Sport
Hong Kong's favourite sports are few and fervently followed: none more so than racing. The Jockey Club even underwrites the territory's welfare state; tellingly, the government's millennium celebrations were staged at the Happy Valley Racecourse (tel: 25 72 28 81). The other main track is at Sha Tin (tel: 29 66 65 20). The Rugby Sevens are the other chief sporting fixture: competition for seats at this three-day carnival is fierce, and as with most major events internationally, corporate hospitality usually scoops the pool. Sailing and other watersports are mostly based out of Aberdeen on the southern side of Hong Kong Island.
Golf: The Asian businessperson's love of golf is catered for in several clubs, with the Clearwater Bay Golf and Country Club (tel: 27 19 15 95) and the Hong Kong Golf Club (tel: 26 70 12 11) favouring those with the largest expense accounts. Others play at The Jockey Club Kau Sai Chau Public Golf Course (tel: 27 91 33 88). Green fees per person are HK$1200 at Clearwater Bay Golf and Country Club, HK$1150 at Jockey Club Kau Sai Chau Public Golf Course, HK$1400 at Hong Kong Golf Club.
Health clubs: California Fitness Centers (tel: 25 22 52 29) has a chain of clubs across the territory; New York Fitness (tel: 25 43 22 80) runs a close second. There are also numerous public facilities.
Swimming: Hong Kong has 42 officially listed bathing beaches and 13 public pools, to say nothing of the private pools at sports clubs and hotels. Furthermore, swimming is one of the most popular ways to keep cool in the sweltering summer. So the place is not exactly short on facilities for the keen swimmer. Popular (sometimes too popular) public pools include the pools at Victoria Park in Causeway Bay and Kowloon Park in Tsim Sha Tsui. Open season for sea bathing starts 1 April and ends 31 October, although the weather may be good enough to allow swimming outside these times. Pollution and overcrowding plagues the beaches closer to central Hong Kong: the best ones are in the New Territories and the outlying islands. Summer weekends are predictably busy on the beaches. The Amateur Swimming Association (tel: 25 72 85 94) may be able to provide more detailed information.
Tennis: There are public courts available at Victoria Park (tel: 25 70 61 86), the Tennis Centre (tel: 25 74 91 22) and King's Park (tel: 23 88 81 54).
|
General
