HONG KONG FOOTBALL CLUB

Transcription

1 HONG KONG FOOTBALL CLUB

2 [ CONTENTS ] HKFC ANNUAL REPORT 2016/17 Mission Statement President s Message Chairman s Report Honorary Secretary s Report Honorary Treasurer s Report Officers of the HKFC who held office from 1 June May Honorary Vice-Presidents Candidates Nominated for Election Notice of the Annual General Meeting for the Year Community Outreach SUB-COMMITTEE REPORTS Constitutional Affairs Development Membership Sports and Recreation SECTION REPORTS Hockey Lawn Bowls Rugby Soccer Squash FINANCIAL REPORTS Report of the General Committee Independent Auditor s Report Statement of Financial Position Income and Expenditure Statement Statement of Changes in Funds and Reserves Statement of Cash Flows Notes to the Financial Statements Operating Budget

3 [ MISSION STATEMENT ] VISION hhto BE RECOGNISED AS ONE OF THE LEADING SPORTS CLUBS IN THE WORLD. MISSION hhto DELIVER QUALITY SERVICES ON THE PRINCIPLES OF ACCOUNTABILITY, CONSISTENCY AND TRANSPARENCY. hhto DEVELOP AN ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE THAT RECOGNISES THE IMPORTANCE OF STAFF CONTRIBUTION AND COMMITMENT. 2 hhto FACILITATE THE DEVELOPMENT AND PARTICIPATION OF RECOGNISED SPORTING ACTIVITIES. VA LUES hhbeing ACCOUNTABLE TO COMMUNICATE, CONSULT AND PROVIDE INFORMATION. hhliving WITHIN OUR MEANS TO PLAN AHEAD WITHIN AVAILABLE RESOURCES. hhdeveloping A CULTURE OF SERVICE TO ENCOURAGE COMMITMENT, INTEGRITY, COURTESY AND RESPONSIVENESS. hhmanaging FOR PERFORMANCE TO SET THE DIRECTION AND DEVELOP THE NECESSARY SKILLS. AIMS hhto PROVIDE THE SERVICES THE MEMBERSHIP NEEDS. hhto IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF CLUB LIFE. hhto UPHOLD THE CONSTITUTION AND BYE-LAWS. hhto ENCOURAGE MEMBERS TO PLAY THEIR PART IN THE CLUB.

4 [ PRESIDENT S MESSAGE ] PRESIDENT S MESSAGE Another year of operation for the Club has gone by and, on the sporting front, our major international tournaments the Rugby Tens and Soccer Sevens yet again improved year-onyear in terms of the quality of teams/players and, indeed, in terms of the organisation of these major events, which are truly of an international standard. Once again, too, the Squash Section s men s and women s PSA25 tournament drew a large number of world-class players and this is now clearly a highly regarded event on the international squash circuit. I would add that the Squash Section also have their own International 3s tournament, so well done to them for adding to the Club s already rich sporting calendar. On the financial front, a new record this time round on food and beverage revenue was achieved, and whilst they didn t quite make their budgetary target for the year, it is still encouraging to see another record. As you will see later on in this Annual Report, each of the sporting Sections/ DSA/Societies outline in detail their respective sporting years. It is encouraging to see so much going on in all of our sports and, as I mentioned in last year s Annual Report, it is pleasing to see that whilst our senior sportsmen and women are doing extremely well on the playing front, the mini/junior sections are thriving. I am, as ever, very grateful for all those who volunteer their time from the minis and juniors to the seniors and for all the hard work they put in. As ever, my thanks are due to John Shanahan, our Chairman of five years, and to all the other members of the General Committee (GC) for their contributions throughout the year. The GC meets on 11 occasions each year and has a varied agenda which includes reports from all of our Standing Sub-committees (who also meet on a regular basis) and our Sporting Sections. I thank all members of the Standing Subcommittees, Sub-groups and Sections/DSA/ Societies, along with the GC and Management and Staff (who number some 310 full-time Staff members), for helping to run the Club and in looking to achieve our vision to be recognised as one of the leading sports clubs in the world. In closing, I am honoured to be President of the Club and very much look forward to completing the remaining two years of my term of office in the position I have been in since Dermot Agnew President 3

5 [ CHAIRMAN S REPORT ] 4 by the Rugby, Soccer and Hockey Sections, CHAIRMAN S from whom I have received very positive REPORT comments. The new pitches, allied with our computerised match analysis equipment used for coaching and training, means we The past year has been a very busy period for the Club, both on a sporting front and in respect of the major renovations and construction projects that have been undertaken. Apart from the many sports activities we regularly undertake, we hosted a number of international events ranging from rugby to hockey to squash to lawn bowls, as well as running our own in-house tournaments such as the Rugby Tens, Soccer Sevens and PSA25 Squash tournament with teams and players from all over the world taking part in these competitions. From the General Committee s point of view, the second floor renovations project and replacement of have first-class outdoor sports facilities that will last for many years to come. I wrote to all Members in November explaining the delays in the second floor renovation project due to a convergence of several problems that put the whole project back several weeks. I trust that by the time you read this report the renovations will be finished or substantially completed and that we can get back to normal Club life with our new food and beverage outlets fully operational. I will draw your attention to Peter Crabtree s report of the Development Sub-committee on page 18 of this Annual Report for more information about the renovations and the future projects we the infield pitches are planning. took up considerable t h e decision t o ope n up the A good deal of time and involved detailed discussions ac c e l e r at e d soci a l mem b e r s l i s t t o child r e n o f mem b e r s t o Club work is done behind the scenes about the design and by the committees of h e l p fina n c e ou r cons t r u c t i o n financing for these the various sporting p r ojects wa s v e ry w e l l major works. The Sections/DSA/ decision to open up r e c e i v e d by the mem b e r s h i p Societies, the the Accelerated Social Members list to the Children of Members of good standing to help finance our construction projects, was very well received by the membership. Over 140 applications were processed, giving us a good financial cushion during a period of substantial outlay of funds and the loss of a major part of our revenue due to the closure of the Restaurant, Coffee Shop, Chairman s Bar, Lockhart Room and Happy Valley Suites. The replacement of the Infield pitches with state-of-the-art artificial surfaces, plus a new irrigation system, was welcomed Standing Subcommittees and the General Committee, all of which is performed on a voluntary basis. The Club is the success that it is because of the selfless work undertaken by so many volunteers and I thank you all for the time and effort that you put into Club life. I must make particular mention of the Development Sub-committee, and the Pitch Sub-group (headed by ex-club Chairman Richard Neish), for the tremendous amount of hard work they have put in looking to ensure that our building and infield projects were competently and efficiently undertaken.

6 [ CHAIRMAN S REPORT ] 5 In closing, I would like to thank the entire Membership for your patience and forbearance whilst the construction works have been ongoing. It has been a major inconvenience, but was necessary to ensure that we have a modern, safe and efficient Club. I must also thank all the Members of the General Committee for their sage advice and assistance, which has made my life as Chairman much smoother. My thanks also to our General Manager, Mark Pawley, his senior management team and all the Staff for making our lives in the Club so much more enjoyable. John J Shanahan Chairman

7 [ HONORARY SECRETARY S REPORT ] 6 HONOR ARY SECRETARY S REPORT I am very pleased to submit my annual report to Members. After delays over the past few years, we now have been able to undertake the major refurbishment of the second floor in accordance with the Master Plan. At the time of writing this report, the project is in full swing. Funding for this major operation has been derived primarily from the sale of Accelerated Social Memberships (ASMs) together with some Corporate Subscriberships. It is noteworthy that the strong response to the sale of ASMs testifies to the fact that demand for membership of the Club is as high as ever. With 144 new ASMs joining the Club we were able to generate almost HK$60 million of revenue to assist with the funding of this refurbishment. Further details on this are contained within the Membership Sub-committee report on page 19. Without doubt, the significant refurbishment and upgrading of the second floor will provide an enhanced experience for all Members and will place the Club in a good position to meet the needs of Members in the coming years. We currently have around 3,400 primary Members and cater for some 10,000-plus people when we take into consideration Spouse/Partners and Children of Members. As always, I would like to remind all Members of the need to register their children and obtain a membership card for them when they reach the age of 11 years, which enables the Club to plan ahead. With so many Members and their guests passing through, I would again urge all Members to acquaint themselves with, and observe, the Bye-laws and rules covering behaviour while using the Club. This ensures continued enjoyment by all our Members. The Club s website

8 [ HONORARY TREASURER S REPORT ] contains copies of all of the Bye-laws along with a copy of the Articles and the Policy HONOR ARY Statements, as well as a lot of other very TREASURER S useful information. REPORT On this note, I have previously mentioned the ongoing review of the Club s Articles, Bye-laws and Policy Statements. There has been continuing work by the Constitutional Affairs Sub-committee (CASC) and revisions are being made to update these to accommodate changing times. Such amendments are constantly under revision and the General Committee is always mindful of the need to review the Club s constitutional documents on a regular basis. Further information is contained in the CASC report on page 18. I would take this opportunity to remind Members again that the Club maintains a strict policy of zero tolerance on Staff abuse. During the past year there have been some cases which have been either handled by The Club s financial statements and accompanying notes are included on pages 58 to 80. The purpose of this report is to draw the attention of Members to certain financial highlights. The Club made a surplus of HK$29.1 million for the year ended 31 May 2017, up from HK$7.6 million in the prior year. The main driver of this increase was the performance of the Club s financial assets, which realised a gain of HK$8.5m this year compared to a loss of HK$8m in the prior year. This is discussed in more detail below. There were also increases in entrance fees from new joiners to the Club and transfer fees earned by the Club when Corporate Subscriberships are transferred between Management or referred to the Disciplinary t h e signific a n t upgr a d i n g o f the secon d flo o r owners in the secondary market. The Club s Standing Sub-committee underlying operating w i l l prov i de a n enh a n c e d for further action. performance was e x p e r i e n c e fo r a l l mem b e r s Respect for our Staff, broadly in line with the who perform an excellent job in a very busy and demanding environment, is a matter which is taken very seriously. Finally, and on behalf of all Members, I would like to thank the General Manager, Mark Pawley, and all the Management and Staff for their continued focus and dedication in making the Club such an enjoyable place to spend time and relax. Thanks are also due to my fellow General Committee members and Sub-committee members for their support and guidance on various matters surrounding the management of the Club. Mike Wood Honorary Secretary prior year. Revenue increased by 2% to HK$212.7 million, driven by increased fees and subscriptions, which were up 3.5% to HK$58.5 million. This increase in fees and subscriptions was primarily due to an increase of HK$25 per month in sub-scriptions for Ordinary Members from 1 January Total operating income of HK$141.5 million was slightly lower than the prior year as increases in fees and subscriptions and food and beverage gross profit were offset by the non-recurrence of a write-back of provision in the prior year. Total operating expenditure of HK$146.8 million was 0.7% lower than the prior year. 7

9 [ HONORARY TREASURER S REPORT ] 8 When operating expenditure excluding depreciation is considered, there was a more significant yearon-year decrease of HK$2.2 million or 1.6%. This was pleasing to note as it reversed the trend in recent years of cost increases outstripping increases in income, which clearly was not sustainable. The challenge on an ongoing basis is to continue to contain costs while delivering the same high levels of service. Operating surplus before depreciation of HK$6.2 million was up from HK$5 million in the prior year. Depreciation charges of HK$11.6 million were higher than the prior year following the completion of significant capital expenditure projects. The operating deficit for the year of HK$5.3 million was therefore broadly in line with the prior year. Entrance fees of HK$22.6 million increased due to proceeds of HK$9.9 million on the sale of three new Corporate Subscriberships this year compared to HK$6.6 million from the sale of two in the prior year. A gain of HK$8.5 million was realised on sale of the Club s investment in the Schroder Stable Growth Fund. The value of this investment had increased during the year as major global markets were generally positive, in contrast with the prior year when the value of the investment reduced by HK$8 million. The reason for converting the Club s financial investments to cash (which has been placed on time deposit) was that there is significant capital expenditure to be funded in the short term, most notably the second floor redevelopment. It was considered prudent to hold cash rather than financial investments to meet payments as they fall due and to protect

