the Cheung Chau Jiao Festival onto the Third National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2011 and to promote this part of local festive culture, this year's champion, first runner-up and second runner-up in the men's team event and the champion in the women's team event will be awarded trophies named in honour of the inscription.
Prospectuses and enrolment forms for the competition are available for collection at the 18 District Leisure Services Offices of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), various sports centres in the Islands District, or from supporting organisations. They can also be downloaded from the LCSD website at www.lcsd.gov.hk/specials/bun2012/en/index.php .
Physically fit people aged 18 or above are welcome to take part in the event. Applicants should return the completed enrolment forms by hand or mail them to the Islands District Leisure Services Office of the LCSD at Room 622, 6/F, Harbour Building, 38 Pier Road, Central, Hong Kong, on or before March 2. Completed forms can also be faxed to the office on 2854 3949.
The maximum number of entrants for the Bun Scrambling Competition is 200. If the applications received exceed the quota, places will be allocated by ballot. Priority will be given to applicants who live, work or study on Cheung Chau.
The China Hong Kong Mountaineering and Climbing Union will provide climbing and safety training sessions for successful applicants on April 8 and 14. Applicants must attend one of the training sessions before participating in the selection of finalists in the afternoon of April 15.
A total of 12 participants (comprising nine males and three females) with the best results in the selection can enter the final competition, to be held from 11.30pm on April 28 to about 12.30am on April 29. Contestants have to scramble for the buns on the bun tower, which carry different scores, within a time limit. The one with the highest total score will be the winner. The men's team and the women's team will be ranked separately.
As in previous years, local organisations on Cheung Chau and athletes from Hong Kong's neighbouring regions will take part in the Bun Scrambling Invitation Relay, to be held immediately after the individual competition, to demonstrate to members of the public their bun tower climbing skills. The teams will compete in the relay and each member will climb the bun tower in sequence to grab designated buns. The winning team will be the one that completes the task in the shortest time. It will also be awarded a trophy named in honour of the successful inscription of the Cheung Chau Jiao Festival onto the Third National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
The 2012 Bun Carnival is jointly organised by the Hong Kong Cheung Chau Bun Festival Committee and the LCSD, with the support of the Cheung Chau Wai Chiu County Association Limited, the Cheung Chau Rural Committee, the Islands District Office and the China Hong Kong Mountaineering and Climbing Union, and is sponsored by Lukfook Jewellery, A.S. Watson Water and the Islands District Council.
The carnival this year will be held between April 8 and 29. Training sessions for climbing the bun tower will mark the launch of the carnival, while a splendid array of activities including selection of finalists for the competition and the Climbing Carnival will come after. Of course, the highlight event is the Bun Scrambling Competition, to be held on the night of the Buddha's birthday.
For enquiries on activities at the 2012 Bun Carnival, please contact the Islands District Leisure Services Office of the LCSD at 2852 3220, or visit the department's website.
Ends/Monday, February 27, 2012
Issued at HKT 15:30
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