The HKTA Foundation Charity Golf Tournament 2024 in association with The Clearwater Bay Golf & Country Club was held successfully on June 6. Thanks to all the benefactors, the annual fundraiser managed to tally HK$700,000 this year. Under the guardianship of the board of directors, the net proceeds will go towards training programmes and other initiatives to help improve the lives and well-being of disadvantaged and underserved groups in the local community through the active engagement in tennis.
Through the provision of access to tennis training, the HKTA Foundation seeks to offer opportunities to further the educational and personal development of in a fun and active way, while enabling individuals to foster the skills and develop a positive mindset to succeed in today’s society.
HKTA Foundation Chairman, Dr. Kelvin Inge, reflected, “I want to acknowledge and thank Dr. Jack Wong, special adviser Mr. Lam Siu Wai, the CBGCC Community Outreach & Charity Committee, and all the donors and sponsors for their generous support. The funds raised will give us the opportunity to bring tennis to more young schoolchildren, the elderly, and the under-resourced. Giving them avenues through tennis to find joy and purpose in their daily experiences will hopefully motivate and enrich their lives as well.”
“The smooth running of the event would not have been possible without the all-round support of The Clearwater Bay Golf & Country Club and its staff. It is because of their hard work that we are able to enjoy this wonderful day on the golf course,” he added.
HKCTA President, Mr. Michael Cheng, echoed similar sentiments, “The spirit of giving back to the community is important because as an NSA, we exist within the context of a society. Besides fulfilling our obligations to our stakeholders, we also have a social responsibility towards the community. We are extremely appreciative of Clearwater Bay Golf & Country Club’s continued support of our fundraising endeavor, which will allow us to deliver our community engagement initiatives to even more underserved groups in the local community. A heartfelt thank you to all the donors, sponsors, and everyone who contributed to this year’s event.”
Mr. Lam Siu Wai: “Clearwater Bay has always been a faithful and generous collaborator to the charitable organisation partners of our Community Outreach & Charity Programme – and I take much pride in this. The Club sees this ‘partnership’ seriously and pragmatically, and we always give 100% support to all charitable fundraising events held on our premises. For the golf tournament today, besides taking care of the event operation and tournament management which includes scoring and in-house promotion, we also offer complimentary food & beverage and waive the green fee and golf cart fee. This is just a simple gesture to express our appreciation to all of you as donors and supporters.”
“I hope to see more collaboration between our Club and the Hong Kong, China Tennis Association, as we both share the same mission, passion, and determination to promote tennis. Through our Community Outreach & Charity Programme, our Tennis Academy offers experiential lessons to local schools and other youth groups on a complimentary basis. Using tennis as a medium, we hope to empower the needy and the underprivileged youth to further their personal development in a fun and dynamic way,” Mr. Lam added.
The Clearwater Bay Golf & Country Club also provided the venue and organisational assistance to the ‘Golf and Tennis Experience Day’ for the HKJC Tennis Rocks participants, who are students from the Shaukiwan Tsung Tsin School.
Experiences on and off the court create unique circumstances in which they can learn from their success and failure. Also, character building and moral principles can be nurtured through fair play, so youngsters who are actively engaged in sports can be good role models for their peers from school or in their neighborhood. The sporting arena is often ground zero where kids can develop an understanding of the virtues associated with respecting authority, rules, teammates, and opponents. Moreover, tennis is both a physical as well as a mental sport, requiring problem-solving skills, strategic thinking, and mental resilience. Positive attitude and maintaining an optimistic mindset are crucial in tennis and these skills can also be beneficial in other areas of life.
The Foundation also works with the Hong Kong Down Syndrome Association, Heep Hong Society, the Learning Support Service Association (LSSA) and the Hong Kong Society for the Deaf to bring sports programmes to individuals with special learning or educational needs, who often lack the same opportunities compared to mainstream students. One of the more recent initiatives, a collaboration with the Hong Kong Federation of Handicapped Youth (HKFHY), succeeded in introducing a wheelchair tennis programme to Hong Kong for the first time.
The funds raised last year were allocated to:
– Wheelchair Tennis training courses, including the training and preparation of one athlete who qualified for the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Para Games.
– Regular tennis training for students with special needs, we coordinated with different special schools and NGOs, such as Love 21, Heep Hong, and The Hong Kong Society for the Deaf.
– Underprivileged students (receiving government subsidies) participating in Orange (9 & Under) Programme, encouraging them to participate in local competitions by covering all their tournament entry fees.
Total No. of beneficiaries: approximately 180 individuals
A total of $2,750,000 was raised since the inaugural HKTA Foundation Charity Golf Tournament in 2021.
Results
Team Net Score
1st : Cindy Lee + Raymond Chan + Jeffrey Wang + Patrick Dunn
2nd: Thomas Ho + Peter Chan + Jason Wu + Wang Tse
3rd: Kelvin Inge + Walton Li + Brian Li + Russell Yu
Longest Drive
Men’s: Julian Lam (Hole 15)
Women’s: Cindy Lee (Hole 13)
Nearest to Pin
Raymond W.M. Chan (Hole 1)
Paul To (Hole 4)
Venus Choy (Hole 16)
Closest to the Line: C.K. Lam (Hole 12)
To receive notifications regarding our latest news and updates, please follow the HKCTA on Facebook or Instagram.
For enquiries regarding our Community and Social Responsibility programmes and activities, please contact:
Ms TSE Sau Kam
Tel: 2336 0187
Fax: 2338 7749
Email: saukam.tse@tennishk.org
Donations
The HKTA Foundation was set up in 2020 as a tax-exempt charitable body under Section 88 of the Inland Revenue Ordinance (IRD ref no. 91/16139). Our goal is to raise money through donations and the organisation of fundraising events in order to support all our current programmes and to increase their reach both by number of participants and also by types of beneficiaries across Hong Kong.
The Foundation’s support extends to scholarships, sponsorship, and the creation of new initiatives to serve the community and our goals of enhancing lives through active sporting engagement and developing tennis as a sport for all in Hong Kong.
Donations to the HKTA Foundation can be made through the following ways:
Crossed Cheque – Please make cheques payable to “HKTA Foundation Limited” and mail it to Hong Kong, China Tennis Association, Room 1021, Olympic House, 1 Stadium Path, So Kon Po, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong.
Bank Transfer – Please make the direct deposit to HSBC bank account 741-269385-838 and email or post us the pay-in slip.