10 [ HONORARY TREASURER S REPORT ] against possible market-driven reductions in the value of the investments which could have impacted the ability to fund the required expenditure. Capital projects scheduled to be completed in the coming financial year include the redevelopment of the second floor, replacement of the chiller and transformer room, replacement of both the Main Pitch and Hockey Pitch, resurfacing, waterproofing and levelling works on the tennis courts, and improvements in the Indoor Bowling Green area including replacement of the carpet and underlay, ceiling and lighting work and installation of a new air-conditioning system. The costs associated with these projects are substantial and have required careful planning and financial management to ensure year. We budgeted for this prudently and I m happy to note that the actual results of the food and beverage outlets which have remained open in the months since the second floor outlets closed have been better than expected. Operating deficit before depreciation charges of HK$13.5 million and an overall surplus of HK$9.7 million were budgeted based on the following key assumptions: Food and beverage revenue would substantially reduce by around 40% from 2016/17 to HK$66 million due to the closure of the main kitchen and all second floor outlets for six months from June Monthly subscriptions would increase by HK$25 for Ordinary Members and by HK$10 for Senior, that they are completed Junior and Sports within the Club s financial t h e ch a l l e n g e on a n Debenture Associate means. o n g o i n g b a s i s is t o Members from June The General Social Membership c o n ta i n co s t s w h i l e Committee has started a entrance fee would de l i v e r i n g the s a m e process of reviewing the increase by HK$100,000 Club s medium and longterm h igh leve l s o f serv ic e to HK$500,000 from 1 requirements for redevelopment, repairs and replacements in order to consider what steps are needed to ensure the necessary financing will be in place when required. This will be an ongoing multi-year process which will require considerable attention and judgement, balancing the various relevant factors and ensuring that the Club s facilities remain the envy of others whilst financial resources are prudently managed to ensure long-term financial stability. The Club s operating budget for 2017/18 is set out on page 80 of this Annual Report for the information of Members. The budget for food and beverage operations is heavily impacted by the closure of the second floor for a significant part of the February 2018 (subject to approval at the AGM). An average salary increment of 2% would be paid to staff from 1 January HK$45.8 million Entrance Fee income would be received from 110 new Social Members (under the Accelerated Social Membership scheme) and 128 new Sports Preferred Associate Members. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the management and staff of the Accounts Department for their hard work and the members of the Finance Subcommittee for their wise counsel throughout the year. Alan Morgan Honorary Treasurer 9

11 [ OFFICERS OF THE HKFC ] OFFICERS OF THE HONG KONG FOOTBALL CLUB WHO HELD OFFICE DURING THE PERIOD 1 JUNE MAY Dermot Agnew President Nicholas Hunsworth Vice-President Robert Lawson Vice-President Iain Valentine Vice-President Fook Aun Chew Vice-President John Shanahan Chairman Mike Wood Honorary Secretary Alan Morgan Honorary Treasurer Jeff Lane Constitutional Affairs James Niehorster Discipline Maurice O Brien Membership Peter Crabtree Development (from November 2016) Philip Woolf Sports and Recreation (June to December 2016) Charles Poulton Hockey Officer Mike Worth Lawn Bowls Officer Ian Petersen Rugby Officer Neil Jensen Soccer Officer Adam Wilson Squash Officer (June to November 2016) Malcolm Kerr Squash Officer (from November 2016) HONOR ARY VICE-PRESIDENTS D K Newbigging T J Bedford J G Cartner J A B Duncan R Gaff A D A G Mosley A A Lister Sir W Purves, CBE, DSO, JP K J Marshall, MBE, JP B C Penman M Moir D Lamont MANAGEMENT Mark Pawley General Manager AUDITORS KPMG BANKERS The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd

12 [ CANDIDATES NOMINATED FOR ELECTION ] CANDIDATES NOMINATED FOR ELECTION AS OFFICERS OF THE CLUB FOR THE YEAR 2017/18 office candidate proposed by seconded by Vice-Presidents Fook Aun Chew John Shanahan Mike Wood Nicholas Hunsworth John Shanahan Robert Lawson Robert Lawson Neil Jensen Nicholas Hunsworth Iain Valentine Mike Wood Fook Aun Chew General Officers (five vacancies to be filled) Peter Crabtree Fook Aun Chew Maurice O Brien Jeff Lane Ian Petersen Nicholas Hunsworth Karin Looram Robert Lawson John Shanahan James Niehorster Maurice O Brien Alan Morgan Maurice O Brien Robert Lawson John Shanahan section nominees name proposed by Hockey Charles Poulton Hockey Section Lawn Bowls Mike Worth Lawn Bowls Section Rugby Donald Rider Rugby Section Soccer Neil Jensen Soccer Section Squash Malcolm Kerr Squash Section 11

13 [ NOTICE OF THE AGM ] NOTICE OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING FOR THE YEAR 2017 Notice is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting of the Hong Kong Football Club for the year 2017 will be held at the Clubhouse, 3 Sports Road, Happy Valley, Hong Kong at 19:00 on Thursday, 18 January 2018 for the purpose of conducting the following business: 1. To elect Officers of the Club for the year 2017/18 (a list of the candidates nominated for election is set out on page 11 of this Annual Report) To consider and, if thought fit, adopt the General Committee s Report and the Accounts of the Club for the year ended 31 May To elect KPMG as the Auditors of the Club at a fee to be fixed by the General Committee. 4. As special business: 4.1 To consider and, if thought fit, to pass the following as an Ordinary Resolution: The Entrance Fee payable by prospective Members whose applications are not endorsed in accordance with Article 3.3.(A)(i) shall be raised from HONG KONG DOLLARS FOUR HUNDRED THOUSAND (HK$400,000) to HONG KONG DOLLARS FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND (HK$500,000) from February To consider and, if thought fit, to pass the following as an Ordinary Resolution: That the Monthly Subscription for Full Members, Corporate Members (including Nominees) and Associate Members be raised from HONG KONG

14 [ NOTICE OF THE AGM ] NOTICE OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING FOR THE YEAR 2017 DOLLARS ONE THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIVE (HK$1,525) to HONG KONG DOLLARS ONE THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED AND FIFTY (HK$1,550) from June 2018 and that monthly subscription for Sports Debenture Associates and Senior Junior Associates (between the age of 21-28) be raised from HONG KONG DOLLARS SIX HUNDRED AND TEN (HK$610) to HONG KONG DOLLARS SIX HUNDRED AND TWENTY (HK$620), also from June Any other business. Mike Wood Honorary Secretary By Order of the General Committee Hong Kong, 15 December 2017 Notes: 1. A Full Member entitled to attend and vote at the meeting is entitled to appoint a Proxy Holder to attend and vote in his or her stead. A Proxy Holder must be a Member of the Club. A Corporate Member entitled to vote at the meeting is entitled to appoint a Corporate Representative to attend and vote in respect of all the Corporate Subscriptions held by such Corporate Member The instrument appointing a Proxy Holder, or Corporate Representative, must be returned to the office of KPMG, who have been appointed as scrutineers, by mail, delivery or by facsimile transmission, or you can place the completed form into the Drop Box provided at the G/F lobby of the Club. The Form of Appointment of Proxy, or Corporate Representative, is to be received by the scrutineers or put in the Drop Box not less than 48 hours before the time for holding the meeting. 3. Full Members and Corporate Members entitled to vote at the meeting may vote in the election of Officers by completing the Ballot Paper accompanying this Notice and returning it to the offices of KPMG, who have been appointed as scrutineers, by mail, delivery or by facsimile transmission, or you can place the completed form into the Drop Box provided at the G/F lobby of the Club. The Ballot Paper is to be received by the scrutineers or put in the Drop Box not less than 72 hours before the time of holding the meeting.

15 PHOTOS FROM THE 2017 HKFC CITI SOCCER SEVENS AND THE 2017 GFI HKFC 10s COURTESY OF POWER SPORT IMAGES.

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17 [ COMMUNITY OUTREACH ] 16 The Club s vision, as stated in our Articles of Association, is to be recognised as one of the leading sports clubs in the world and our mission includes facilitating the development and participation of recognised sporting activities. This commitment to the betterment of sport extends to the general community, regardless of gender, race and nationality, as well as to our 3,400-plus Members and their families. Major activities designed to encourage sports development, available to both Members and non-members, include Mini and Youth Soccer, Mini and Youth Rugby, Mini and Youth Hockey, Junior Squash, Junior Netball and Junior and Youth Tennis Groups. Likewise, a plethora of gymnastics, dance, aerobics, aquatics and martial arts programmes and classes are offered. Additionally, the YMCA Soccer/Adventure Camps are popular with both Members and non-members during school holidays, and we also now host Auskick sessions for both Juniors and Seniors in the summer. At the same time, we have forged links with Port Adelaide Football Club in Australia with a view to helping them promote the sport of Australian Rules Football in Hong Kong as well as South China. The facilities are also used for international fixtures, training, seminars or functions by many National Sports Associations (NSAs) such as the Hong Kong Football Association, Hong Kong Rugby Union, Hong Kong Hockey Association, Hong Kong Lawn Bowls Association, Hong Kong Squash, Hong Kong Netball Association, Hong Kong Tennis Association and Hong Kong Golf Association, as well as the Yau Yee Football League and others. Additionally, our Club is virtually the only sports club in Hong Kong to host and manage international sporting events on a regular basis which, we believe, with local participation and spectators, helps to foster and advance a greater sporting culture within the local community. In this respect, we have organised and managed the GFI HKFC 10s, HKFC Citi Soccer Sevens, HKFC MEMC International PSA25 and the HKFC Hockey Sixes. We also organised and managed a Professional Squash Association world-ranking tournament, a Women s Squash Association world-ranking tournament, and we were the venue/hosts for two Asia Rugby Union Championship matches, a leg of the Asian Rugby Sevens Series, the HKRU Cup of Nations tournament, the International Tiger Bowls tournament and, on behalf of the HKFA, the East Asian Football Federation E1 Championships. The Club also makes its sports facilities available to many youth groups and community organisations on a gratis or concessionary basis. A venue and coaching are provided free to the Hong Kong Vocational Centre for Children with Special Needs and a Soccer Programme for Children with Special Needs. We provide a number of sporting and recreational facilities for use by the Springboard Project and the Nesbitt Centre, and we also allow use to children (with their teachers and supervisors) from the many educational establishments within Hong Kong. In addition, we hold an annual lunch for residents of the China Coast Community. In terms of the lease renewal, the Club is required to allow use of certain facilities by NSAs and outside bodies such as educational establishments. In this respect the Club averages each month in season well over one thousand hours of actual use by such entities. Our community outreach activities naturally revolve around sport, but we also make donations to charities which are made both by the Club and the Sections/DSA/Societies as well as groups of Members. Over the past year, the Club, in total, has made charitable donations of just under HK$665,000.

