Olympian City and Sino Group lend their support to HK DanceSport Association

Olympian City and Sino Group have partnered with The Hong Kong DanceSport Association to host the second round of its competition, which will see Hong Kong breaking athletes getting one step closer to the Paris Olympics. This comes after the three parties organised the first round of the 2022 Hong Kong Breaking Team Qualifier, to boost public awareness and interest in breaking and foster the sport’s long-term development in Hong Kong.

The second round of the qualifier will be held on 24 and 25 September, and there will also host an exclusive workshop for the media. During the session B-Boy Fishball, chairman of the HKDSA’s Breaking Division and a World DanceSport Federation-licensed judge, together with the division’s 2022 committee members B-Boy MC and B-Boy Bigki, will introduce breaking in detail, including its current development in Hong Kong and professional ways to appreciate and judge breaking performances.

Meanwhile, B-Girl Fifty and B-Girl Banan, the first runner-up and second runner-up in the B-Girl aged 18 or above category in the qualifier’s first round, will demonstrate key breaking movements and techniques. The media workshop is held with the objective of deepening understanding of breaking among the media, so that they can help promote the sport and raise public interest in the local breaking community. The event also aims to provide the media with more knowledge on the sport and help them better prepare for reporting about it in the 2024 Olympic Games.

B-Boy Fishball, chairman of the HKDSA’s breaking division and WDSF-licensed judge, said that the inclusion of breaking in the Olympic sports programme is a morale booster for breakers. He believed that Hong Kong breaking athletes have great potential and he hoped the city will be able to take part in the breaking events at Paris 2024. It will not be an easy journey, he said, but with their can-do spirit, local breakers will work hard together towards their “Road to Paris” goal.   He added that breaking has been around for over 20 years in Hong Kong, but public understanding and popularity of the sport have remained low. The inclusion of breaking in the Olympics has catalysed the development of the local breaking sector, and he hoped it will further enhance interest in the sport.

The veteran breaker also said he was very pleased to see the positive response to the first round of the Hong Kong Breaking Team Qualifier, organised at Olympian City in June with staunch support from Sino Group. After the second round, which will be organised at Olympian City again on 24 and 25 September, members of the Hong Kong Team will be selected for targeted training to prepare for the Olympic Qualifier Series (OQS). It is an exciting moment and the Hong Kong public will be able to witness the journey of Hong Kong breaking athletes towards their goal of competing in the Paris Olympics. 

Andrea Leung, group general manager of marketing at Sino Group, suggested that greater support is needed to facilitate the healthy development of new sports in Hong Kong. She explained that Sino Group not only provides local breaking athletes with resources but also moral support.

In addition to sponsoring the Hong Kong Breaking Team Qualifier, the Group is rolling out many related promotions, such as trial classes and cultural experiences at Olympian City, so that the public will not just be passively viewing the breaking battles, but also experience breaking first hand and learn more about the Olympic sport, which will in turn help popularise the sport. Furthermore, the Group will be organising a workshop for the media to equip them with greater knowledge to report about the new sport, which will also be beneficial to the long-term development of breaking in Hong Kong.

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