HK's pioneering Olympic judges pave the way forward
The road to the Olympics is not easy for athletes, but it’s just as hard for judges who likely spend the same amount of time and effort in training to be able to officiate Olympic events. For gymnastics judge Yuen Ka-keung, the journey to Paris was lonely and arduous, but one that he hopes will pave the way for others to follow.  “Being an Olympic gymnastics judge is not easy because you have to pass many of the selection [tests] under the International Federation, so you had to prepare a lot, meaning that you had to spend a lot of the time and also you had to manage everything well,” Yuen, who is judging the Olympics for the third time in Paris, said. "I have to allocate my time and also allocate, for example, money to make the proper preparation for this Olympic Games. Another thing is that if you prepare for the Olympic Games very seriously, you will feel alone." Yuen is the only gymnastics judge from the SAR. To qualify, he had to judge designated events within the Olympics cycle and obtain the best evaluation result in two competitions. The veteran gymnast said he hopes the government will put more resources into training athletes, and those behind the scenes. “Gymnastics is not only [about the] coach and gymnast. We should have many more supporting people, for example the judge, the physiotherapist, the psychologist and other people,” Yuen said.  Alex Wong, one of the two cycling judges from Hong Kong appointed by the International Federation, echoed Yuen’s views. “In Hong Kong, we can organise different kinds or different levels of judge development or training courses and encourage the people to have the qualification to enter the international training courses," he said. "Just like me, when I prepared for the international commissaire course, I paid [for it] myself,  [so I could] visit different kinds of large-scale events."  Wong, who played a leading role on the judging team for cycling at the Hangzhou Asian Games, said he feels proud to be a part of the world's biggest sporting event for the first time.  He also stressed that safety is paramount on the racetrack. “We stand on the track to monitor the behaviour of the riders and also the behaviour of different TV broadcast staff members. Because we need to protect all the people on the track,” he said. “In case any accident happens, the riders will go out of the track with the bike and at that moment [there will be] a serious accident if we don't manage it in a proper way.”  Wong added that he hopes newcomers can have more exposure to large-scale cycling events in Asia before they become judges.