18 [ SUB-COMMITTEE REPORTS ] SUB-COMMITTEE REPORTS 17

19 [ SUB-COMMITTEE REPORTS ] 18 CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS SUB-COMMITTEE (CASC) The CASC has now largely completed the exercise of reviewing, revising and updating where required the Club s Articles, Bye-laws and Policy Statements at the direction of the General Committee, and as needs arose. The new Articles of Association of the Club have been reviewed and amended to ensure their compliance with recent developments in the law, particularly the new Companies Ordinance. The finalised drafts will be circulated to GC for their approval, and then to the Director of Lands (and the Home Affairs Bureau) with the intention that they receive all appropriate approvals before we then seek a final approval from the Registrar of Companies. Thereafter the Articles of Association will be presented for approval at the 2019 Club AGM, and then filed at the Companies Registry. A rather protracted process but unfortunately the sequence of gaining approvals requires it to be so. My thanks to Nick Hunsworth, Bobby Lawson, Charles Poulton and Mark Pawley for their help and guidance during the year. Jeff Lane Chairman, CASC DEVELOPMENT SUB-COMMITTEE (DSC) It has been a very busy year for the Development Sub-committee and the first thing I must do is thank all of the DSC members who have given a lot of their time and effort to make sure we have been able to do so much work in and around the Club. So a very big thank you to Malcolm Kerr, Richard Neish, Sean O Connor, Steve Tew and John Wilby, as well as for all the assistance given by Mark Pawley and Club Management. As regular users of the Club will know, the HKFC has embarked on several large improvement projects over the past year or so. Unfortunately, the timetable for preparation of the Annual Report means that, at the time of writing, some of these works are still ongoing. It is hoped, however, that by the time you read this the majority of the works will be close to completion and Members will soon be enjoying in full the benefits of these much-improved areas. chiller replacement The first, and perhaps the most complicated, of these projects has been the replacement of the air-conditioning chillers. This work was started two years ago and has required extensive coordination and careful sequencing to ensure the Club was able to maintain operations throughout. The work not only required replacing the chillers with more efficient equipment, but also a new power supply and transformers. second floor renovations The complete renovation of the second floor facilities has been undertaken and, with a much-needed improved and enlarged kitchen, the Club now has the flexibility to provide a more extensive, and varied, type and service of both food and functions. Separate areas of differing size now give the Club the ability to provide for functions of anywhere between 12 (in the Private Dining Room) and 240 persons (in the Happy Valley Suites) without any disruption to Members dining facilities. The new conservatory area in the Coffee Shop is intended to give Members the comfort of an air-conditioned space while maintaining an outdoor feel. All of the mechanical and electrical systems on this floor have been replaced with a new design which should provide far better environmental control in individual areas. main and hockey pitches The Main Pitch and the Hockey Pitch have

20 [ SUB-COMMITTEE REPORTS ] been replaced with the latest governing-body approved synthetic surfaces. At the same time the base to the Hockey Pitch has been enhanced, new shock pad systems to both pitches installed and the entire irrigation system replaced. The opportunity was also taken to slightly increase the length of the Main Pitch to ensure compliance with all international standards. indoor bowling green The works to the second floor necessitated the removal of the ceiling above the Indoor Bowling Green on the first floor. It was decided to take this opportunity to also carry out some muchneeded improvement work to the indoor green itself. The carpet (and underlay) is to be replaced, again with the latest type and quality available, and the base to the green carefully levelled to provide a playing surface well within the tolerances set by the governing body. The lights will also be replaced with LED fittings to both increase the light levels across the green and improve efficiency, and preparatory works are being carried out to allow us to enhance the airconditioning during the next closed season. Thanks must go to Mike Worth who has led the sub-group arranging these works. future works Following completion of the above projects, the DSC will turn its attention to future works for 2018 to continue enhancing and increasing the facilities for Members. These will include: New Tennis Court surfaces on the main roof area. This work will also include new waterproofing of the entire main roof area, along with renovation of the surrounding areas and equipment. Feasibility studies into the relocation of the Snooker Room and provision of an area to provide leisure activities for teenagers. Refurbishment of the Sportsman s Bar and associated kitchen facilities. Potential use of the area below the Wong Nai Chung Road section of the Club, subject to obtaining all necessary approvals for its use from the relevant Government Departments. W Peter Crabtree Chairman, DSC MEMBERSHIP SUB-COMMITTEE (MSC) The Club Chairman wrote to all Members in May advising them of an extraordinary offer that Social Membership would be given to the Children of Members without any age limitation over and above 21 years of age. This opportunity normally expires at the age of 27. The offer closed at the end of August with 144 successful Children of Members joining the Club and bringing in HK$57.6 million. These funds have been earmarked for the second floor renovation. As of June 2017, there were 3,364 Members (an increase of 17 over the corresponding period last year) plus 2,700 Spouses/Partners and around 3,500 registered Children (not all children are registered with the Club so this figure is very likely higher). This translates to more than 9,500 potential users of the Club. The General Committee considers that this number of approximately 3,500 Members is within the capacity of the Club but will regularly review membership numbers and types of membership categories to ensure a healthy balance is maintained. There were 136 newly joined Sports Preferred Members, of whom 66 were Junior Associates (JAs), that is, under 28 years of age. There are 563 Sports Preferred Members (SPAMs)who are under a four-year commitment period within their respective Sections/DSA/ Societies. 25 Sports Debentures were issued during the year and 29 Accelerated Social Members joined (comprising 25 Children of Full 19

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23 [ SUB-COMMITTEE REPORTS ] 22 Members and four ex-corporate Nominees). This figure does not include the 144 Social Members referred to above. 52 Temporary Preferred Members converted to Full Membership, with a further 56 Temporary Preferred Members confirmed as JAs. 203 Members resigned and 109 Members took out Absent Membership. A further 23 Members returned to HK and reactivated their memberships on a full-time basis. Over 800 Absent Members visited the Club and temporarily reactivated their memberships during the period June 2016 to end May I would like to advise all Members who leave Hong Kong to take out Absent Membership as clearly it is heavily used by many Full Members throughout the year when they return for a visit. An issue which MSC will be addressing is the notion some people have that SPAMs need only play their respective sport for four years, that is until they are confirmed as Full Members. Upon completion of their commitment period SPAMs are expected to continue playing and supporting their respective Section/DSA/Society. As always, MSC relies upon the Sections, Designated Sports Association (DSA) and Societies to ensure that they only put forward SPAMs who are genuinely able to contribute to the Sections/DSA/Societies and the Club. As we are primarily a sporting club, we do need to ensure that our competitive teams have the necessary talent to represent the Club in the various leagues and competitions in which they participate. MSC has an important role to play in vetting applications for membership in order to ensure that the number of Members is commensurate with the facilities that the Club has to offer and that we avoid the danger of unacceptable overuse of these facilities, be they sporting or social. I would sincerely like to thank the members of the MSC namely Bob Lloyd, Russell Lousich, Fredric Teng, Fook Aun Chew, Neil Jensen, Richard Neish, Mark Pawley and Kerry Ogle for their advice and assistance throughout the year. With the increase in membership levels, a huge commitment also has been made by a pool of senior Members who regularly volunteer their time for interview panels where Temporary Members seeking conversion to Full Membership and where prospective Accelerated Social Members are first seen. I am also grateful to all the Membership Officers in the various Sections/DSA/Societies as well as the members of the Sports and Recreation Sub-committee for their work in monitoring Members under commitment; an important but not always acknowledged job that requires considerable time and effort. Lastly, and by no means least, I am, as always, especially indebted to the Membership Services Manager Kerry Ogle and her Assistant Manager Rebecca Chiu, for all their hard work and expertise where membership is concerned. Maurice O Brien Chairman, MSC SPORTS AND RECREATION SUB-COMMITTEE (S&RSC) The S&RSC continues to work closely with the Netball DSA, the Badminton, Golf, Tennis and Swimming and Triathlon Societies, as well as the Bowling Interest Group, to provide support, guidance and resolution when needed, while recognising the unique dynamics of each sporting group. We would like to thank the previous Chairman, Philip Woolf, for his four years of service to the S&RSC, as well as Adam Wilson who retired from the S&RSC earlier this year. There has been significant developments and achievements for the sporting groups throughout the year and we would like to highlight the following: The Netball DSA placed first in Division 1 of the HKNA League for the fourth consecutive year The Golf Society continues to go from strength to strength, winning seven of nine competitive matches

24 [ SUB-COMMITTEE REPORTS ] The Badminton Society has established a new HKFC League that will compete on a regular basis throughout the year The Swimming and Triathlon Society continues to excel in its fields with some very impressive endurance events added to its busy schedule The Tennis Society has grown in strength in the Men s A and B Leagues, with a strong competitive presence in the Ladies League as well A key focus going forward for the S&RSC will be to: Continue to act as a pro-active conduit to the General Committee for all groups of the S&RSC Ensure clear protocols and pathways are developed and implemented, and that all groups are held accountable for adhering to their protocols Develop and maintain cohesive recordkeeping and management across all groups Encourage growth and development for all groups from within the existing membership base of the Club Encourage a networking environment across all groups to facilitate sharing of information and best-practice ideas We would like to thank the S&RSC executive members, including Iain Valentine, as well as S&RSC members Tony Sealy, Simon Chapman, Minos Law and Cecilia Pang for their contributions to the committee. Robert Lawson & Karin Looram S&RSC netball designated sports association (dsa) Senior Netball Programme The 2016/17 season was once again a very successful one for the HKFC Netball DSA with the first team (HKFC Club) winning the Premier Division title for the fourth year in a row. The HKFC entered six teams in the Hong Kong Netball Association (HKNA) League this season. This consisted of five competitive training teams and one competitive social team. This season we again entered a full Junior team (HKFC Hurricanes) in Division 3 in the HKNA Senior League for junior development. Preseason saw a partnership with Joint Dynamics, where each of the teams had sessions to improve strength and conditioning in preparation for the season ahead. This season, we were able to once again field a strong team of experienced coaches: Karin Looram (Division 1 Club), Nicole Viney (Division 1 Typhoons), Veronica Arnold (Division 2 Whirlies and Division 3 Hurricanes), and Iris Chan (Division 3 Tornadoes). Halfway through the season, Division 1 and 2 were split into three divisions for the second half, with both Club and Typhoons competing in the newly created Premier Division and Whirlwinds promoted to the new Division 1. Both Club and Whirlwinds subsequently made the finals of the Premier Division and Division 1, respectively. With the hard work of all the players, coaches and support staff, four out of six of our teams made it through to the semi-finals of the HKNA Senior League. The final results were as follows: HKNA SENIOR LEAGUE RESULTS team position score PREMIER DIVISION HKFC Club 1st v HKCC Demons note: vanessa cuvelier was named grand final mvp HKFC Typhoons 6th - DIVISION 1 HKFC Whirlwinds 3rd - DIVISION 3 HKFC Tornadoes 2nd v Giants HKFC Hurricanes 3rd - DIVISION 5 HKFC Cyclones 6th - 23

25 [ SUB-COMMITTEE REPORTS ] 24 Junior Netball Programme This season we established a Junior Subcommittee with Cheryl White as Chair, Mary Vlogianitis as Junior Convener and Hayley Price as Secretary. We trialled combining the billing for term two and three, with the intention of combining billing for all three terms and kit into one payment for the entire year. Combining payment for term two and three was considered successful and we will go ahead and combine payment next season, significantly reducing administration. We are extremely happy to have been granted an extra 30 minutes court time to ease congestion during our Wednesday sessions (17:00-18:00), with juniors now starting at 16:30 for the following season. The Junior members train on Monday and Wednesday evenings and play in the LCSD/HKNA Junior Netball League (JNL). The JNL takes place on Saturdays (Autumn competition) and Sundays (Spring competition). We have a total of 14 teams/training groups with 11 playing in the JNL (see table above right for coaches and standings after the Spring competition). Two girls from HKFC Twisters Claudia Harrison and Ava Grylewicz were selected to join the Regional 14s Netball Academy Squad. Junior Programme off-court achievements We commenced a mentoring and Coach development programme led by Karin Looram. Coaches have given very positive feedback. We started our commitment to charity with three key initiatives: 1. A Shootathon event which enjoyed brilliant participation and support from our junior members, and raised more than HK$85, Kit collection old kit was collected and sent to a Sri Lankan grassroots team. 3. Sponsorship for two girls living at Po Leung Kuk on the JNA programme. Brand new kit was rolled out. Existing JUNIOR NETBALL LEAGUE RESULTS team coach division pos. HKFC Storm HKFC Mavericks HKFC Breakers HKFC Twisters HKFC Rainstorms HKFC Tremors Veronica Arnold Kathryn Curley Heather Probert Jae Stuchbery Veronica Arnold Kathryn Curley HKFC Thunder Jane Peters / Iris Chan U19 Division 1 (up from Div 2) U16 Division 1 (up from Div 2) U16 Division 2 (up from Div 3) U14 Division 1 U14 Division 1 (up from Div 2) U14 Division 3 U12 Division 1 (up from Div 2) kit consisted of a vest; the juniors now have dresses, training tops and jackets. 4th 3rd 2nd Junior Programme Plans for 2017/18 1. Court space utilise extra 30 minutes court time to reduce crowding 2. Coaching continue to develop coaches through mentoring and workshops 3. Implement classroom sessions to coach theory and psychology for U12s and up 4. Identify junior members who could potentially join the senior HKFC teams in the HKNA League 5. Guide junior members into the HKNA national development squads 6. Charity hold another Shootathon, reestablish sponsored JNA membership for two girls from Po Leung Kuk 7. Admin change payment structure from three terms plus kit, to one payment for the whole year and kit combined 8. Sponsorship attract a sponsor for the JNA 1st 2nd 2nd 2nd HKFC Lightning Kate Smith U12 Division 3 4th Starbursts Hayley Price U8 training group Icebreakers Jelly Beans Kathryn Curley Heather Probert U8 training group U8 training group - - -

