EdUHK Organises First-ever Hong Kong Finals of Light Volleyball Competition for Older Adults
The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) Department of Health and Physical Education (HPE) organised the first-ever Hong Kong Finals of Light Volleyball Competition for Older Adults on Sunday (31 March).
Co-organised by the Hong Kong Light Volleyball Association, the event attracted 17 teams and over 170 participants, ranging in age from 55 to 75. The five winning teams will take part in the Grand Finals in July, where they will meet the top five teams from each of Shenzhen and Nanchang.
Funded by the University Grants Committee, the ‘Light Volleyball Competition for Older Adults 2024 (Hong Kong)’ is the first of its kind in Hong Kong. The event is part of the ‘Promoting Healthy Ageing Through Light Volleyball Promotion in Hong Kong and Mainland China’ research project, under the Research Impact Fund. The heats were held at EdUHK on its Tai Po campus on 16 March, and the team ‘Evergreen’ won the finals.
The research project is divided into two phases. The research results from the first phase demonstrate that light volleyball can significantly improve the health of older adults, compared to Tai Chi; the second phase is the promotion of light volleyball among older adults in Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and Nanchang.
Under the project, a total of 200 light volleyball coaches for older adults in Shenzhen and Nanchang have completed the training, and it is expected that more than 2,500 older adults could benefit from this. In Hong Kong, EdUHK cooperated with 19 institutions, including welfare NGOs, elderly centres and sports associations, to organise over 35 classes and train up 107 light volleyball coaches for older adults, benefitting around 900 older adults.
In addition to sports for older adults, EdUHK strives to promote sports for people with disabilities. On 3 March, HPE successfully held the second Hong Kong Sitting Light Volleyball (SLVB) Competition, together with Hong Kong Light Volleyball Association, the Hong Kong Federation of Handicapped Youth and GDCD Association Limited. The Competition also received support from the Shenzhen Disabled Persons’ Federation, which brought two teams from Shenzhen to take part in the event.
SLVB, developed by HPE Associate Professor Dr Carman Leung Ka-man and her team, is a team sport suitable for people of all ages with or without disabilities. According to the studies conducted by the team, it is discovered that SLVB could significantly increase the cardiovascular endurance of people with physical disabilities, their physical activity enjoyment, as well as to reduce their fat mass.
The five winning teams of the Light Volleyball Competition (Hong Kong Finals) for Older Adults:
1. Evergreen
2. YMCA A
3. Lok Yau A
4. Happy Team 1
5. Yuen Long 1
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EdUHK Organises First-ever Hong Kong Finals of Light Volleyball Competition for Older Adults
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