MIDDLEBURGH

To inform entertain and excite my kids, Jamie, Patrick, Aaron & Sarah Middleburgh, our family and friends.

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MIDDLEBURGH WHACKS BALLS(Part 2)

A follow up post to Whacking (part 1) covering opportunities for visitors to HK who want to play (or watch) one or more of the following

Tennis

HK was knocked out of the 2009 Davis Cup (Asian and Oceanian Zone: Group II) by the Philipines 4-1 although we did beat Oman 5-1. So the only thing we have to look forward to until the 2010 Davis Cup is the annual HK Tennis Classic sponsored by the JB Group, 7-10 January 2010 featuring some of the biggest names in the women's game. (I am covinced they only come for the post Xmass sales!!)

The weather is January is good for Tennis so if you were a member of either the Carrigaline Tennis Club or even the Monkstown LTC & Croquet Club (LTC may be a misnomer since I understand it only has surfaced courts ??) looking for club privleges and a game you might want to consider checking out theHong Kong Tennis Association, the other one or one of the local Foums The HKTA and the HK clearly want to dissassociate themselves from one another.(obviously a doctrinal schism of catholic/protestant proportions - I am so glad I am Jewish)

Badminton

Can't wait for the tennis ? Ok come for Hong Kong Open Badminton Super Series 2009 - 9-15 November 2009 Apparently some of the world's top badminton players will be in town for this Super Series event but as yet the venue is yet to be announced ?? This is actually 1 of 2 major badminton events held here in Hong Kong organised by the HK Badminton Association(No schisms here!!)The other is sponsered by Yondex

So if you were a member of the Carrigaline Badminton Club or Pfizer Badminton Club etc planning to visit HK with intent you should check out the Association and the badminton formums.Its worth noting that there are a lot of walk in players taking advantage of clus and some are reviewing their policies . It is worth checking out the public badminton courts listed in the CLD site

Squash

Can't wait for the badminton either ? Ok come to Hong Kong for the Hong Kong Squash Open 2009 - 12-18 October 2009 This is one of the must-attend international events on the squash calendar for both men and women competitors. Many of the world's top-ranked pros from the men's and women's divisions will be in town for the competition (and yes the venues are known!!

So if you were a member of a Cork Squash Club planning a team or personal trip to HK you should check out the HK Squash Association and the local squash Geopats It goes without saying that there are public faciliies available for booking. In fact we have a very grand new Squash centreThe courts on this housing estate aren't bad either!

Table Tennis

Table Tennis has special significance in China and Hong Kong. In the 1970's Ping Pong diplomacylead to the re-opening of Sino-U.S. relations and China rejoining the world after years of isolation and dominating the game which is now an Olympic Sport. (FYI being a pedant I checked the accuracy of the statement in this article (dated 2004) to "...people in England played a small plastic ball on a table with round wooden bats a hundred years ago". Originally it was a vellum ball but in 1901 James Gibb, an English enthusiast of table tennis,discovered novelty celluloid balls on a trip to the U.S and found them to be ideal for the game.). Hong Kong also does well in the Olympics but this is partly due to Chinese national Players moving to Hong Kong in order to get a chance to play at the top table. There is a HK Table Tennis AssociationIf you want to arrange games etc but if you don't think you can match this competative level and alternative would be to contact to the principal housing estate Clubs eg south Horizon estate. There are table tennis 'tables' under most blocks of flats in HK.

Gateball

In a previous post I refered to the elistist nature of croquet. What I didn't realise is that in Asia the game has been reinvented as Gateball and imported into HK as such from Japan. In fact HK is the host of the "4th Asian Cities Gateball Invitation Championship 2009" on 14 & 15 November 2009 in Tuan Wan, New territories. The write up on the HK associations website waxes lyrical about the virtue of this OAPS and people recovering from serious surgery - 'nuff said !! .

Snooker/Billiards

No piece on ball whacking and sports tourism to HK would be complete without a mention of billiards, snooker or pool although strickly speaking these invlove "poking" or 'prodding" rather that "whacking". In the same way that China seeks world domination in many other sports it is on the way to being a force in snooker - dare I mention "Ding Junhui". Look here to find list of venues and clubs.

2009 East Asian Games

Every 4 years the East Asian Games are convened. This year Hong Kong is privleged to be the host. Many of the spports mentioned in this, previous and following posts will be represented. The 5th East Asian Games will be held in Hong Kong from 5 - 13 December 2009. Over 3,000 elite athletes will compete for gold medals of 262 competition events under 22 sports, making it the largest international multi-sport event ever held in Hong Kong. Definately Worth a visit I think !!!

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