KCC Wok Autumn 2020

What’s On at KCC

Kowloon Cricket Club Members Magazine Autumn 2020

Lawn Bowls Green Opening

Multi Sports Summer Camp

b

Kowloon Cricket Club 10 Cox’s Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong Tel 3473 7000 | Fax 2311 1432 www.kcc.org.hk

Contents 2 President’s Page 3 GM's Column 4 Cricket 6 Hockey 10 Football 16 Pétanque

WHO TO ASK FOR Email to GC Comments comments@kcc.org.hk

Reception reception@kcc.org.hk 3473 7000

Car Park Labels 3473 7121 membership@kcc.org.hk

Magazine magazine@kcc.org.hk Monica Wong

18 Lawn Bowls 22 Kids Culinary Challenge Cooking Class 24 F&B 26 Tennis

Reciprocal Clubs rc@kcc.org.hk 3473 7121 Queenie Chung 3473 7000

28 Maintenance Work Achievement for KCC 31 Membership 32 Wine Society

Monthly Statement Queries Dennis Ip 3473 7134 fc@kcc.org.hk

34 Golf 38 Table Tennis 40 Snooker 42 Badminton

Horse Racing Bookings events@kcc.org.hk Teresa Yu 3473 7125 Dorothy Lam 3473 7169

43 Home Delivery Order Form Membership 3473 7121 membership@kcc.org.hk

Grounds Bookings groundbook@kcc.org.hk The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily the views of the publishers, the KCC, its Committee or its Members

Events events@kcc.org.hk

Design and printed by: LINK-UP DESIGN LIMITED Rm 9, 6/F, Block B, Proficient Ind Centre, 6 Wang Kwun Rd, Kowloon Bay, Kowloon, HK

Tel 2117 9943 | info@linkupdesign.com www.linkupdesign.com Advertising Sales Contact:

David Lee | Tel 2151 0886 | davidlee@linkupdesign.com

Sports and Recreation Sports Counter 3473 7161 Sing Yeung 3473 7161 snladmin@kcc.org.hk Sylvia Lam 3473 7181 sylvia.lam@kcc.org.hk

President’s Page KC Shing President

Dear Members, As of 15th May this year, I have assumed the mantle of honour in becoming the President of KCC, after having previously having spent two years as KCC Vice President and ten years as KCC Treasurer prior.

To begin things, I would like to once more give a warm welcome to Mr Edwin Lu, who as of 1st June 2020, has been our new General Manager whom I hear has settled comfortably into this new role. Secondly, I would like to give my humble gratitude to Mr Dennis Ip for being the acting manager during the absence of our General Manager.

Most of us are aware and would concur that 2020 to date, has been an unexpectedly difficult time for us all. And unfortunately, the second half of this year has come with the third ever increasing spike in COVID-19 pandemic cases within Hong Kong.

As a result of the situation, our club has prioritised the health and safety of our members whilst they are in the premises as paramount. To ensure this, we have to implement a number of new measures as a result; these would include: • •

•

•

No Guest Policy, compulsory temperature checks upon arrival at the reception area for all members entering the club, facemasks are to be mandatory at all times whilst in the club premises (only exceptions being for eating and/or drinking), big group gatherings within the club will be restricted

As a concerted public effort to help reduce the spread of the coronavirus, we have also adopted various measures to help maintain social distancing within enclosed spaces, to further help protect our club members.

In accordance with the current Government regulations, all our sports and recreational activities have been suspended, with addition to this, our main bar will also remain closed. In further compliance to the current government regulations, Sitin areas of The Boundary Café, The Pavilion and The Restaurant’s operating hours have been reduced (closing at 6pm every day) and dining is to be restricted to four persons per table. After 6pm, the club is only open for takeaway food orders. During such difficult times, I hope that you would understand the importance of these countermeasures.

Inevitably, in terms of F&B revenue, it has dropped significantly as a result of this pandemic; which I believe you would have expected.

2

With a lighter note, our Bordeaux Wine Home Delivery service has generated a high revenue. The new pastry display counter at The Boundary Café has become an attraction. The handcrafted crusty pizza, Portuguese egg tarts, sausage rolls, chicken pies and dessert delicacies have been selling very well and all are sold out by early afternoon. Some people have even decided to order in advance to avoid any disappointment! I would like to ask for your support of the club by ordering takeaway meals and wines from KCC for wining and dining at home.

During the second quarter of 2020, the Club has accomplished various renovations and club maintenance. Firstly, the Cricket Square has been replaced with new soil from Thailand and the turf has been growing strongly. Previous water leakages in the Pro-shop and the Snooker room have also been repaired.

The major renovation of the Lawn Bowl lower green has been satisfactorily completed and has been re-opened on 11 July after a ‘Bai Sun’ ceremony. The floor of Sun Lawn has been replaced with new artificial turf. To turn the Tennis Court Terrace into a viewing deck, planter troughs have been removed and safety glass railings will be installed. Moving on, the Heritage conservation of the Main Club building, AMO has granted for the majority of the project costs to be funded by the Government and contract tendering is in progress.

I would like to finally thank each and every one of you for your continued cooperation and kind understanding towards our hopes of keeping and maintaining KCC as a safe place for all our members. Tough times remain ahead of us and the outlook may seem bleak, so let me extend my deep desires of compassion, hope and the firm belief that we can all get through this together.

So let me once more wish you and everyone in your family good health.

Please stay safe during this pandemic.

KC Shing President

GM's Column Edwin Lu

General Manager

Dear Respectful Members, First and foremost, I would like to extend a heartfelt gratefulness to you for all your support during my first few weeks at KCC. I have received many positive suggestions from you. I am looking into each and all of them fully.

It is my pleasure joining the KCC on June 1, 2020 which is like another family to me. Ever since my first few weeks with KCC, I have been trying my level best to meet as many of you as possible; to understand your concerns and expectations and to learn more about the culture and tune in particular interests special to this extended family. Most of the feedback I received has resonated the feeling that KCC was being the second home.

In fact, KCC has almost become my first home in the last few weeks; considering in terms of the time spent as well as the commitment and dedication that comes with it.

With the support from all of you, including the President, GC members, different Committee members and also my team, we are on top of different projects with the ever continuing purpose and objective of making KCC a safe and relaxed place filled with quality service & facilities for it to be the most pleasurable and impressive place for you to meet your friends, families, business associates, partners and clients.

Referencing the intrusive pandemic, it has now become challenging not only for us but also for the whole world on a wider scale. We are keeping a close watch on the government policies and legal requirements applicable from time to time. We are reviewing the preventive measures that should be in place at KCC, constantly being updated. This is to ensure the public hygiene and safety of KCC. All of us have an important role to play here.

I believe that you and your family may have had fun during the Kids Cooking Class on July 9 and Multi Sports Camp on July 7-10.

I would like to take this opportunity to share with you some of the upcoming events that should not be missed. Please mark your calendar now and make early reservations:

Summer Wine Fair

During Summer

Thai Cuisine Promotion

July & August

*Water Fun Day

End of August

*Summer Camp program (Tennis & Football)

July & August

*Cricket Camp

End of July

Junior Cricket event

August 2020 - May 2021

*Please note that, due to any rapid change brought about by government new COVID-19 ordinance or in-house procedure and policy, the above events may be cancelled at a short notice.

Our Club staff will stand by you at all time to assist you.

Wishing you all and your families a healthy year of 2020.

I look forward to meeting you in person soon if I have not already done so.

Edwin Lu General Manager

3

The KCC Cricket Section prepare for the 2020-21 season

By Richard Waite

CRICKET

Captain of Cricket Matthew Collins cricket@kcc.org.hk

Following the postponement of all cricket leagues due to Covid 19. Head Cricket Coach, Richard Waite is confident that the KCC teams can carry on their dominance throughout the Cricket Hong Kong domestic leagues. A gruelling program has been put together to prepare the players for what promises to be another successful season.

In the Sunday Elite League both teams, the KCC Templars and the KCC Infidels will participate in Division 1.

This sets up two mouth-watering derby’s here at KCC over the course of the season. Both teams will be confident that they can be competing for the title come the end of the season after a strong display last season.

The Saturday teams, KCC Saracens and KCC Crusaders proved too good in Division 2 and were placed 1 st and 2nd when the league was cancelled. Both will look to carry this on and push towards regaining their rightful spots in Division 1. The KCC Tartars, under the leadership of Farooq Saeed performed really well in Division 1 last season and were placed 1st. The 2020-21 season is going to be another good test as they will be the team that everyone will want to beat.

KCC Summer Sports Camps KCC are once again running their extremely popular Summer Sports Camps. All sports camps are full to capacity, which shows how popular and well organised these camps are. We have 3, fun packed, weeks that will be delivered by our group of highly qualified coaches.

We e k 1 i s M u l ti Sp o r ts Ca m p sees participants doing a range of activities that include Ten Pin Bowling, Swimming, Sof tball, Basketball and many more.

Week 2 sees our Specialist AFL Auskick Camp burst into action. Led by our very own Director of Cricket and all-round AFL guru, Matt Stiller.

Please follow us at

kcccricket www.kcccricket.com

4

The KCC Maidens came back stronger in 2019-20.

Under the new Captaincy of Maheen Haider. The team managed to secure the T10 title and were placed 1 st in the T20 league, remaining unbeaten. The 2020-21 season looks to be another exciting one for Hong Kong’s No1 Women’s team.

Then Week 3 sees the KCC Cricket Camp, delivered by our KCC Cricket Coaches and assisted by several Hong Kong International players.

The 2020-21 KCC Junior Cricket Program Head Coach, Richie Waite is excited at the prospect of building on last year’s hard work, which was extremely interrupted. The junior cricket program commences on the 29th August 2020 and if your son or daughter are interested in registering for the coming season please contact Matt Stiller (Director of Cricket) at cridirector@kcc.org.hk or enrol online at http://www.kcc.org.hk/kcc-junior-cricket-program/.

There will be one opening/fun day organised by the Cricket section on the 24th of August 2020 here at KCC with some great activities, wine tasting for parents and a BBQ. Anyone wishing to attend please contact Matt Stiller at cridirector@kcc.org.hk and keep an eye out for the weekly e-WOK which will contain a poster by July 2020.

Whilst our content is currently limited due to the aforementioned issues we will, when relevant, continue to provide updates through our various social media platforms:

@KCCCricket

@cricket_kcc

@KCCCricket

5

Hockey AGM The KCC Hockey AGM was held on Friday July 3, 2020 from 7-9pm. Owing to the COVID-19 situation where only half of the scheduled games were played, it was a valuable time to reflect on the highlights of the first half of this season and to award our players for their hard work.

Men’s Section Awards Player of the Year

Jasper Au

Young Player of the Year

Kwong Yuk Fung

Most Promising Men’s Player

Cheng Tong Him Jeremy

Top Goal Scorer

Cheng Tong Him Jeremy

HOCKEY

Hockey Representative Iqbal Kahn hockey@kcc.org.hk

Ladies’ Section Awards

6

Most Promising Women’s Player

Au-Yeung Ho Lam Lia

Women’s Player of the year

Ng Wu Andreina Manyi

Most Committed Player

Moka Mok & Heather Galbraith Section Awards

Mojomac Cup for Commitment

Wendy Walker-Dillon

2020-2021 Committee Iqbal Khan (Captain of Hockey) Heather Galbraith (Secretary) Hanae Aso (Treasurer) Hau Yeung (Men’s Convenor) Anita Chan (Ladies’ Convenor) Wendy Walker-Dillon (Mini Convenor) Pius Chan (Youth Convenor) Camela Wong (Umpire’s Convenor) Co-opted: Tommy IP (Vets Convenor) 2020-2021 Captains Eric Ho (Men’s A) Moharpreet Dhillon (Men’s B) Men’s C TBC Moka Mok (Ladies’ A) Eunice Tong (Ladies’ B) Kelvin Yip (Men's Vets) Sherullah Khan (Men's D)

The highlight of the night was to our out-going COH Phil Smyth for his contribution to the hockey section and KCC all these years, and to Heather Galbraith who announced her retirement from hockey.

