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Young and rising 4 x 100-metre relay athlete Mr Lai Chun-ho today (March 17) appeared at the Shatin Public School (SPS) sports field along with a team of students majoring in physical education (PE) from the Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) for a session of the "Active School" Campaign at the special school. The event was held as part of the territiory-wide Bless Hong Kong Campaign, and Mr Lai, who has multiple wins to his name, was the guest PE instructor for the day under the arrangement of the Hong Kong Elite Athletes Association. Around 30 students from the school enjoyed specially designed group aerobic exercise, a "stick dance" and fitness ball activities with tailored beats and colourful equipment under the careful guidance of Mr Lai and the HKBU volunteers.
Student athletes with intellectual disability from the school were also moved by Mr Lai's sharing of his experience in last year's gold medal chase at the Asian Athletics Championships. Mr Lai also revealed that he has been recovering from foot injuries and plans to undergo 10 days of intensive training and competition in late March in Australia before returning to Hong Kong to prepare for September's Asian Games in Incheon, Korea.
The "Active School" Campaign, organised by the Hong Kong Elite Athletes Association, is an event under Bless Hong Kong's "March for School Kids" theme. Under this programme, students can enjoy fun-filled school activities through a series of PE exercises specially designed by volunteer career athletes. In addition to the 10 primary schools that took part in the Campaign last year, SPS was invited this year for the first time to highlight the spirit of "helping those in need, is a blessing in deed".
Vice Chairman of the Hong Kong Elite Athletes Association and organiser of "Active School" Miss Amy Chan said, "The Campaign hopes to promote fun sports to students and build an energetic and healthy environment for their development. This year, we have extended our coverage to special schools in response to the theme and spirit of Bless Hong Kong, i.e. 'helping those in need, is a blessing in deed'."
Even though Mr Lai, who is renowned as a member of the "Four Pillars of Hong Kong Relay Sports", is preparing for the Asian Games, he treasured the opportunity to meet the SPS students amidst his busy training schedule. He shared with them how sport can energise one's life. He said, "Sport is a wonderful activity for all. Even something as simple as aerobics may be a completely new challenge to tackle for some. The students from SPS endeavoured to overcome their constraints, actively participated in today's activities, and showed the perseverance of sportsmanship."
Mr Lai took the opportunity to inspire students through his experience and said, "Relay sprinting is a team sport in which we look to each other and can rise to the top only through co-operation. I hope all university students taking part today can feel the happiness of helping others in teaching young kids, bringing blessings to oneself and those around us."
The "Bless Hong Kong" Campaign seeks to encourage community participation in poverty alleviation efforts as well as promote tripartite collaboration among the community, the business sector and the Government in assisting the underprivileged and increasing mutual help. The Campaign includes a series of community initiatives that share the message of "helping those in need, is a blessing in deed".
More than 200 organisations are taking part in "Bless Hong Kong". Over 600 activities are being rolled out from January to July this year. For more information, please visit www.blesshongkong.hk.
Ends/Monday, March 17, 2014
Issued at HKT 20:22
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