26 [ SUB-COMMITTEE REPORTS ] Hong Kong Representative Netball The DSA has had a very busy year supplying national representatives for both the junior and senior Hong Kong teams. Melissa Atkins, Elise Daly, Kate Jolly, Jessica McCauley and Victoria Smith represented Hong Kong at the Asian Netball Championships held in Bangkok in August Aliya Tupper and Netra Hankins represented Hong Kong at the Regional U16s Netball Championships held in Malaysia in November Elise Daly, Kate Jolly and Kalani Brown represented Hong Kong playing against Singapore in Singapore in January Elise Daly (co-captain), Kate Jolly, Jess McCauley and Victoria Smith represented Hong Kong at the Tri-Nations held in Hong Kong in February 2017, playing against Zimbabwe and Malaysia. The team made the final against Zimbabwe, after winning a closely fought match against Malaysia. Veronica Arnold was part of the coaching group for the Hong Kong team. Kalani Brown and Aliya Tupper played for the Hong Kong Invitational Team, and Karin Looram and Amelia Handford were part of the coaching group for the Invitational Team. Aliya Tupper, Niamh Davies and Caitlyn Rawiller represented Hong Kong at the Asian Youth Netball Championships, held in May 2017 in Jeonju, South Korea. The team finished third overall, beating Sri Lanka in the bronze medal final a fantastic result! Lastly, we are proud that Veronica Arnold has been re-elected for two more years as President of the Asian Netball Federation. Sponsorship We were fortunate this season to have had the continued sponsorship for the Netball DSA from the Hong Kong Trust Company. The sponsorship period concluded at the end of this season. We are now looking to find a replacement sponsor for 2017/18. Moving Forward The Netball DSA has set the following plans for the 2017/18 season: 1. Host an international tournament in November Re-enter HKFC Monsoons in 2017/18 HKNA League 3. Look for additional coaches for both our senior and junior teams to strengthen our programme 4. Identify talented juniors for integration into senior teams for development 5. Continuation of community hours for all DSA members 6. Ensure all members have completed their umpiring qualifications 7. Achieve Section sporting status (stretch goal) Lastly, a big thank you to all of the 2016/17 Netball DSA Committee Members. They do an outstanding job of supporting our senior and junior programmes. Tassie Brakenridge Chairwoman, Netball DSA tennis society Executive Summary The Tennis Society has had another good year and is continuing to move forward in developing its membership base, through running a mix of both social and competitive tennis activities within the Club. At the AGM this year we said goodbye to long-standing Chairman, Greg Brutus, and we thank him for his work and wish him well. We are lucky to have many new faces on the committee this year, several of whom are former or current sporting members who are keen to continue to improve the development of our Society within the Club. There has been a big challenge this year with the shortage and, at times, loss of courts due to the refurbishments in the Club and in particular the new chiller system. The Tennis 25

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28 Society members are patient and appreciate that the Club will reward us with newly resurfaced courts once the other refurbishments are completed. The Society has 16 SPAMs (eight men and eight women), three of whom are new SPAMs who joined in In the Men s there are a total of four teams across the divisions A+, A, B and C. We are starting to see the fruition of the growth in the Men s league, with particularly strong A and B squads. There is an ongoing shortage of Men s A+ players; this is a direct reflection of the growth in the Tennis teams, coupled with the quality of A+ Tennis in Hong Kong. The committee is trying to consistently balance the allocation of SPAMs across all teams. The ladies team is growing and is a wellrespected competitive squad. The A+ has 14 registered players while the A grade has 17 registered players. Both teams have a good track record this season and the Society is growing its squad of players. The junior programme currently has 231 weekly participants involved in the ATA coaching programme, meaning we are at capacity in the majority of our sessions and at present cannot expand further due to the court restrictions. We have two junior league teams Junior A (U18) and Junior B (U14) entered in the HKTA league, competing on Friday evenings. Unfortunately, due to the court restrictions, the Society was unable to enter a Junior C (U12) team this season. A number of our junior players have now improved to a level that they are moving up in the men s and women s night league. Once again, ATA have run their very popular holiday camps throughout the holiday periods which continue to attract more players into the programme. The Society wants to see more Members playing tennis, both competitively and socially. The social tournaments are attracting a strong turnout and there is an active plan to encourage 27

29 [ SUB-COMMITTEE REPORTS ] 28 many of the tennis members and other Members within the Club to participate in these events. On 7 October, the Society celebrated a key milestone of this plan a very successful pro-am tennis clinic with world number 10 Agnieszka Radwanska. The event attracted tennis fans from all over Hong Kong and was a big success. Both Aga and her team from IMG complimented the Tennis Society for hosting such a successful event, and expressed their desire to work with us on similar events in the future. Later on the same evening, the Society celebrated with its annual Gala Dinner. There was a fantastic turnout of more than 90 members and their guests who attended a wonderful event. We continue to have an excellent working relationship with the coaches and team from ATA, who continue to do a fantastic job running an ever-expanding tennis programme within the Club. They were key in successfully running the pro-am clinic and we are grateful to have them on board, supporting the Society. Financially, the accounts are in good order and we are grateful to have the support again of Wolf Blass for their continued sponsorship. The Society has a vision to host a top standard international fast doubles tournament within the next few years and in order to execute this successfully, there is an understanding that a strong foundation needs to be developed. The Tennis Society has a lot of work ahead, hopefully matched by sufficient energy, to ensure that 2018 is as good a year, if not better, than Thanks to all our Tennis Society members and committee for a great year. David McCann Chairman, Tennis Society golf society The Golf Society continues to provide the Club s Members with the opportunity to take advantage of exceptional value golf throughout the year. With a membership fee of just HK$750 per annum, Society members appreciate that this represents excellent value at less than the cost of a single round of golf if they book a debenture at Macau or Lotus Hill. For those of a more competitive nature, the Society organises twice-monthly golf tournaments at subsidised rates. These are organised to accommodate golfers of all abilities and those with restricted timetables we arrange mid-week, Saturday or Sunday fixtures, and even full weekend getaways. The locations and formats of these events vary, with the majority taking place in Hong Kong or Southern China. However, we are happy to look at venturing further afield. If a group of golfers is also keen to travel further afield, we are happy to see if we can help organise overseas tours. The Club now has possibly the strongest golf society team in Hong Kong, for which about 40 or 50 players have played during the year. Over the last 12 months, despite not having a golf course to call our own, we managed to organise nine matches, of which we have won seven, drawn one and lost one. As well as our own events, we also encourage Society members to participate in competitions organised in the region as and when they arise. Through our revamped and comprehensive website we have forged a closer partnership with the Hong Kong Golf Association (HKGA), which organises its own tournaments that are open to golfers of various standards throughout Hong Kong. The website contains detailed information on the large number of HKFC reciprocal clubs around the world which have golfing facilities. We also include the rules of golf, so we strongly suggest that members of all abilities make use of the site as much as possible. We encourage all of our members to join the HKGA via the Society or directly in order to obtain handicaps and handicap cards. Such

30 [ SUB-COMMITTEE REPORTS ] cards are very useful when visiting golf clubs, as many clubs require proof of handicaps as a condition of being given permission to play. Only members who have valid HKGA handicaps are eligible to compete in our competitions or to represent the Society in matches. Members can post their scores online directly using the GHIN facility on the HKGA website Members without such handicaps are welcome to join our events to play socially but they are unable to compete for the main prizes, although they are still eligible to win the longest drive and nearest the pin awards. A further benefit of being a member of the Society is that members can enjoy discounts on golf equipment and services purchased from certain golf outlets in Hong Kong and be notified of the various new golfing opportunities that our Society is offered from time to time. We are always striving to provide more opportunities to Society members and are continuing to seek sponsors to assist us in these endeavours. We would therefore be pleased to hear from any potential sponsor interested in exploring opportunities for promoting its image and profile by supporting the Golf Society, which has well over 800 members drawn from a full cross-section of the Club. Chris Meecham Chairman, Golf Society badminton society Open Tournaments The 2016/17 season started with the Presidents Cup organised by the Hong Kong Badminton Association (HKBA) from September to October The Badminton Society entered one team each in all three Intermediate Division events namely one men s team, one women s team and one mixed team. In addition, one men s team competed at the Elementary level, which comprised our junior players and some enthusiastic veterans. The Presidents Cup was followed by the HKBA Doubles Leagues, which ran from January to May We fielded a team in each of the three disciplines Men s Doubles, Women s Doubles and Mixed Doubles all at B Grade level, the highest level of competition held in the open tournament. One other Men s Doubles team also competed at E Grade. Our teams did well in the tournament and our Mixed Doubles team achieved their best result ever. They were the group champions at the round-robin stage and finished second runners-up in the B Grade Final of the tournament. From May to June 2017, some 20 players from the Society competed in various individual events in the Hong Kong Annual Badminton Championship 2017 and achieved impressive results in this high level tournament. Emily Chow and Chun Tin Lam were the Mixed Doubles champions in the Elementary Division. Mat Shuker was the Men s Singles champion in the Age 35 Division. Jaff Lo was the second runner-up in the Men s Singles in the Age 45 Division, and Gavin So (paired with his former team-mate) was also second runner-up in the Mixed Doubles in the Intermediate Division. Other players also did well with several of them reaching the quarter-finals or the round-of-16 stage. Internal Tournaments The first Internal Doubles League was launched in April 2017 to promote competitive badminton within the Club. The three Doubles disciplines organised were Men s, Women s and Mixed, and these were open to all Club Members. Matches were played during the Society s badminton sessions on Fridays and Sundays, engaging many Society members as helpers and supporters of the tournament. The winners of the leagues are shown in the results table that follows on page