7

HOCKEY

Training for 2020-2021 Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to play many games this season, and the Summer League was also cancelled, but we have been able to do some training for the coming season. Good work minis for showing us how it is done!

8

9

3) How have the team been keeping their fitness levels up during the break?

While most sports teams celebrated the easing of social distancing with multiple social and at times fitness gatherings, the KCC monarchs took the unique approach of working on spiritual fitness. This view tends to focus on cultivating a happy mind with the least possible amount of stress on the body. This approach being very elaborated (an outside observer would only see a body apparently still, lacking any movement of any sort), its secret shall not be revealed here.

Yet, I am glad to report that the team looks indeed spiritually very fit with an average physic showing a total lack of any exhausting activity.

FOOTBALL

Football Representative Luca Merlone football@kcc.org.hk

KCC Football AGM The AGM took place on Friday with an excellent turnout of over 50 people in attendance. Thanks to all who came, and a shoutout to Adrian for a great quiz at the end. The winners of the quiz were 1) Manjeet Brar , 2) Dhiraj Muhki , 3) TBC

5) Anything else you would like to add or comment on.

In addition to all of the above, the Monarchs are entering July with much motivation and commitment, to further consolidate the team and the overall performance, now holding two sessions a week (one game and one practice) through the intense summer heat.

Long live the Monarchs!

New Committee GC REP/Convener

JON McKINLEY

Secretary

ADRIAN TOWNSON

Treasurer

SHYAM NAINANI

Captain of Footballv

DAN JACQUES

David Christmas

Head of Adult Football

TBC

1) How is the team looking upon the restart of the football season?

Head of Youth Football

STEVE PALFREY

Events/Social Manager

GEORGE YANG

General Committee Member

LUCA MERLONE

General Committee Member

DAN SCHICK

Interview with KCC Royals Manager.

Players are looking as good as ever. Dan Jacques has had a haircut, Paul McGunnigle has undertaken a long overdue review of his wardrobe and has dispensed with all Drills samples. Scott Allen is wearing a smile following his two attempts at goal only narrowly missing the corner flag. Pete McMillan is relishing the return of his Monday night anger release sessions.

2) What are you looking forward to the most about the season restart?

Assessing the squad’s response to the pitch temperatures. Players will have to adjust by “slowing down the pace of the game”.

August to October 2020 Issue Interview with KCC Monarchs Manager.

Dimitri Lamarlere 1) How is the team looking upon the restart of the football season?

The Monarchs are looking every bit as ‘fresh’ as they did before the break.

It would appear that, while adhering to strict social distancing rules, most team members used their time off the pitch to strongly and unconditionally support the F&B sector in Hong Kong.

2) What are you looking forward to the most about the season restart?

During almost 4 months without football I had to settle for having my instructions fully ignored at work and at home, and this in spite of speeches of the ‘outmost quality’...I cannot wait repeating such inspiring performances during pre-game talks... with no doubt, an equally successful impact.

10

4) What are your aspirations for your team for the rest of the season? What would be success in your eyes?

Well...it is still our first year and most of the team are still adjusting to the level and the requirements needed in the legends legal league, where multiple ex professionals and even a couple of retired international players compete...and with the Yau Yee League not playing on Sundays until next season, many over 35s first division players have now come to further reinforce our opponents...so enhancing the consistency of the effort through the team (and through full 80 minutes), while getting a few more points would already be a good achievement moving into next year. The team finally converting a penalty kick would be the icing on the cake!

Making the ball do the work may force our Italian striker to pass the ball……..We live in unusual times.

3) How have the team been keeping their fitness levels up during the break?

