Hong Kong

Seven members of the Canberra Gateball team have met up in Hong Kong to explore the city and play some warm-up matches against other World Championship sides.

A small event was organised which included four of the five Hong Kong teams attending the World Champs (Hong Kong 1,3,4 and 5). Half of the matches were played on long grass courts which played slow and bumpy, the other half on synthetic carpet (the first time we have ever played on that surface) which played very fast.The courts are set in communal parks set amongst massive skyscrapers, these communal areas need to be booked weeks in advance.

Competition was tough, Canberra managed to win 2 of their 6 matches, although our play improved through the day as we got used to the court speeds and characteristics. We had a tight loss against Hong Kong 1 (who are drawn in our group in Shanghai). These results reinforce the high standard that the competition is expected to be played at, this was further emphasised by the stories were told of the amazing high standard of Chinese Gateball.

The hospitality shown by the local Gateballers was exceptional arranging the day for us, organising a fantastic yum cha lunch and providing us with transportation. Australian Gateballlers certainly have many friends in Hong Kong and any future visits to Hong Kong would be strongly welcomed.

Otherwise Hong Kong has been great fun as we eat and explore our way around the city. It has a particularly spectacular cityscape with walls of buildings surrounded by sheer hills. Humidity has been high and there have been occasional heavy storms.

Some pictures are below: