Athletes dedicate thousands of hours to perfecting their skills, honing their fitness, and competing in events. Transforming to a career after retiring from competition can present completely new challenges, however.
“Work skills such as using a computer and document processing are somewhat unfamiliar to me,” said 24-year-old Wong Wai-chun, a retired rower.
Wai-chun used to train six days a week, from 6am to 6pm. After dinner, he would review videos of the day’s training with his coach to analyse his progress.
“It was quite insular because we did not need to engage with many new things. Just focus on improving my performance.”
New challenges
After winning a gold medal along with his team-mate Lam San-tung at the Hangzhou Asian Games in 2023, Wai-chun retired from rowing last year and joined the Retired Athletes Transformation Programme.
He was matched with the Sports Legacy Company, under the Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China (SF&OC), to serve as an Officer. His major responsibilities are managing teams of coaches and administration work.
A typical day for Wai-chun now involves overseeing coaches’ delivery of fitness tests for students at local secondary schools. Afterwards, back at the office, he compiles reports, describing the day’s activities and attaching photos.
The transition programme offers retired athletes on-the-job training in aspects such as using computer applications, editing videos, and mediation, in addition to providing educational grants.
Wai-chun said the programme has made his transition from being an athlete smoother. His next goal is to join the disciplinary forces.
“After joining the programme, I realised that there are many different career paths for athletes, not just coaching.”
Transformational impact
Organised by the Culture, Sports & Tourism Bureau and executed by the SF&OC’s Hong Kong Athletes Career & Education Department (HKACED), the transition programme has so far helped over 140 retired athletes since its launch in 2018.
The Government had allocated over $130 million to the programme as of 2023-24, with an additional $35 million apportioned for 2024-25. Besides laying a foundation for the career development of retired athletes, it helps to promote sports development and nurture sports talent in Hong Kong by subsidising schools and sports institutions to hire retired athletes.
Planning ahead
In addition to providing assistance to retired athletes, the Government also offers comprehensive support to active athletes, allowing them to focus on their training without worrying about their personal finances, and to start their career planning early.
Leung Kwan-yi is a member of the team that holds Hong Kong’s record for the 4×100m athletics relay.
“As an elite athlete, my expectation is definitely to set a Hong Kong record,” she said. “Whether I can achieve it or not, I believe it is just a matter of the right mindset.”
As a full-time athlete at the Sports Institute, she is also studying full-time for a bachelor’s degree in physical education at the Education University. Her goal is to become a sports teacher after retiring.
“I hope to pass on the experiences and skills I have acquired over the years,” she said. “Not just in athletics – I take different sports classes like tennis, volleyball, and soccer at the Education University, in order to be well-rounded, to become a sports teacher.”
Relieving pressure
Navigating between the sports field and the classroom, Leung Kwan-yi strives to balance her athletic and academic commitments. She said her scholarship from HKACED’s “Scholarship Programme for Undergraduate, Postgraduate & Master Course” has significantly reduced her financial stress.
“Paying significant tuition fees every year and worrying about my performance is a huge pressure. The scholarship has really helped reduce my burden.”
According to the Culture, Sports & Tourism Bureau, the scholarship programmes have helped over 130 athletes, providing grants totaling over $7.7 million, since 2008.