All players have submitted comprehensive personal training plans for review and approval. Royals players have been spotted running the streets of HK, climbing the peaks of HK, swimming the waters of HK, and consuming the free flow brunches of HK. 4) What are your aspirations for your team for the rest of the season? What would be success in your eyes?

KCC Royals hope to gain a further 10 points following completion of the final 5 fixtures. This would see a top half finish.

Success would be measured by ensuring that all players are able to squeeze into the KCC kit worn in early 2020.

Please play your 1st option Royals…

11 11

3) How have the team been keeping their fitness levels up during the break?

While most sports teams celebrated the easing of social distancing with multiple social and at times fitness gatherings, the KCC monarchs took the unique approach of working on spiritual fitness. This view tends to focus on cultivating a happy mind with the least possible amount of stress on the body. This approach being very elaborated (an outside observer would only see a body apparently still, lacking any movement of any sort), its secret shall not be revealed here.

Yet, I am glad to report that the team looks indeed spiritually very fit with an average physic showing a total lack of any exhausting activity.

4) What are your aspirations for your team for the rest of the season? What would be success in your eyes?

Well...it is still our first year and most of the team are still adjusting to the level and the requirements needed in the legends legal league, where multiple ex professionals and even a couple of retired international players compete...and with the Yau Yee League not playing on Sundays until next season, many over 35s first division players have now come to further reinforce our opponents...so enhancing the consistency of the effort through the team (and through full 80 minutes), while getting a few more points would already be a good achievement moving into next year. The team finally converting a penalty kick would be the icing on the cake!

5) Anything else you would like to add or comment on.

In addition to all of the above, the Monarchs are entering July with much motivation and commitment, to further consolidate the team and the overall performance, now holding two sessions a week (one game and one practice) through the intense summer heat.

Long live the Monarchs!

Interview with KCC Royals Manager.

David Christmas 1) How is the team looking upon the restart of the football season?

Players are looking as good as ever. Dan Jacques has had a haircut, Paul McGunnigle has undertaken a long overdue review of his wardrobe and has dispensed with all Drills samples. Scott Allen is wearing a smile following his two attempts at goal only narrowly missing the corner flag. Pete McMillan is relishing the return of his Monday night anger release sessions.

2) What are you looking forward to the most about the season restart?

Assessing the squad’s response to the pitch temperatures. Players will have to adjust by “slowing down the pace of the game”.

Making the ball do the work may force our Italian striker to pass the ball……..We live in unusual times.

3) How have the team been keeping their fitness levels up during the break?

All players have submitted comprehensive personal training plans for review and approval. Royals players have been spotted running the streets of HK, climbing the peaks of HK, swimming the waters of HK, and consuming the free flow brunches of HK. 4) What are your aspirations for your team for the rest of the season? What would be success in your eyes?

KCC Royals hope to gain a further 10 points following completion of the final 5 fixtures. This would see a top half finish.

Success would be measured by ensuring that all players are able to squeeze into the KCC kit worn in early 2020.

Please play your 1st option Royals…

11 11

FOOTBALL Interview with KCC HKFA Representative.

George Yang 1) How is the team looking upon the restart of the football season?

The Hong Kong Football Association decided to cancel the remainder of the season for anything below the top tier in Hong Kong, and because of that our season was cut short! However, at the date of the COVID-19 stoppage, our HKFA team had become the only ever successful team at KCC to remain in the official football pyramid in Hong Kong, which means congratulations to all the players involved this season!

2) What are you looking forward to the most about the season restart?

The season has concluded for our team, but because a majority of our players are football fanatics they have other amateur teams that they are playing for to keep fit so by the time the new season comes around, we should be more ready for the challenge of finishing comfortably away from the drop zone! I am obviously waiting for the new season begins at HKFA! 3) How have the team been keeping their fitness levels up during the break?