31 [ SUB-COMMITTEE REPORTS ] 30 INTERNAL DOUBLES LEAGUE RESULTS division winners runners-up Men s Doubles Chun Tin Lam / Joe Leung Women s Doubles Emily Chow / Hoey Mok Mixed Doubles Emily Chow / Chun Tin Lam Mat Shuker / Gavin So Nora Man / Tiffany Lam Peggy Lee / Mat Shuker The Annual Internal Tournament is a popular event for Society members and is held in the afternoon before the Society AGM. It is more of a social affair compared to the Internal Doubles Leagues, as reflected in the match formats. This year it was held the Sunday afternoon of 25 June In addition to the five traditional events Men s Singles, Men s Doubles, Mixed Doubles, Centenarian Doubles (for teams with a combined age of at least 100) and Family Doubles two Semi-social men s doubles and mixed doubles events were introduced this year. In these Semi-social events, each team was formed by a member from our First Team pairing up with another member of the Society. There were a total of 50 entries in the tournament. All the players performed to the best of their ability and thoroughly enjoyed the fun of badminton at the same time. The winners are shown in the table below: ANNUAL INTERNAL TOURNAMENT RESULTS event winners runners-up Men s Singles Jason Wong S K Suen Mixed Doubles Jason Wong / Chris Lianne Howley / Lo Marco Wong Men s Doubles Kevin Khoo / Raymond Khoo Centenarian Doubles Steve Lo / Danny Leung Family Doubles Kevin Khoo / Raymond Khoo Semi- Social Men s Doubles Semi- Social Mixed Doubles Justin Chu / S Y Suen Terry Leung / Philip Chan S K Suen / S Y Suen Leo Ng / Peric Lee Kevin Khoo / Patrick Leung Peggy Lee / Jason Wong Chris Lo / Patrick Leung Overseas Tours and Friendly Matches During the year the Society successfully organised two overseas visits to reputable badminton clubs in the region. In early July 2016, we had a spectacular and most enjoyable excursion to Penang in Malaysia, and we are very grateful to Boo Boon Khoo who made excellent arrangements and contacts. Some 20 people, comprising 15 players and five family members/supporters, joined the three-day trip for a friendly match against Penang Sports Club, a prestigious club which has a long-standing relationship with HKFC. The match was followed by a dinner reception and the warm hospitality of our Malaysian friends left us with many great memories. On 4 June 2017, we visited Macau for a friendly match with the renowned Cheong Leon Sports Club of Macao. Our group comprised 12 players and several family members and supporters. A total of 20 singles and doubles matches were played. The competition could not have been closer, with the host team and HKFC winning 10 matches each. After the games finished, the Society group enjoyed a sumptuous Portuguese dinner before heading home. We also hosted friendly matches against two local badminton clubs in the past year namely, St George Badminton Club in October 2016 and The Law Society Badminton Club in January Both matches started with competitive games of Men s Doubles, Ladies Doubles and Mixed Doubles, and was followed by Men s Singles and Ladies Singles, in which both teams put out their best players. These games were followed by a number of social games, joined in by other Badminton Society members. Team Development The Society teams have been significantly strengthened by the recruitment in early 2017 of former England international Mat Shuker and former Hong Kong national team player Joe Leung, as well as young lady player Hoey Mok. We have been able to field a women s

32 [ SUB-COMMITTEE REPORTS ] team and a men s team as well as a mixed team to participate in open tournaments at a highly competitive level, including the HKBA President s Cup and Hong Kong Badminton Doubles League. Team training sessions were organised on Friday evenings, which were well attended with great enthusiasm. External players were invited from time to time to spar with our team during the training sessions. We are delighted to have enlisted Edwin Ma, a former member of the Hong Kong Badminton Team, as our Team Captain starting in June With Edwin s guidance and support, our teams have achieved great results in various open tournaments as mentioned above. Junior Badminton Throughout the year the Badminton Society provided assistance to Torq Sports International (Torq), the Club s Independent Contract Coach for Junior Badminton. Detailed arrangements were worked out with Torq regarding the referral of junior players with good potential to join the Badminton Society training sessions to help with their development. Annual General Meeting 2017 The AGM was held following the Annual Internal Tournament on 25 June 2017, during which the committee for the 2017/18 session was elected, as follows. Chairman Ryan Wong Secretary Paul Tso Treasurer B K Mak Membership Secretary Danny Leung S&RSC Representative Mat Shuker Badminton Society Captain Ivan Ho Ladies Captain Hoey Mok Social Secretary Benjamin Chan Youth Badminton Representative Sui Cheung Yu General Officers (3) Tommy Liu, Terry Leung, Leo Ng Ryan Wong Chairman, Badminton Society swimming and triathlon society (s&ts) The 2016/17 season proved to be another very successful one for the S&TS. We continued to produce strong wins from Masters pool events, open water races, triathlons and ironman events across the globe. Our TriKids section has bloomed with our awesome swim coaches from Fastlane. We encourage all Club Members to bring their children of all ages and abilities along to learn how to develop solid techniques and, most of all, have fun. During the past year our teams dominance in open water races has been notable, in particular at the Clean Half race a 15km relay swim race from Stanley to Deep Water Bay in which we entered five teams of five people as well as two two-man yak teams. The top Club men s team won overall with a record time of 3 hours 13 minutes 41 seconds. Not to be outdone, our 275-year-plus team of five blitzed their age category in a time of 3:57.17 and clearly showed the benefits of swim training in the S&TS. The top yak team of Iain Veitch and Simon Brewster finished second, while the top ladies team came fifth overall in a category that also included mixed teams. At the Sheko Challenge we had 20 swimmers and two runners taking part in either the 2.2km swim or the 8.5km trail run from Big Wave Bay to Shek O Back Beach. We ended up with 15 podium places out of a field of 290. Iain Veitch and Vasco van der Flier claimed gold while Farah Master and Kodie Hultgren finished third in the mixed category. In the pool we dominated the six Hong Kong Masters swimming competitions with 58 gold medals and now hold 10 age category records. For a relatively small club this was an impressive effort by the HKFC athletes, and we will continue to strengthen the team and add to the medals and the records. Our ladies relay teams, made up of Nicole Millson, Sandy Chan, 31

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35 [ SUB-COMMITTEE REPORTS ] 34 Farah Master, Amanda Andriano and Jessica McCarroll, have been consistently raking in the golds in both medley and freestyle events. Outside of Hong Kong, Tony Mitchell, Sandy Chan and Dominic Tsui also competed in the FINA World Masters Championships in Hungary in August this year. Triathlon highlights over the year include the Taitung Taiwan half ironman with Richard Hall, Alex Simmonds, Adrian and Jessica McCarroll all competing. Richard and Jess came away with first place finishes, while at the half ironman event in Luizhou, China, Iain Vetch (4 hours 12 minutes) and Steve Purcell (4 hours 20 minutes) won their respective age groups. Both Iain and Steve were going to the Ironman World Championship in Kona in October, along with David Gething who won his age group in the 2017 Ironman Taiwan. Steve, Jessica and Adrian also competed in the World Half Ironman Championship in Slovakia earlier this year. In July 2016, two old men set out for their first ironman event in the hilly but cool climes of Whistler, Canada. Less than 14 hours later the S&TS Chairman and Adrian McCarroll completed the marathon section of the race and proved that anyone can do an ironman and that the right place to train for it is as a member of the S&TS. The fact that these two former rugby players over the age of 50 can achieve this feat is a call to all aging sportsmen and sportswomen who are members of the Club and whose bodies cannot deal with the stress of netball, hockey, lawn bowls, soccer, rugby and the other assorted sports to come and join the S&TS and age gracefully. We have tremendous swimming coaches from Fastlane and a great crowd for socialising. S&TS members also dominated outside the water at the highly popular 6km Spartan Race which had 20 obstacles. Iain Veitch came second overall, which is an unbelievable result in a field that included 20 professional Spartan athletes. He then went one better by coming second overall in the APAC Spartan Championship Series, again beating a bunch of pros from around the region. A team comprising Richard Hall, David Gething and Steve Purcell also completed the 2016 Trailwalker in 17 hours. A special mention to David Gething (seven marathons, seven days, seven continents; Ultraman; and carer of small animals), who in June 2017 set out to cycle around Iceland with two other unnamed Club Members, and some random guy driving the RV in support. David convinced the no-names that the weather was superb, the coastal course was flat and the scenery was beautiful. After five days and 1,350 kilometres of horizontal rain, no sun, gale force winds and regular 2,000-metre climbs, the scenery became pretty irrelevant. Having drafted behind the two no-names most of the way, a fresh David then ran the Reykjavik Midnight Sun Half Marathon in a fairly quick time. The two no-names will and wish to remain anonymous. Mr Gething, our Society s adventurer, also completed the Celtic Extreme Ironman (finishing fifth overall, beating most of the pros) in 2016 having already completed the Norseman Extreme Ironman in 2015, with only the Swissman event to go to complete the trifecta. He then made lots of friends in the USA by running the inaugural Tehran International Marathon with his wife, Trilby (suitably covered up, of course!) Overall a great year for the S&TS, and we truly look forward to seeing more existing Club Members come to join our ranks. We would like to thank our sponsor Blue Seventy who continue to provide us with top-of-the-line kit and unwavering support. Doug Morton Chairman, Swimming and Triathlon Society

36 [ SECTION REPORTS ] SECTION REPORTS 35

37 [ SECTION REPORTS ] 36 HOCKEY SECTION There have been a huge number of highlights this year, among which there are some standout examples from both on and off the pitch. The Ladies B team achieved their highestever finish in the Premier League second place to our own Ladies A team. In the men s section, the increasing success of the developmental Men s D team, who improved dramatically on their inaugural season in the First Division, is now being captained and increasingly led (and feared by their opposition) by the youngsters in the squad. Towards the other end of the age spectrum, a newly established men s section Vets team played in their own Vets league, winning a league and cup double in the process. Our coaching structure has become more formalised and continues to develop with a variety of volunteer and paid coaching options available to members under the leadership of our Director of Hockey, Simon Chapman. Perhaps some of the most enjoyable on-pitch sessions are the mini and youth coaching programmes held Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays where you can see the aggregation of the spirit of our Section, and where you can t help but appreciate the warmth of our people and our Club. Off the pitch the Guv Dillon Memorial Fund was established and held its inaugural Charity Ball event to great acclaim and substantial fundraising success. I certainly could not have imagined how successful the Charity Ball would turn out to be and it showed just how heart-warming our hockey community is. The highlight of our visitors to the Club this year was Olympian Hannah McLeod who gave us all a chance to hold her precious Rio Olympics Gold Medal and enjoy her coaching and motivational speeches. We hope it has inspired another generation of hockey players. After two years, I now step down to hand over to our first lady Chair Leena Madhvani. I feel extremely positive about the momentum we have as a Section and the strength of the committee behind it. I know Leena is an ideal person to move that onwards and upwards. However, there are always new challenges to be faced. From a Section perspective, we have restructured our funding as we say thank you to HFW and Clifford Chance and welcome aboard new sponsors Norton Rose Fulbright and Liquidnet. We appreciate the support we had and we look forward to building for the future with this new team. As the Section s cost commitments grow, we must meet the challenge to ensure the right funding model. From the perspective of our Sports Association, the HKHA needs our volunteer assistance to help it develop our sport across Hong Kong, and I would like to encourage people in our Section to get directly involved. There are very encouraging signs that more Section members are stepping up to these challenges; we hope this encourages still more of us to add our talents to this great effort. We have a saying internally that HKFC Hockey is more than just a game, which we hope encompasses much of what it means to be a part of this Section and part of the community. There are many ways to live by this motto. For example I have seen co-ordination and commitment by many of you to umpire more matches, which can be a surprisingly scary experience at first, but nonetheless one that people are plucking up the courage to do! We held an inaugural pool party for the mini and youth players and their parents. We have had visiting coaches and clinics, we had another vibrant edition of our Easter Hockey 6s, and we are steadily extending our charitable reach. Indeed, it is more than just a game. For me, the last two years have been a fantastic experience, as well as being hugely rewarding. Whatever it is you do, whether it is for your team, your Section, the broader game or the wider community get involved! I know you will benefit as much as they do. Thank you. Sam Edwards Chairman, Hockey Section

