HONG KONG—Yan Oi Tong Tin Ka Ping Secondary School (YOTTKP) successfully won their third consecutive Hong Kong Inter-schools Lawn Bowls Competition title on Monday, May 1 at the Ap Lei Chau Sports Centre. This is also their fourth title in the last five years.
In the Primary School competition, Lutheran Tsang Shing Siu Leun School (LTSSLS) also successfully defended their title.
This year the event registered a record low number of entries when only five secondary schools and two primary schools participated. The seven schools sent a total of 13 teams.
It is quite an alarming sign for the competition because the number has been on a decline since reaching the height of 18 participating schools in 2012. Heron Lau, the vice president in charge of youth development at the Hong Kong Lawn Bowls Association, said that they have recognized this trend and a plan has been implemented to improve the situation.
“Since the beginning of this year we have contacted the schools proactively to arrange demonstrations for them. We will also offer training courses to them if they are interested to build a school team. On the other hand, we are also aligning with clubs that have their own greens to build Bowls Academies in an effort to grow the bowling community within its neighbourhood,” said Lau, “The effectiveness was yet to be seen but we see that this is a long term project. Whatever the initial results , we will continue with it.”
Of the five secondary schools taking part, YOTTKP has shown their determination by sending four teams to participate. The champion team included Lyndon Sham and Tim Sham, two of the members who clinched the title last year. They were joined by skipper Rayson Law who plays in the league with Tuen Mun Sports Association.