A lot of the players have done individual workouts or have come together in small groups as per Government mandates. When COVID pandemic was at its peak, players would get together to do drills and at time head down to places like the Happy valley Sports Ground to do some individual workout with footballs, resistance bands etc. Home gyms equipment were bought by some players and some would go for regular runs just to stay in shape. It was difficult as match fitness is a lot different and extremely hard to replicate. As the restriction begins to ease up, a lot of the players would book out the sports hall and play some futsal and keep their touches going!

4) What are your aspirations for your team for the rest of the season? What would be success in your eyes?

Unfortunately, some players will not be able to continue with us next season. We have a core group of guys we know we can depend on, but I am expecting to do some more recruiting this off season and look into finding good talents that can aid us for next season.

Furthermore, those that still have teams playing games I hope they keep playing and keep up the fitness as we need to hit the ground running come September!

5) Anything else you would like to add or comment on.

I would like to thank Stevic, Anselm, Luke and everyone on the Committee for contributing to the first survival in the HFKA ladder for KCC and that we promise to build a structure so that the younger players can progress upwards to play in the official FIFA league in Hong Kong!

Interview with KCC Dragons Manager.

Sam Trayford 1) How is the team looking upon the restart of the football season?

Unfortunately, we were unable to restart the season due to the corona virus. The team was keen to get back to playing and waited patiently as the start was delayed a number of times, eventually being called off altogether. A shame but If our desire to get back playing was anything to go by then I am sure we would have had a strong finish to the season.

2) What are you looking forward to the most about the season restart?

Playing some competitive football! The squad is looking good. Preparation for the new season is well underway as we look to fortify our team over the summer break. With such a long time away from playing all the players are eager to prepare and get fit for the new season, let’s hope our hard work pays off!

12

3) How have the team been keeping their fitness levels up during the break?

A few our players play in other social leagues which kept their fitness levels up. additionally, we organised several social games at KCC for all players in the section to participate in. I have also heard through the grapevine that the gym was in regular use, not that I can vouch for it firsthand! Ha Ha! 4) What are your aspirations for your team for the rest of the season? What would be success in your eyes?

Again, it’s unfortunate the season ended prematurely although it’s fully understandable. For the next season providing we train hard, commit and work with each other I certainly believe we should be challenging for a title winning season, although a top 3 finish would certainly be commendable.

5) Anything else you would like to add or comment on.

Thanks to all those involved! Tim, our new coach this season; Jannis, our assistant manager who I and KCC wished farewell this summer; and to all the players who have contributed to the team this season. Thank you to everyone for your dedication and commitment!

Interview with KCC Cavaliers Manager.

Jordan Jarvis 1) How is the team looking upon the restart of the football season?

The KCC Cavaliers are currently sitting at the number 1 spot in the Legal League Division 2 and is still participating in the Legal League Plate Tournament. There’s a possibility of bringing home two pieces of silverware, the Division 1 Trophy and the Plate. The team is looking good, with a few additions to the squad at the restart of the season, this would hopefully keep us at the top of our level.

2) What are you looking forward to the most about the season restart?

I am looking forward to getting back into action with the team, with the possibility of winning the Legal League Division 2 and being promoted to Legal League Division 1. It’s exciting times for the team as we have so much motivation.

We have set goals at the beginning of the season and we are very close to achieving them.

3) How have the team been keeping their fitness levels up during the break?

Everyone in the team have been in contact throughout the break, and the Coach has been giving the players a program online and video tutorials to carry out suitable home workouts which would benefit our game.

4) What are your aspirations for your team for the rest of the season? What would be success in your eyes?

For the remainder of the season, we hope to finish strong and to secure our spot in the next level and gain promotion for the next season.

5) Anything else you would like to add or comment on.

Our remaining fixtures in the league will be very exciting to watch, we would love to invite everyone to come support us as we fight on to win the league and bring home the trophy. Fixtures are played on Monday Nights at 9pm in Kings Park Sports Ground. First fixture back will be on the 20th of July, against Scottish Stags in the Legal League Plate Tournament.

13

FOOTBALL

Meet One of Our Players – Krishna Nainani who plays for the KCC Dragons Sleep, Nutrition, Exercise. These three are the key components to a healthy lifestyle. It requires discipline to make sure that one is in control of all the mentioned components.

Personally, exercise has most definitely been the easiest part, as my passion for football automatically incorporated a significant amount of cardiovascular fitness into my life. At the age of 15 I started to realize the importance of the gym. It is not necessarily important to get super large and muscular, but more important to focus on flexibility and strength. I started working with the repetition range of 8-10 reps. Repetition range is how many reps you do per exercise. This allows the body to get strong without getting too big as long as you are moderating your weight.

Calisthenics At 22, after 7 years of lifting weights I switched to Calisthenics. What is Calisthenics - Body weight workouts that incorporate balance and strength to carry out certain movements.

I have been exploring this new aspect of fitness for 5 months and so far I love it! I would recommend it to everyone; when done in the right way with the right repetition range, you can truly achieve any body physique you like. For those who are passionate about a healthy lifestyle, I recommend working out 3-4 times a week as this provides your body with enough time to rest and recover in between your rest days.

Diet & Lifestyle 8 months ago I switched from Non-Vegetarian to Vegan. My reason / purpose of making change was to ensure my body was fueled by clean energy. Energy that I was mentally aware and confident about. Of course, there are other benefits to a vegan diet, but I will allow Google to give you a further understanding. Lastly, most importantly and the hardest piece of the puzzle; I recommend sleeping from 10pm - 5am because this will optimize your body growth and recovery.

Importance of Stretching & Flexibility Staying flexible and retaining good hip mobility are important factors to help us stay healthy and injury free. Simply stretching for 15 minutes a day can make a huge difference to our bodies over time. Another great way to prevent injuries is to to do yoga. Yoga and exercise have many benefits; strengthening our ligaments, muscles, relieving stress and improved sleep are few of the many. Exercise also plays a large role in improving our mental state by releasing endorphins such as dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin.

Strength and Balance Strength and balance in our lower body are very important for athletes, as for most sports, this is where our power is generated from.

Doing exercises such as Air Squats, Lunges, Bulgarian Split Squats and Jumping Lunges can increase strength and stability in key muscles such as our Hamstrings, Gluteus Maximus’, and Quadriceps. These exercises are not only great for lower body strength, but also for core strength. It is important to keep in mind that we must use our core during all exercises. A strong core and strong back are extremely important to a healthy body especially for recovery.

Many people are worried about losing belly fat, but in reality, spot reduction is impossible. When our body loses fat, it loses fat from the whole body. Everyone is different and will lose fat from different areas at different speeds. When one is aiming to lose weight, they must eat in a caloric deficit; when one wants to gain weight, they must eat in a caloric surplus. Yes, abs are made in the kitchen!!

Hope you have enjoyed the read and the insights I have provided on living a healthier lifestyle.

14

15

Pétanque

By Mr. Keith Jones

Petanque is a growing new sport, originated f ro m Fr a n c e. T h e a i m o f t h e g a m e i s to throw your metal boules closer to a s m a l l e r b a l l ( t h e j a c k ) t h a n yo u r opponent. The closer your boules, the more points you will receive. Each player has three boules to throw, first to reach 13 points, wins!!

N o w e s t a b l i s h e d i n KCC , w i t h practices happening on Tuesday evenings and Saturday mornings.

Wi t h m o re a n d m o re p e o p l e joining to play, with players fe e l i n g e n j o y m e n t a n d f u n .

The beauty of it is that it’s an inclusive sport – easy to learn and hard to be truly good at, so no one feels left-out. Those who want to try out this new sport are welcome to join the sessions!

On the morning July 1st, the KCC president himself, K C Shing, joined in trying out Petanque.

Af ter a few throws and basic technique pointers, he became a formidable player. After a few games, his skills put up a good challenge for the other players.

