From November 2 to 5, the Hong Kong men’s softball team will be in Kita-Kyushu, Japan, for the 8th Asian Men’s Softball Championship, fighting for a place on the sport’s world stage. To get to the 2009 World Championships in Canada, the team needs to finish in the top three. They managed to qualify for the last World Champs in New Zealand in 2004. Although the team finished last of 16, that they were there at all was remarkable, given only one diamond in all of Hong Kong is up to international standards.
As well as the Asian Champs, November sees the Hong Kong Softball Association host the Third Women’s Invitational Fast Pitch Softball Tournament with teams from Nanjing (China), Taiwan, and Singapore. From November 16 to 20, the three international teams will take on Hong Kong at the Tin Kwong Road ballpark in Kowloon. HKSA president Johnny Lau says Hong Kong has hosted the invitational twice before – but it’s been a while between innings. The last tournament was in 1983, the one before that, 1981.
The problem, Lau says, is lack of facilities and budget. For instance, when he was a young player, teams could expect to play weekly. Today, there are only enough diamonds for teams to play monthly – even with a half-day’s play on Saturdays and play from 7am to 8pm on Sundays. Aside from the one top-quality diamond, only five others are available for play at any one time. And when it comes to funding, well, there’s just not enough. “It’s not easy to bargain with the government,” Lau points out wryly. In addition to a small subsidy from the government, the association pulls in funds from membership fees and limited sponsorship.
That’s probably because softball remains a fringe sport in Hong Kong – though in recent years, it has become increasingly popular. Of the 98 teams in Hong Kong, 51 men’s teams are spread across three divisions, 25 women’s teams across two divisions, and 22 teams play in a Japanese expats’ league. Aside from the Japanese, the league is made up mostly of locals. Lau says the association is “always growing”, which presents a dilemma: “Of course it’s a good thing, but on the other hand it’s a problem because we don’t have enough fields.” Which was highlighted in the 2005-2006 season, which started in October last year and was supposed to finish in July. But renovations at the ballpark prevented access to the diamonds, and the season dragged on into last month. The 2006-2007 season gets under way next month.
Adversity, though, is nothing new. The Hong Kong Softball Association has been defying the odds since its establishment in 1937 and, despite a lack of money and field space, the association has sent teams to international tournaments since 1967. It has been particularly successful at Thailand’s Chiang Mai Open, where the reigning champion men’s team has won three times in the last seven years. Whether they’ll have as much success at the Asian men’s championship is a question Lau, coach and a reserve player for the team, is eager to have answered. But in the meantime, he’d be happy with a further diamond to encourage more softball in Hong Kong. “We hoped that after 70 years, there would be another one.” |
