FEATURE

Hong Kong Head Coach Chris Perry shares his team’s turbulent story attempting to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics in the face of social and political unrest and a global pandemic.

Words: Tom Ransley

It would be reasonable to think the mass protests in Hong Kong might have unsettled the Hong Kong rowing team, but Head Coach Chris remains unfazed.

“Friends say: "God it must be terrible, when are you leaving?" I think what are you talking about? They say: "you must be frightened by all the Chinese agents on the street." But it's not like that, you’d have to be doing something really bad to cross with those people. I don't have strong views either way, but I can understand why the Government had to enact the law. Hong Kong was supposed to deal with things themselves and they couldn't”.

Chris believes western media “plays up” the social unrest caused by the national security law China passed in 2020. It is a sensitive subject. He is respectful of his athletes’ views and tries not to get too involved but cautions prudence when it comes to social media. Chris is aware that how an athlete expresses their views might have a big impact on their career and their future.

Morning training

“We don't tell them what to think but to consider the potential consequences. All of the athletes have their own ideas. Most were quite reserved in their involvement. We did have a few in other sports who made comments on social media and it makes them a bit vulnerable to the funding authorities. It's not punitive: ok you said that on Facebook so no money for you! But it is not comfortable for them. We are a Government funded organisation.”

Aside from a fight between umbrella-wielding protesters and pepper-spraying police in Sha Tin MTR station in September 2019, 2km from the Hong Kong Sports Institute, the majority of the protest activity occurred downtown. Hong Kong Sports Institute is the home of many elite sporting teams including the rowing team. It is a high-performance training centre in Sha Tin on the bank of the Shing Mun River. Having lived in Hong Kong for thirty-three years Chris has led the national rowing team and shepherded their long-term progress. He first visited in 1986 to help them prepare for the Asian Games. He never intended to stay but the Jubilee Sports Centre (the predecessor of the Hong Kong Sports Institute) asked him to take a permanent position: