Latest news with #HongKongChinaRugby
South China Morning Post
02-05-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Sevens' financial future at stake, changes necessary for Olympics
World Rugby said the changes to its sevens competition were designed to secure the sport's financial future and grow its global reach ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Advertisement Confirming it was slashing the number of teams in the World Series from 12 to eight, and installing a six-team second division, the sport's governing body also said regular tournaments would be cut from three days to just two. There was no word, however, on the format for the new World Championship Series, which will be played over three events and include the 12 best men's and women's teams. In its statement, rugby bosses said they would launch a 'global host tender process' this month. 'The Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens is a globally renowned, iconic event for rugby sevens fans and we are committed to supporting World Rugby in delivering a sustainable and exciting new model of SVNS,' Hong Kong China Rugby said in a statement. 'Further details and event dates will be announced in due course.' The Rugby Sevens structure for 2026 A stand-alone Challenger event, which the new structure suggests will take place before the start of the second-tier competition, would continue to provide a pathway for lesser sides to progress, World Rugby said.
South China Morning Post
03-04-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong Sevens delivers a winner in Kai Tak stadium
Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at [email protected] or filling in this Google form . Submissions should not exceed 400 words, and must include your full name and address, plus a phone number for verification Advertisement The Rugby Sevens has proven the new stadium at Hong Kong's Kai Tak Sports Park to be a great venue. Hats off to all involved in the stadium development on operations – the stadium project team, the organiser Hong Kong China Rugby, the government, the police and everyone else who have contributed to the redevelopment of Kai Tak, the stadium and the event. As members of the Harbourfront Commission, I and others have been kept abreast of the metamorphosis of the Kai Tak Airport since 2004. Twenty-one years later, and before entering the stadium for the Sevens, I spent time walking around the neighbourhood. On my way back, I enjoyed watching from the promenade the Cathay Pacific plane flying over the harbour in a surprise fly-past. I look forward to the gradual completion of the ongoing construction projects enhancing the vitality of the area. Inside, I wandered around to as many areas as possible – the corporate suites, through the drunken south stand, the general corridors and the many staircases. The stadium is well designed with ample room to manoeuvre at full capacity. There was some confusion over electronically locked doors, and concerns over sound quality, especially at the higher seats. I'm sure the stadium team has a list of adjustments to make. Advertisement The test events ensured the stadium, transport and police were synchronised. Catering to the food cravings of the tens of thousands of attendees for the Rugby Sevens – 110,000 visits were recorded in total across the three days – could only have been tested during the actual event. The team will surely be even better prepared next year. In short, bravo and congratulations. The new stadium is a very good facility to support Hong Kong's ambitions for events.
South China Morning Post
31-03-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
Greenpeace urge Hong Kong's Kai Tak Sports Park to improve sustainability
The three-day Hong Kong Sevens rugby tournament generated about 860,000 disposable items after spectators were banned from bringing their own reusable containers, according to Greenpeace. Advertisement It left the green group, on Monday, once again urging Kai Tak Sports Park to reinstall a reusable cup system that had been in place for the annual tournament in 2019, 2023 and 2024 before it was scrapped this year, for its long-term sustainability development. The group said the operator should kick-start the system as soon as possible, with the newly open stadium expected to host at least 40 more large-scale events a year. 'Otherwise, the more mega-events the park hosts, the bigger the snowball will be. More and more disposable tableware would be produced [after each event], and that would fundamentally violate the park's goal in sustainability,' Greenpeace campaigner Leanne Tam Wing-lam said. Lam said the group learnt that the sport's governing body Hong Kong China Rugby tried to negotiate with the park to bring back the initiative this year, but to no avail. Advertisement Jamie Farndale, Hong Kong China Rugby's general manager of club development and sustainability told the Post on Monday that green cups 'could indeed become a viable option' for the park when it became more established and had gained insights into event frequency and cup reuse. 'However, given that this was the first event and Kai Tak's primary focus was on getting operations under way, we strongly encouraged them to utilise fully compostable packaging, ensuring that organic material was collected and processed correctly through their on-site composter,' Farndale said.
South China Morning Post
31-03-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong Sevens: 5 things we learned from another incredible weekend of rugby
The Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens is over for another year, and what a weekend it was – an incredible coming-out party for the tournament's new home and a thrilling three days of rugby. Advertisement Argentina's men won for the first time, and New Zealand's women for the third in a row, and Hong Kong's teams put together a double delight for the home crowd. So, after 74 matches, countless tries, world-class entertainment and a couple of hiccups, here are five things we learned this weekend. Kai Tak Stadium What can you say, by any metric the city's newest sporting venue is a stunning location for sport There is no bad view from any area, unless you're queuing for food and we'll get to that later, and the players and officials were all wowed by it. 02:02 Fans descend on new Kai Tak Stadium for Hong Kong Sevens rugby tournament Fans descend on new Kai Tak Stadium for Hong Kong Sevens rugby tournament The future is certainly bright, and Hong Kong China Rugby hosted several other unions, signing a memorandum of understanding with their Japanese counterparts and strengthening ties with Australia.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Party time, flyby as raucous Hong Kong Sevens settles into new home
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens take place from Friday in a big test for the shiny new stadium at the heart of a major $3.85 billion sports park in the southern Chinese city. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong's sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak stadium. They hope to entice major European football teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December saying Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay will perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong's bid to re-establish the city as a hub for international sports, culture and entertainment. The biggest event in rugby sevens, with organisers saying they have sold a record 130,000 tickets for the tournament from Friday to Sunday, is seen as key to restoring Hong Kong's reputation. The city's image took a battering after political protests led to Beijing imposing a sweeping national security law. Visitor numbers plummeted during almost three years of strict Covid curbs and have only recently begun to recover. "We feel very fortunate, via the hosting of the sevens, to be able to help strengthen the role of Hong Kong as one of the world's most vibrant and accessible destinations for major international events," said Chris Brooke, chairman of organisers Hong Kong China Rugby. The annual tournament, which has witnessed the emergence of rugby greats such as Jonah Lomu, was first held in 1976 and from the 1990s took place in the heart of the city at the 40,000-capacity Hong Kong Stadium. DJ Forbes, the former New Zealand sevens captain, said that the Hong Kong sevens "has always been the world cup of the game". Men's and women's teams from around the globe will compete, led by Olympic champions France, New Zealand and sevens powerhouses Fiji, who have regard Hong Kong as their home tournament and have lifted the cup a record 19 times. - Party time and flyby - The HK$30 billion Kai Tak Sports Park officially opened on March 1 in a neighbourhood that was once the site of Hong Kong's airport. The airport was sited in a dense urban development at the edge of Victoria Harbour and was a famously challenging landing spot for pilots. In a nod to the area's former life and as part of the celebrations, a Cathay Pacific jet will perform a fly-past on Sunday. The waterfront stadium is eye-catching, boasting a futuristic purplish facade dubbed "Pearl of the Orient" and a retractable roof. The stadium has what organisers call one of the longest bars in Asia -- good news for the many spectators who will be there more for the event's legendary partying and live music than the sport. The sprawling complex also features a 10,000-seat indoor sports arena, a 5,000-seat public sports ground and three shopping malls. City leader John Lee said the 28-hectare (70-acre) sports park has ushered in a "state-of-the-art new stage for Hong Kong". It has not been without challenges and teething problems. Hong Kong's government floated the idea of an Olympic-standard stadium as early as the 2000s, but construction only began in 2019 and was beset by delays. Then earlier this month, officials apologised after about 100 fans at the nighbouring arena were kicked out mid-match at a World Snooker event. They were ordered to leave before the action ended because public transport in the area was scheduled to stop at midnight. "Literally, fans HAVE to leave, due to policies," the management team of world champion Kyren Wilson, who was playing at the time, wrote on social media. "You can't make it up!" pst/dh
