The Bollands wish Hong Kong adieu with a final gig at Backstage Live. The New Zealand folk duo, who have gained a well earned reputation for their passion filled live shows, have been performing together since 2011 when Joyce, a classically trained pianist, met Christian, a hairy folk singer, at a campfire jam on a remote beach in their home country. They clicked instantly. Since that fate filled night, they have been playing their passion filled and heartfelt songs across the globe.
The Bollands – Farewell Hong Kong Special Guests: The Privateers, Rich Phipson When: 10pm, 28 February, 2015 Where: Backstage Live Restaurant How Much: $100 More info: www.thebollands.com
The women’s game goes from strength to strength globally as well as locally. A reflection of this is that the world’s oldest women’s rugby 7s tournament returns to its original two day format. bc spoke to tournament mother Ruth Mitchell as her baby turns 18.
What does a two day tournament offer, especially to the players, that a single day event doesn’t? Originally the tournament was a two day event. It was changed to a single day because of constraints on pitch availability and other logistics. Over the last few years we have been asked several times to expand it back again to two days as most tournaments are a two day event. The advantages are:
Teams get to play extra games and time to rest in between
Our own Sports Institute girls gain more game time against stronger teams
Teams are travelling from all over the world it makes it more worth while expanding the tournament to a two day event.
Provides a more meaningful competition because overall rankings are more accurate.
Rugby week is already pretty packed, how will a two day tournament fit in, will the final still be at the Stadium.
Thursday 26th will be played at Kings Park alongside the Youth Tournament.
Friday 27th will be played at HK Football Club with the final being played at the HK Stadium.
How will the format change? The format will not change too much other than giving more games to the teams. It will still be based on a pool competition followed by knock out. Pool matches will be at Kings Park with the finals at HKFC and the Cup Final at the stadium. The schedule is still under review.
Which teams have confirmed for 2015? Just waiting for the 12th team to confirm their attendance, we will then release the full team list.
Have you thought of including some select teams in a parallel tournament to the main event event where local players and women’s rugby veterans and stars could play – something similar to the HK Tens? We did this last year at the Kowloon Fest where four teams took part. However, as you mentioned, it is a packed week and trying to fit in all the current tournaments can be a challenge.
Funding seems to be a factor in getting some teams to the tournament, with the women’s game expanding globally at a fantastic rate is getting sponsorship becoming easier? There is no indication that sponsorship is getting any easier. There continues to be increasing demands on sponsorship from every quarter.
Beyond 2015 how do you hope the tournament will develop? Each year the Tournament is under review to see how we can improve and to fit in with other tournaments that are being played. The HKWR7’s is a great tournament for teams to be playing ever stronger teams, as all teams are looking to play on the World Rugby Women’s Sevens World Series as well as qualifying for the Olympics.
HKWR Sevens 2014 Team
Hong Kong Women’s Rugby 7s When: 26-27 March, 2015 Where: 26- Kings Park; 27- Hong Kong Football Club; Final – HK Stadium How much: Free More info: facebook.com/hkwr.sevens
A 2 point conversion was the sole difference between the teams as ‘Societe Generale Valley Black Ladies and HK Cricket Club Babes shared 8 tries in a great game at Aberdeen on Saturday. It was a spirited, full-throttle affair from the start, with HKCC pinning Valley in their own half early on and then whipping the ball out wide for an early try from WaWa. Valley punched back soon after with a great breakaway run.
Within five minutes HKCC had restored their advantage, some aggressive running and a well-timed penalty from scrum half Lynda creating the space for Sarah to fall over the line for her debut try (the two players rewarded for this effort with joint player-of-the-game billing). But Valley were on the prowl straight from the kick off, bursting through the line for a try under the posts, duly converted.
Valley was never able to establish a proper attacking platform though, with every lineout stolen away by HKCC jumper Winnie and the HKCC dominance also apparent in the scrum, with Rhonda making a number of powerful runs from number 8. However, HKCC’s backline struggled a little defensively throughout the game, and bunching around the breakdown created a gap in the line which Valley soon exploited, leading to their third try from scrum-half and Valley player of the game, Shanshan. And early in the second half, the lead was extended slightly with another breakaway try.