38 [ SECTION REPORTS ] LAWN BOWLS SECTION The 2016/17 season was exciting and rewarding with our competition calendar filled with backto-back championships, both local and overseas. Not only did we participate in the regular league games and national competitions organised by Hong Kong Lawn Bowls Association (HKLBA), our Members were actively involved in social events put together by the Section throughout the season. Thanks to the unwavering commitment from our bowlers, the Section is pleased to report commendable results in the Premier Leagues, National Championships and international events over the past year, particularly the achievements of the men s teams. Key highlights of these achievements are summarised below. men s premier leagues The overall results of the men s teams in the Premier Leagues, which took place between 30 April and 29 October 2016, were beyond our expectations. The A Team did well in their last home game, earning us fifth place in Division One one notch above last year. Congratulations have been given to the B Team who finished first runners-up in Division Two not only gaining promotion to Division One but signifying a notable achievement for the Club where we will have two teams competing in the top division of the men s league in As regards our C Team, they also did well at the beginning of the season in Division Three, sitting among the top teams on their leader board but just missing out on promotion after losing their last game to rivals Tuen Mun. The E Team were unlucky in losing their last home game as well, resulting in them having two points fewer than the third-bottom side and being relegated to Division Eight in In the Premier Leagues, the final standings of our men s teams were: A Team ranked 5th in Division One B Team ranked 2nd in Division Two C Team ranked 3rd in Division Three D Team ranked 6th in Division Five E Team ranked 9th in Division Seven men s triples leagues The Club s Men s Team finished strongly at this year s Triples Leagues, which ran 3 December 2016 to 4 March The B Team were unlucky to lose 2-6 at home to our arch-rivals CCC-A Team and miss the chance to take top honours in Division One. They claimed first runners-up spot after completing all their games. The A Team also performed well, finishing third in the same division. It was particularly encouraging to see the C Team crowned champions in Division Four and gain promotion to Division Three next year. It is worth noting the Section also captured two special honours, Best Rinks in Division One and Division Four, respectively: Division One: Johnny Tsang (skip), Terence Lee, Frankie Siu Division Four: Thomas Tam (skip), Fred Ma, Matthew Lee In the Triples Leagues the final standings were as follows: A Team ranked 3rd in Division One B Team ranked 2nd in Division One C Team ranked 1st in Division Four D Team ranked 5th in Division Four E Team ranked 5th in Division Seven F Team ranked 5th in Division Eight ladies premier leagues As defending champions pursuing their 10th consecutive title in the Ladies Premier Leagues (30 April-22 October 2016), our lady lawn bowlers were disappointed with the final result last year. Our A Team ranked first after the completion of the first half of the Premier League, however, with two key bowlers missing a few games in the second half due to injuries, the team ended up third in the top division. The B Team, meanwhile, 37

39 [ SECTION REPORTS ] 38 NATIONAL RESULTS competition position hkfc bowlers Men s National Fours Men s Novice Singles Men s Indoor Pairs Women s National Singles Women s National Triples Women s National Fours Runners-up Winner Runners-up Winner Runners-up Runners-up Kenny Tam, Terry Kung, CT Wong, Derek Wylie Ian Yau Terry Kung, Derek Wylie Dorothy Yu Josephine Lam, Rita Shek, Wanis Sze Phyllis Wong, Shirley Ma, Rita Shek, Wanis Sze Bowler of the Year Winner Dorothy Yu Women s Indoor Singles Runner-up Celena Kwok Women s Indoor Pairs Mixed Triples Runners-up Runners-up Christina Yeung, Wanis Sze Barry Ho, Priscilla Lam, Donald Wu INTERNATIONAL RESULTS competition position hkfc bowlers Asian Lawn Bowls Championship U25 Singles Asian Lawn Bowls Championship U25 Mixed Pairs Dutch Open Mixed Fours Hong Kong International Classic Women s Singles China National Bocce Championships Women s Singles China National Bocce Championships Women s Pairs China National Bocce Championships Women s Triples Silver Bronze Bronze Runner-up Gold Gold Silver Vivian Yip Vivian Yip Kenny Tam, Priscilla Lam Dorothy Yu Vivian Yip Camilla Leung Camilla Leung, Vivian Yip reached fifth place in the same division. The final standings were as follows: A Team ranked 3rd in Division One B Team ranked 5th in Division One C Team ranked 4th in Division Three women s triples leagues The overall performance of our lady bowlers in the Triples Leagues from 10 December 2016 to 4 March 2017 was considered to be satisfactory. The A Team finished fourth in Division One, while the B Team demonstrated strong determination in their bid to return to the top division but narrowly missed a promotion place when they lost their last two games. In the Triples Leagues the final standings were: A Team ranked 4th in Division One B Team ranked 3rd in Division Two C Team ranked 4th in Division Two D Team ranked 4th in Division Four national championships and competitions While the Lawn Bowls Section s members compete fiercely for their league titles each season, many of us also took part in the National Championships and other local competitions organised by the HKLBA. Our bowlers achievements have brought considerable prestige and help to sustain the standing of the Club in Hong Kong sport (see table top left). international achievements With the outstanding results achieved by our bowlers in the National Championships, two male and eight female bowlers were selected to join the Hong Kong squad. These were Kenny Tam, Terry Kung, Dorothy Yu, Vivian Yip, Camilla Leung, Celena Kwok, Phyllis Wong, Priscilla Lam, Shirley Ma and Emmie Wong, who represented Hong Kong in various international competitions (see table bottom left)

40 [ SECTION REPORTS ] club competitions Competition Secretary Esmond Lee has put in great effort throughout the year in assisting our bowlers to enrol in all National Competitions organised by the HKLBA, maintaining the competition records and keeping our bowlers apprised of fixtures and results through use of the Section s notice board. In addition, Esmond also organised competitions for selected Section members to represent HKFC in various open competitions. These Club competitions are summarised below: Club Unisex Triples (for IRC Mixed Triples) Winning team: Yumi Wong, Frankie Siu, Johnny Tsang Club Mini Fours (for Aitkenhead Fours) Men s winning team: Peter Chow, Howard Luk, Denis Hamelin, Barry Ho Women s winning team: Wanis Sze, Christina Yeung, Vanessa Ng, Phoebe Ho Club Singles (for Champion of Champions) Men s Champion: Warren Cheung Ladies Champion: Celena Kwok Club Pairs (for Hong Kong International Classic Pairs) Men s Champions: SK Ng and Kenny Tam Ladies Champions: Christina Yeung and Wanis Sze social The Section has also attached great importance to social elements of the competitive sport. Our Social Secretary, Frankie Siu, organised a series of social games, friendly matches and social functions throughout the year, adding more colour to an already tight schedule of League games and National Competitions. The Section s main annual event, the End of Season Party, was held on 6 November 2016 with more than 90 Section players, family members and guests taking part in the annual celebration of sportsmanship. It was an evening filed with sumptuous food, fun games and unlimited sharing of happy moments from the season. This year s party was particularly memorable, as the presence of competition officials from World Bowls at the Hong Kong International Classic as well as bowlers from Australia and England, including Briton David Bolt, the Men s Singles champion at this year s Classic. Outstanding Club bowlers and winners of various competitions were honoured during the prize presentations at the party, followed by a lucky draw which added a great deal of excitement. Special thanks go to Keith Yau, Christina Yeung, Phoebe Ho and Ken Fong for organising the party. Numerous social events also took place during the year, all designed to be bowlercommunity building at which competitiveness was of secondary importance. The most notable events included: The Boxing Day Social Game Fat Choy Cup Social Game, the traditional Chinese New Year Rooster Cup Friendly game with Kowloon Cricket Club Friendly game with Hong Kong Cricket Club Friendly game with Hong Kong Police Bowling Club Easter Social Game Saturday and Sunday Social Games during the League break overseas social games Twelve Section bowlers represented the Club and Hong Kong along with players from the Hong Kong Cricket Club (HKCC) at the tripartite interport match at the Royal Bangkok Sports Club (RBSC) in Thailand. The match was played in a round-robin format with all games held April at RBSC s Outdoor Green. The results are shown in the following table: OVERSEAS SOCIAL RESULTS date match winners 21 April HKFC v HKCC HKFC 22 April HKFC v RBSC RBSC 23 April HKCC v RBSC RBSC 39

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42 RBSC won the overall championship while HKFC were crowned winners of the tripartite competition by capturing the highest total score over the three days. social gathering ahead of the premier leagues 2017 A Pig Cutting Ceremony was held on 15 April to commemorate the start of the new 2017 Premier League, bringing heartfelt blessings to all team members. The event was officiated by the Section committee represented by Social Secretary Frankie Siu, Men s Captain Warren Cheung and Ladies Captain Daisy McNie. There were over 80 Section members at the event and the ceremony was followed by social games played on the Indoor and Outdoor Greens. The Committee would like to express our sincere thanks to Frankie Siu for organising these events. membership Membership Secretary, Kenneth Pang has been conscientiously looking after membership matters throughout the year and as of 31 July 2017 there were 234 members in the Section, including 21 SPAMs, JAMs and SDAs. With the kind assistance of Kevin Lee, the sports member computerised monitoring system has been modified with more user-friendly access and effectiveness. Our side captains praised the efforts as the system allows us to monitor the participation of SPAMs under commitment. The system is designed to ensure SPAMs are participating in both League and Section games and social activities accordingly. 41 section annual general meeting The AGM was successfully held on 16 February Our sincere thanks went to all Committee members who contributed their valuable time in making the season such a success. I would like to take this opportunity to

43 [ SECTION REPORTS ] 42 express special thanks for our out-going Committee Member, coach CS Suen, for his outstanding service and devotion to the Section over the past years. It is also worth mentioning that Herbert Kwok has taken over the position of coach from his previous position of Section Vice-Chairman, while Esmond Lee has taken over the position of Section Vice-Chairman from his previous position of Competition Secretary. We also welcome a new committee member, Keith Yau, who has taken up the position of Competition Secretary. I also extend our heartfelt thanks to the last year s Committee Members for their commitment and support. Last but not least, I would like to complete this report by expressing our sincere thanks to all who made this successful season possible, in particular the Management and Staff of the Club for all their great assistance and excellent service. Johnny Tsang Chairman, Lawn Bowls Section RUGBY SECTION Hong Kong Football Club s Rugby Section enjoyed an improved 2016/17 domestic season, with the Section s teams winning all three of the Grand Championship finals they reached. As usual, the Section hosted numerous events, tournaments and tours to create a healthy rugby and social calendar. Once again generously supported by title sponsor Natixis, the Rugby Section enjoyed a mixed season with some standout performances alongside a few matches where the Club Rugby First XV struggled to realise their potential. Again the First XV hit their stride after the Christmas break, losing out in a close game to finalists Kowloon in the Grand Championship. The First XV retained the Inter-port Cup, beating Singapore Cricket Club. The team were captained by Mitch Andrews who was also named Most Valuable Player (MVP) for the season. Prop Ronan Donnelly was named Most Improved Player, with newcomer Tom Isaacs picking up the Best and Fairest award. The Dragons, playing in National League 1, came close to securing a third league title in a row, but were eventually pipped at the posts by Valley. However, the Dragons clinched the Grand Championship in a nail-biting final in which they beat Valley by one point. The team were coached by Thierry Barrot and captained by Alex Bayliss, with MVP honours going to James Mason. Scorpions joined Dragons in National League 1 and recorded solid wins against the second teams of several other clubs. The team were coached by Paul Skurr and captained by Conor Cole, with Ryan Matthysen taking MVP honours. Select entered a competitive National League 2, battling against strengthened DB Pirates and HK Scottish IIs teams. Select were coached by the ever-present Tony George and captained by Rob Hartley, who also won MVP honours. Bulls entered the 2016/17 season in National League 3 and after struggling with player numbers and injuries early on, finished in a respectable second place behind winners Typhoons. Unfazed, Bulls grew in strength to take an excellent Grand Championship win, beating Typhoons in a pulsating final. Bulls were captained by Tony Forrester, while MVP honours went to Jacob Hung. Sequins, led by Scott Lindsay, endured a wobbly start before powering up to the top end of the table and into a three-way tussle for the league title with Disciplined Services (DS) and HK Scottish Bravehearts. DS eventually took the league crown, but Sequins experience helped them dominate the final and lift the Grand Championship silverware. David Cook captained the team and Stephen Marcon was named Most Valuable Player. Now in their third year, Expendables delivered a solid season, dropping only a couple of games and bowing out in the semifinals in National League 5. Captained once again by Simon Young, MVP honours went to Frederic Guede.

