Ron YUNG (Jockey Club Humanity Hall)

Have you ever wondered what the life of a student athlete is like? What do you think hall-life is like for them? How do student athletes contribute to the residence community? Well, you’ll get a chance to know about these issues now!

Typical student athletes have a lot of responsibilities on their shoulders. Not only do they have to excel in their sport of choice, they also have to keep up with their studies.  Take a swimmer as an example: he or she may need to wake up at 5am for a morning training session, then attend classes, and then have another training session in the evening! That’s how demanding a student athlete’s daily schedule can be!

In the face of such heavy demands, the Student Residence plays a significant role in reducing the burden of student athletes. This is mainly because of its advantageous location near the campus and university training facilities. Given its proximity, the travelling time for student athletes from their homes to the university is greatly reduced, giving them more time to rest and recharge for the challenges ahead.

Besides considering the Student Residence as a place to relax and charge-up, student athletes also contribute a lot to the residence community! In particular, they do a great job in promoting a sports culture. One example is the participation of Tam Lok Hin (a well-established member of the CityU football team) in this year’s Inter-hall Soccer Competition. Not only did his participation create a more competitive atmosphere, his passion for sport also heated up the crowd!  As a result, the matches became more entertaining and attractive, thus encouraging the involvement of other students and effectively promoting a sports culture!

That’s not all! Student athletes are also actively involved in serving the Student Residence. An example is Shum Chik Lai, the vice-captain of the athletics team. He plays an active role as a student helper of SRO, e.g. helping in the check-in/ check-out of student residents, take-over of new halls, organization of the semester-based Fun Walk etc.  He thinks that the values of sportsmanship are to be extended beyond sports. That’s why he has a sense of responsibility and is keen on contributing to the Student Residence.

I hope that by now you’ll have a little insight into what the life of a student athlete is like, and in particular how they contribute to the residence community. But more importantly, I hope that we can all appreciate the efforts of student athletes and learn from their positive values of sportsmanship.