How RCHK students are coping with the cancellation of Season 3
By Adele Lau
As most of the world starts to resume back to a “normal life,” Hong Kong is currently still facing an online school routine. Because of that, the sports season at Renaissance College has been ever so silent. Further measures have been taken, including closed public facilities, causing many to opt to do home workouts or the habitual sports games on the television.
In the beginning, the sports season was looking bright. With the first and second seasons being able to go forward: friendly matches were allowed during the second season; RCHK felt whole again. Many things were returning back to normal. With a few restrictions here and there, many school-wide events were still able to pull through. All was going great until two weeks before the Chinese New Year break.
It’s extremely unfortunate that the Black Kites season 3 matches have been cancelled for the third time since 2020. However, season 3 sports were able to have some form of training.
The sports that were supposed to occur include badminton, football, and track and field.
Fei Fei Wong from Y10 is a badminton athlete for the Black Kites. She says, “It's a shame season 3 is cancelled again, I was really looking forward to it! I miss the times when we got to compete in inter-school badminton competitions, and I know the team is a bit rusty after two years of rest… but it was cool that we still got some sort of "training" despite competitions being cancelled last year. Hopefully, season 3 will be up and running next year so we can win again!”
At this present time, it’s still undecided whether students attend school late this year or if this whole school year is conducted online. However, we can only hope that season four has a chance in continuing.
Rico Poon from Y12 commented that “Personally, I do not feel surprised about the suspension of S3 sports. As an athlete during the pandemic, the sudden suspension or cancellation of sporting events has become the new norm. However, this doesn’t mean that sports should stop. The quote “If you can’t change the situation, then you should change your mindset” has taught me to adapt by exercising on my own or virtually (virtual training platforms such as ZWIFT). I feel like the cancellation of sports is an opportunity for all athletes to work even harder because this is the opportunity for you to stand out. If everyone else is not working and you are, then this will be reflected on game day.”These are just some of the insights into how students have been coping with the cancellation. It was announced by the Hong Kong government that all international schools would be returning to in-person school on the 19th of April. Chief Executive Carrie Lam also stated "We do not require students to get jabbed for them to have face-to-face classes as we respect their right to receive education." In light of this, we hope to see the RCHK sports community back on the courts in no time!