44 [ SECTION REPORTS ] It was another year of development and improvement for women s rugby at HKFC. Having won both the League and Grand Championship in National League 1 last year, Ice, the women s first XV, were promoted to the Premiership where playing standards, skills and fitness were a significant step up. Ice rose to this challenge, improving considerably during the season and finishing fourth in the league. The team also progressed to the semi-finals of the Grand Championship. They were coached by David Wigley and John Hannon, and the Best and Fairest Player award was given to Helen Lee. Fire, our second women s team, also showed significant improvement during the year, moving up to play 15s for the first time, having previously played in the 10-a-side women s development league. This was a challenging transition for the team, but the girls learned a huge amount and are now better placed to challenge in the League next year. The team were coached by Gloria Cheung and Ed Barker, and the Best and Fairest player award went to Jamie Ho. HKFC had good representation at the women s national level during the year, with Royce Chan playing in the national sevens side, and Claire Forster, Rosie Hopewell-Fong and Aileen Ryan representing Hong Kong at 15s. Several HKFC men s players received national honours, with Jamie Hood and Mike Coverdale being standouts. It was another successful season for Colts rugby with 270 boys and girls participating across the age groups, with over 20 boys and girls being selected to represent Hong Kong in the various age-grade teams. The U19s won both the League and Grand Championship, losing just one game all season, and five of these boys also played up in the seniors. The hope is that next year they will be equally successful and that even more boys will make themselves available to play senior rugby. The U16s fielded three teams. The first and second teams were narrowly pipped in both First and Second Division Grand Championships, while the third team won the Plate. The U14s won the Grand Championship in both of the divisions they played in. Head coach Jamie Hood also won the HKRU Coach of the Season award. The U13s also had a very successful first season in Colts, and Colts Girls, although combined with other clubs, also had a very successful season. The minis enjoyed another wonderful season with over 750 kids participating across the age groups, supported by over 50 coaches. Our minis tournament continues to set the standard and this year we had 345 teams take part with over 3,500 players competing in 551 games. The U12 girls capped off a magnificent season by claiming the Kim Lam Cup and our U13 boys narrowly lost in the Richard Hawkes Cup final. In this year s Kuala Lumpur Saracens International Minis Festival, HKFC teams featured in five of the six Cup finals, winning three of them. This was a superb performance by the touring teams showing that HKFC is the dominant team to beat across the region. The Taipan s fixture, first played in 1951 and resurrected in 2011, has been a focal point of the rugby-in-business community. This year saw Kevin Browne s Challenger s XV taking on Kevin Taylor s Taipan s XV, producing some exciting rugby and a high-scoring entertaining game. Mr Taylor, AMEA chairman at BT Group, was very well received as Taipan and hosted a full day of rugby and delivered an entertaining dinner speech to cap the day. The rugby featured matches ranging from a University alumni challenge, with players from across the domestic rugby scene in Hong Kong, to a match between Hong Kong s Combined Disciplined Services and the PLA s Guangzhou Garrison team for the TK Lai Cup, plus a mini-rugby tournament. We were also fortunate to again host an excellent game between Hong Kong and a development side from Super Rugby s Chiefs in New Zealand. The Rugby Section again organised the 2017 GFI HKFC 10s, held just before the Hong Kong 43

45 [ SECTION REPORTS ] 44 Sevens every year since the Club s Centenary in The two-day event, now commonly regarded as the best tens tournament in the world, was an excellent festival of rugby, with tournament outsiders UBB Gavekal and their squad containing eight Hong Kong-based players and four Fiji Sevens players beating two-time champions Penguins with a last-minute drop kick during an intense encounter. It was another excellent tournament and we look forward to next year s event with great anticipation. Touring, as ever, featured prominently this year with tours to Manila, Phuket and Goa as highlights. The Vandals, the Rugby Section s touring-only side, travelled to India to work with the Khelo Rugby Foundation with whom we set up links on a previous tour to Calcutta. The Vandals carried out rugby-focused charity work with two groups of disadvantaged children. Once again organised by Section stalwart Sean Purdie, the Vandals continue to use rugby as the medium to spread good will and sterling charitable efforts to disadvantaged children around Asia. Timothy H Carpenter won the illustrious Venus Cup award for his services to touring. Finally, I would like to say thank you to the many who contributed to a great season and offer a special thanks to: HKFC Rugby Section coaches, managers, captains, committee members and the many volunteers Senior rugby sponsors: Natixis, DHL, QNet, CBRE and CPA Global Youth rugby sponsors: Natixis, Withers Worldwide, CBRE and Tag HKFC 10s sponsors: GFI The HKRU for its support of the game s growth and development Referees who strive to make every game possible, fair and safe Management and Staff at the HKFC for all their help and support HKFC Rugby Section Committee members Andrew Eagle Chairman, Rugby Section SOCCER SECTION The 2016/17 Season saw the Soccer Section Committee (SSC) implementing its plans to move the Section firmly into the 21st Century, with new initiatives being put in place and the Section s progressive plans for the First Team immediately tested with their participation in the HKFA Premier League. It is questionable whether the season was successful in achieving its targets, with several of the planned initiatives not coming to fruition or failing to achieve intended goals. After a discussion at last year s Section AGM about the First Team s participation in the HKFA Premier League, at the subsequent EGM the Section members decided that the First Team should participate, but with certain financial constraints being adhered to. After an intense pre-season campaign the First Team, and the Section, took to the Premier League with gusto and a certain degree of hope, with the prime aim of avoiding relegation. However, despite some impressive performances, Richard Ewart s team finished bottom of the table with six points from two victories and a goal difference of -64. Having been offered the opportunity to be considered for participation in next season s Premier League, the SSC decided not to re-apply on the basis that, given the expense of participation and the outcome of this season s campaign, the consensus of the membership was that support would only be considered if the First Team won the right to participate through direct promotion. This season saw the fourth coach at the helm of Lucky Mile in 18 months. Richard le Gallez was given the task of trying to lead Lucky Mile to an immediate return to the HKFA First Division after being relegated the previous season. After a slow start to the campaign, the team finally came to the fore and made a sustained assault on the promotion places, only to fall short by finishing fourth, two points off the promotion positions. With solid team performances in the second half of the season, expectations are

46 [ SECTION REPORTS ] high that the team will only improve next term, with promotion to the First Division the prime objective. In the Yau Yee League (YYL), the Club had an unprecedented performance from its three participating teams. Albion were crowned league champions, Wanderers were runners-up, just one point behind, and Colts finished third. In addition, Colts won the YYL Cup. A well-deserved clean sweep by the Club teams, enhancing our position as the strongest amateur club in Hong Kong. In recognition of his achievements this season, following on from his Cup victory the previous season, Albion coach Tony Hamilton was awarded Section Coach of the Year. With the teams setting such a high bar of achievement, this has thrown down the gauntlet to the challengers and the YYL teams will need to further build on this season if they wish to maintain their current position of pre-eminence. The Ladies Team had an indifferent season, finishing mid-table in the league and reaching the quarter-finals of the Cup. It was a similar performance to the previous season, but to move the team forward, the squad will need a larger core of committed players regularly available for training and match days. This will be the initial task of the Team Representative for pre-season, with an ultimate goal of improving upon the last two season s mid-table finishes. The HKFC Veterans continued the Section s success by completing the Hong Kong Legends League and Cup double. This is an excellent result after finishing runners-up in the league the last two seasons. The success was no doubt a result of the increased commitment of a strong core of players throughout the campaign, an aspect touched upon in my Chairman s report last season. Congratulations to the Vets manager Darren McEntee on the success of the team, which I hope can be replicated next season. The success, or otherwise, of the Social Teams this season generally reflected the same pattern as the previous season. Dynamics continued to introduce new faces into their squad, with high match participation resulting in the introduction of a cap on the number of players for each game; whilst both Rovers and Gazelles continued to struggle to maintain full and regular squad participation over an entire season. There is an evident need for both teams to re-consider their recruitment policy to ensure an influx of new blood from the older players of the competitive teams. It is further noted that the pool of opponents considered for social matches has, over recent seasons, become limited, with certain opponents obtaining more than one fixture per season with each Social Team. As part of our duty to make the Club facilities available to a greater proportion of the local community and in meeting our commitments under our sponsorship agreements, a greater diversity of opponents should be sought, including our sponsorship partners teams and other sporting clubs/societies with whom we are associated. The participation of Junior Soccer s Youth Pathway teams in the HKFA Jockey Club Youth League was thrown into disarray this season as FIFA s worldwide directive on youth player qualification, aimed at addressing child trafficking, was strictly imposed by the HKFA. With the Section s First Team competing in the HKFA Premier League, the Club s junior teams competing in the Jockey Club Youth League, which is regulated by HKFA, were subject to the same FIFA directive that was being applied globally to all professional teams. This is probably the only time in the Club s history that we can be considered to be on a par with the likes of Real Madrid or Barcelona! The directive required that the registration of EVERY player under the age of 18 who is not a holder of a Hong Kong passport be individually approved by FIFA. Although HKFA did all they could to help the situation by postponing games and assisting with the approval process, none of the Youth Pathway teams could finish their league fixtures. Many games were forfeited and 45

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48 [ SECTION REPORTS ] conceded, which was a particularly frustrating outcome for the teams involved as every team was in with a strong chance of winning their league before the FIFA directive came into force. This has been a sad repercussion of the 1st Team s participation in the Premier League. With the 1st Team not participating in the Premier League next season, this problem will not be repeated, however, it does highlight the long-term need for the Section to align with local HKFA player qualification regulations. As alluded to in my Chairman s report last season, the HKFA s strict implementation of FIFA s directive on local players presents challenges with far-reaching consequences on the demographic composition of the Section for the future. The enormity of these changes has now been realised and I reiterate that careful consideration should be made by all when deciding the future direction of the Section. The Junior Soccer training programme was again over-subscribed, further evidencing its popularity and success, and reflects the hard work, effort and time put into the programme by its Chairman, Nam Nguyen, his team of head coaches and the organising committee. With the completion of the improvement works to the Happy Valley LCSD hockey pitches, the Club s Hockey Pitch will revert to Junior Soccer use for early Saturday mornings next season, relieving pressure on pitch resources. However, it is felt that, with greater forethought on the utilisation of the Main Pitch in the months of April and May, Junior Soccer can accommodate more HKJFL youth tournaments at the Club, assisting with the continuing problem of pitch availability throughout the territory. In consideration of the number of competing junior soccer programmes starting up in Hong Kong in recent years, it is imperative that the Section seeks to maintain its position as the pre-eminent Junior Soccer club in Hong Kong. Moving forward, Junior Soccer is seeking to provide a greater level of professional coaching to its programme, developing the junior players in preparation for entry to the Youth Pathway programme and increasing its appeal in the local market. Whilst recognising the importance of continued former player and parent involvement, this initiative will seek to improve the level of coaching throughout the programme. Subject to ratification, it is anticipated that this initiative will be introduced for next season. The Boxing Day Festival of Football again took great strides forward in its development. An even greater involvement from the HKJFL teams has given the event a more cosmopolitan composition, which is now a staple fixture on the Junior Soccer calendar. The highlights of the day were the U14 and U16 matches, where the HKJFL Select teams took on South China, who triumphed in both closely fought contests. The participation of external teams only adds to the occasion and the Organising Committee will seek to include an U18 contest for the 2017 event. Thanks go to Dave Williams, Chairman of the Organising Committee, and the rest of his team for their hard work in organising the day s activities. Moving the event further forward, I am pleased to announce that AIA has entered into a sponsorship agreement with the Section in supporting the AIA Boxing Day Festival of Football for the next 3 years. In the annual England v Scotland(ish) challenge match, Scotland won back the trophy with a 3-1 victory over the auld enemy. The last laugh was had by the English though as they had mislaid the trophy, preventing the victorious Scots from savouring their moment of victory. Our Crusaders had another great season under the leadership of Nigel Merritt and his team of coaches. The Section extends its profound thanks to the programme s long standing sponsor, Prudential, for its continued support, culminating in confirmation of the company extending its sponsorship agreement for a further three years. May saw the Club host the HKFC Citi Soccer Sevens tournament, with Leicester City defeating defending champions Aston Villa in the Cup 47