But the HKCC backs looked dangerous and creative with ball in hand, well-executed runs and excellent handling skills reaping dividends in the second half and securing a try for Tinley at 13 and the excellent Wuki at fullback (stepping in at very short notice whilst on Christmas vacation and now headed back to the snowy East Coast US). This latter try was converted by fly-half Harriet, setting the game up for a tense conclusion, as Valley sought desperately and successfully to win back possession, putting the ball out of play and settling the game at 24 points to Valley, 22 to the Babes.
Despite the loss, Babes’ Coach Darren Cartlidge was proud of the performance, noting, “This is a phase of rebuilding for the team, and the four well-worked tries indicate good progress. We have new players coming on board, including Ellie Storey who made her debut today, and much to look forward to as we head towards the business-end of the season”.
The Hong Kong marathon which takes place on the 25 January 2015 will have a new course as runners in the marathon, the half marathon, the youth dash, the 3km wheelchair race and the Leaders Cup will all turn into Percival Road from Lockhart Road for the final kilometre. Runners will then run along Hennessy Road, Yee Wo Street and Sugar Street to reach the finishing point in Victoria Park. Meanwhile, instead of crossing the Tai Hang Road Flyover, participants in the 10km Wheelchair Race will enter Victoria Park via Paterson Street and Kinston Street. Over 73,000 runners – marathon: 15,000, the half marathon: 23,000, 10km: 35,000 – will compete in this year’s races and the slightly flatter route is expected to help all runners achieve better times.
If you want to watch the race, the start is at 7am on Nathan Road in Tsim Sha Tsui and the first marathon finishers are expected to arrive in Victoria Park around 9:15.
HK Marathon When: 25 January, 2015 Where: Start: Nathan Road, TST; Finish: Victoria Park How much: $300, entries closed More info: www.hkmarathon.com
Hong Kong’s biggest outdoor carnival just got even bigger, with five more rides added to The AIA Great European Carnival this week, with more to come.
The AIA Great European Carnivaltakes on a new look this January as the Christmas wonderland theme makes way for its’ New Year incarnation – full of new attractions and some serious rides for the thrill-seekers amongst us. Included in the list of new additions are the No Limits (a maximum velocity spin and roll) and the Inversion XXL (another high-flying 360 degree ride). These join the Atmos Fear, Booster Max, and the Freak Out, which have already tested many of Hong Kong’s most bare-knuckled dare-devils.
We are thrilled to announce the opening of the Dodgem Cars, an all-time family favourite that came into operation this week. There are also several additional smaller rides for both children and the young at heart. There are six children’s rides for the 3 to 8 year old set, including the Gallopers (horse trail ride), Pony Express, and Kid Zone (Mini Miami – an introduction to a high flying ride for children). Plus there is a great variety of food and beverage outlets, all with their own European theme.
The 14 rides currently in action include
Mach 5 (Booster Maxx)
Atmos Fear
Oblivion (Freak Out)
Gallopers
Cups N’ Sauces (Tea Cups)
Crazy Cars (Race-O-Rama)
Circuit 2000 (Formula)
Pony Express (Pony Adventure)
KidZone (Mini Miami) Dodgems (Top Gear) No Limit Mini Paratrooper Inversion XXL Stage Coach
In January, the Carnival will also see more entertainment on the Live Stage with bands, choirs, and a wide variety youth performances. In addition local and international schools will visit the Carnival on educational excursions, and Hong Kong-based charities will also get a chance for their beneficiaries and volunteers to enjoy a big day out.
Expect more changes ahead as the Carnival moves into February and we approach Chinese New Year and the venue evolves once again. The finale of this wonderful winter event will be on 22 February.
There is a ride for everyone at The AIA Great European Carnival, so grab your friends and family and come on down!
Content sponsored by The AIA Great European Carnival