49 [ SECTION REPORTS ] 48 Final in front of a full house at Sports Road; an indication of the popularity of the event in the community. This year s tournament saw its most cosmopolitan mix of international teams in its history, with professional teams from France (Olympique de Marseille), Japan (Kajima Antlers), New Zealand (Wellington FC), Germany (Bayer Leverkusen), England (Leicester City, Aston Villa and West Ham) and Scotland (Glasgow Rangers). The tournament also saw the continuation of the Section s open invitation to 80-plus underprivileged children from several local children s foundations, who enjoyed a free day at the tournament at the expense of the Section. My thanks again go out to the tournament s main sponsor Citi for its continued support of this event. The season saw the continuation of the Chairman s Day, which provides an opportunity for the SSC to express its appreciation to the Section members and sponsors. Unfortunately, I must report that support for this event, for the second successive year, was poor and without improved promotion and wider participation, serious consideration will be given as to whether the SSC persists with the event. During the season, the Section has been involved in several events at the Club, including: In August, the Section hosted the Royal Bangkok Sports Club in an interport match, with the Section running out victors. These interport matches are an integral part of the Section s tradition and all efforts shall be made to reciprocate these matches overseas. Consideration of other traditional opponents, such as the Royal Selangor Club, should be considered for future fixtures. In September, the Section co-hosted with the Rugby Section this year s ISF Sportsman s Dinner, with after-dinner speakers Terry Butcher and Doddy Weir. Section attendance was encouraging and the evening a great success with more than HK$500,000 raised for ISF. In November, the Section hosted the Masters Football charity match involving a team of ex-premier League professionals, including David James, Emile Heskey and Lee Hendry, against a Section Select team. The event was very successful, from which the organisers entered a similar team in the Soccer Sevens tournament. In February, the Section co-hosted a fund-raising dinner with the Wallsend Boys Club HK (WBC HK), featuring as after-dinner speakers former England and Liverpool legends Kevin Keegan and Terry McDermott. As part of their visit to the Club, the pair also attended coaching sessions with the Junior Soccer programme. During Easter, the Section jointly arranged a four-day coaching clinic with the Real Madrid Foundation. The event was well supported and financially successful and the Section will look to engage further with the Real Madrid Foundation to organise similar events in the future. In May, on the back of the coaching clinic, the Club hosted a visit by former Real Madrid striker and Brazilian World Cup winner Ronaldo. At the end of May, as part of the Section s new sponsorship arrangement with AIA, Tottenham Hotspur held two evenings of coaching sessions for both the Senior and Junior sections led by their Global Coaching Team. On the second evening, the Club played host to several Spurs first team squad members including Victor Wanyama, Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen and two-time Premier League Golden Boot winner Harry Kane. The players joined in with the coaching sessions and made themselves available for autographs and Q&As. Based on the arrangement with AIA, the Section will be looking to develop a working relationship with the Spurs Global Coaching Team.

50 [ SECTION REPORTS ] In my Chairman s report for last season, I mentioned that, in attempting to keep up with contemporaneous developments, the SSC would be implementing certain new initiatives. Over the season, several initiatives have been set up, including: With the intent to streamline SSC meetings and member actions, the SSC introduced for a trial period the reduction of representation at monthly SSC meetings, entailing only the Executive Officers to attend on a mandatory basis, whilst the General Representatives mandatory attendance was limited to four meetings over the season. After a four month trial, with no apparent improvement, this experiment was curtailed and the status quo preserved. With an old, archaic and outdated Section website, the SCC commissioned the provision of a new, modern, interactive website to take the Section forward. The website has been live since the start of the year, however, considering its capabilities and without the correct management, it is considered to be underutilised. With the deployment of the new website and in consideration of the advancements in media technology, the SSC has sought to assign a Communications Manager to manage the website, ensuring the Section obtains maximum benefit from its capability, as well as leading the Section s other media communications, such as press releases. A suitable candidate has been sourced and the Section is looking to appoint the candidate for the start of the new season. With an increase of tasks and responsibilities in the running of the Section, more non-playing members are being accepted into the Section as Sports Preferred Members or on Sports Debentures to carry out specific tasks. To ensure these members meet their commitments and obligations in return for their memberships, two reviews per season are conducted of these members to ensure all KPIs and commitments are being met. This due diligence also permits the SSC to take corrective actions in a timely manner if required. It is, however, disappointing that the SSC is forced to look outside to fill these positions due to a lack of volunteers from within the Section. This is something that will be addressed by the SSC in the new Committee year In the past, for players medical and physio coverage, the Section has outsourced to third parties. This season, the Section engaged a medical officer and support team on a contract basis with the provision of a Sports Preferred Membership to the provider. This has greatly assisted in both cutting costs and providing a better level of service in the event of injuries to players. WBC has been associated with the Section over the years with their support of the Soccer Sevens tournament. In applying to the Government in HK to establish themselves as a registered Hong Kong Charity, WBC has sought to work with the Section on fund-raising events and working with the local community. Commencing next season, 10 places within the Junior Soccer programme will be provided free of charge to children from local community programmes supported by WBC. With the 1st Team participating in the Premier League last season, the nonprovision of further liaison support with HKFA matters by the Club and the increased administration required with the Junior Soccer programme, it was evident to the SSC that there was a need for an HKFA Liaison Officer. This season saw the Section employ a full-time Administration Officer to assist with these tasks. This 49

51 [ SECTION REPORTS ] 50 appointment has proved extremely successful and the Section will look to maintain the position going forward. In reviewing the particular details of each of the sponsorship agreements entered into by the Club on behalf of the Section, it was evident that a degree of due diligence was required to ensure that both parties were meeting their contractual obligations and that the sponsors were kept abreast of all relevant Section matters. To address these tasks, the Section has appointed a Sponsorship Liaison Officer. This appointment has proved extremely successful and, with the increasing number of sponsors involved with the Section, will no doubt provide long-term benefits to the Section in maintaining its sponsorship arrangements. At season s end, the Section enjoys ongoing sponsorship arrangements with Citi, The Executive Centre, Prudential, AIA, adidas, Mega- Step and Tensuel. In addition, sponsors of the Soccer Sevens tournament include Citi, British Airways, Excelsior Hotel, adidas, Blue Girl, King Power, SAP, Sunpac Tours & Travel, Watsons Water and Dormeo Event Canopies. These sponsorships are essential to the continuing success of the Section and we should strive not only to improve our relationships with our existing sponsors, but to cast our net wider and introduce more potential sponsoring parties to the benefits of being part of the Section. My thanks and appreciation on behalf of the Section are extended to each of our sponsors. In my Chairman s report last year, I again touched upon the attendance of the entire Section at Section-organised events, including the Sportsman s Dinner, the End-of-Season Brunch and the AGM. Although the AGM and subsequent EGM were well attended, providing evenings of welcome debate, attendance and support at other events remains poor, particularly so from the Social Teams. As mentioned last year, when the use of Club facilities, in particular the Main Pitch, comes into question, attendance by Social Team members is unquestionable. However, in disregarding Section activities, the SSC will in the future consider sanctions against those who care not to support the Section. I reiterate my statement from my previous reports that we have a strong Section but we all must contribute. I can, again, report that the SSC has performed admirably over the season. The SSC members provide their services voluntarily and their responsibilities are both diverse and time consuming and, generally, go unrewarded. I wish to thank all SSC members for their contributions and support, with particular thanks to the officers of the Committee Les Collett, Neil Jensen, Steve Tew, Andy Bentote and Mark Devonshire for their extensive input into affairs over the season. Special mention is provided to Mark and Andy, who are both standing down from the SSC at the end of the season. Further, I would like to thank the support officers in providing their assistance to the SSC, namely Chris Vale, George Vallas and Chris Chan. Regretfully, this is my final report as Section Chairman, a position that I have served for the last three years. Unfortunately, other priorities in my life have come to the fore and I recognise the need to spend more time with my family, in particular my children during this important stage in their education. I first sat on the SSC in 1991, and thereafter for every year of my residence in Hong Kong. I am pleased to report huge strides in the Section moving forward over recent years, instigated by my immediate predecessor Neil Jensen. Whilst I have my regrets that certain initiatives have not been fully actioned or accepted by the Section including the streamlining of the SSC, the Section Member s Honours Board and the Section Photo there are many initiatives in place now that we should be proud of. We now have in place a more professional organisational structure, with the Section subject to more due diligence. However, it is essential that we build upon these initiatives and ensure we do not stagnate.

52 [ SECTION REPORTS ] At the start of next season, we shall have a Squash and the Club for their support with new state-of-the-art playing surface on the this event and look forward to hosting the 2017 Main Pitch, a surface that will no doubt be the qualifying rounds in November. envy of the Hong Kong sporting community. As a Section, let us ensure that we similarly internal tournaments progress, such that we too are the envy of other footballing organisations in Hong Kong. In June 2016, our internal summer league Continuity in the composition of the SCC is recorded over 400 individual matches played, essential to achieve this as I dread the thought with Dave Chan s team securing overall victory. of Balls and Socks re-emerging as the In October 2016, Eric Ho won the Handicap pre-eminent items on SSC meeting agendas! Cup whilst Jason Lam took home the Plate. Kieran Flynn Also in October 2016, World Squash Day was Chairman, Soccer Section celebrated with our annual World Cup running teams tournament. This year s top honours went SQUASH SECTION to Hong Kong Island, with Mike Zimmerman and Stuart Gates individual top scorers. This Once again, it gives me great pleasure to report followed the juniors own individual running that the Squash Section continues to thrive both teams event in the morning where Noe Vartanian on and off the courts. came out on top with 140 points, edging out Naomi Teng (120). hong kong open At Christmas time, the third Chairman v Captain match went the way of the Chairman In August 2016, we hosted the Hong Kong Open who, thanks to his team, retained the cup with a qualifying rounds for a second year, drawing in score of large crowds from the local squash community A new event in March 2017 was the English to witness some electrifying world-class Scoring team tournament with two old hands, matches. As usual, the temporary membership Malcolm Kerr and Brian MacDougall, facing for all the players in qualifying and the main off as team captains. Malcolm s team on this draw was a huge hit. We thank Hong Kong occasion triumphed The Club Championships attracted 200 entries CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS RESULTS across the five different competition winner runner-up score Men s Open Cup Men s Open Plate Men s Open Bowl Men s Masters Cup Men s Masters Plate Men s Super Masters Cup Men s Super Masters Plate Ladies Open Cup Ladies Open Plate Ladies Open Bowl Ladies Masters Cup Rudi Willemse (1) Charles Ko Krzysztof Kostienko Malcolm Kerr (4) Stuart Gates Hugh Dyus TK Yeung Carmen Lee (1) Cherly Vong Niki Chan Sin Hok Kate Geary Dick Lau (2) James Zhang Kari Pahlman Peter Hill (2) Julian Ragless James Barrington Wilson Li Karen Lau (2) Paige Hill Alina Teh Emma Duncombe (1) 3:0 3:0 3:2 3:1 3:1 w/o 3:0 3:2 3:2 3:1 3:2 categories, leading to the climax of the finals on AGM day. Carmen Lee was crowned Ladies Champion for an incredible eighth successive year after fighting off a spirited effort by Karen Lau 3-2. Rudi Willemse from South Africa triumphed over 2013 champion Dick Lau 3-0 to become a new name on the Men s cup (see results left). 51

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