One time his boule was the key contribution for his team winning the game! With the establishment of the Petanque piste, (thank you KCC committee and KCC President) the court, near the swimming pool opens a new chapter for KCC, with more positive sports development in the future. We are in the process of becoming a full-fled member of the KCC’s Sporting sections and societies.

More exciting news, on July 11 th 2019, there will be a friendly game, Petanque Triangle 2020, with KCC playing against KBGC and Simply Bowls Institute.

A fantastic opportunity to get our boules, our players and display our skills! Join us in the morning and witness the match!

16

KCC Triumphs at Pétanque

By Georges W Beau and Keith Jones

KCC experienced a triumph at the first Hong Kong Pétanque Triangular Competition held on Saturday July 11th.

Apart from the two KCC teams, the competition included two teams each from the Kowloon Bowling Green Club and the Simply Bowls Institute.

All teams were triplets, consisting of three players. Most teams consisted of both man and woman players.

The games were held at both the KCC and the KBGC Pétanque pistes (courts).

The two KCC teams were crowned overall champions by winning seven out of their eight games.

Players for team KCC1 included Adrian Townson, Jim Down and his wife Claire (4 wins), while team KCC2 included Herber t Kwok, Dwight Chan and Georges Beau (3 wins).

Before the games started Herbert welcomed all the par ticipants and their supporters with a short speech, followed by the traditional exchange of flags or souvenirs and group photos. Herber t also emphasised we were making history as the event was the very first club level Pétanque competition in Hong Kong.

All the participants enjoyed themselves tremendously in spite of the hot sun.

They especially appreciated the friendly atmosphere and all the camaraderie while still being competitive. Our KCC President visited during the morning to offer the KCC teams his support.

KCC’s Vice President Aron Yip presented prizes to all the team members at the end of the competition, as well as to those who helped during the event with refereeing, keeping scores, and taking photos. Special thanks go to Keith Jones and Muj, and also to the KBGC for supplying the much needed and appreciated liquid refreshments.

17

LAWN BOWLS

Lawn Bowls Convenor Daphne da Rosa lawnbowls@kcc.org.hk

Daphne da Rosa Cup - 25 June 2020 The inaugural Daphne da Rosa Cup was played on the Dragon Boat Festival. The format was drawn two-woods Triples and the turnout was so strong, a seventh rink had to be opened on the Top Green.

Special thanks to Rita Tsui for organising such a fun event.....ably assisted by Sylvia and Sing from the Sports Department and Isaac Ng, who returned quickly from USRC where he was umpiring the Ladies National Finals.

The DdR Cup finals was exciting with Fred Cheung's team battling against rising star James Po's team of Peter Hevicon and Brian Hoey. Playing to a noisy gallery, the two ladies in Fred's team played on steadily and Fred only had to roll one amazing first shot to secure the win.

Well done Fred Cheung, Coby Wu and Mable Chan!

Joseph, Raju, Desmond and James P.

Winners: Mable Chan, Fred Cheung and Coby Wu with Convenor Daphne da Rosa

Don, Chris, Gigi and President K. C. Shing

Seb, Pari, TH, Daphne and James T.

Rob, Fred and Peter

18

Daphne with her eponymous Cup!

Dolores & Joseph

“Uncle Bill”

Bottom Green Opening July 11th A much needed new drainage system was built under the bottom green in April 2020. After waiting three and a half months for the grass surface to be playable......Members' patience was rewarded with a Bottom Green Opening ceremony on July 11th. Today, KCC can boast yet another wonderful grass green!

78 LB Section Members and a team from the GC commemorated the event with the traditional pre-League "baai sun", roast pig cutting, lunch, afternoon bowling tea and fun bowls.

Enjoy the pics!!

19

LAWN BOWLS

Bottom Green Opening - July 11th

20

2019 Women's National Singles Championship This prestigious competition was finally played on 25 June 2020 at USRC. The game was watched via YouTube as spectators were not allowed at the venue, due to COVID-19 social distancing measures.

KCC’s Elisa Cheung did very well to get into the Finals. She started strong but sadly lost to her seasoned opponent from HKFC. This is the second time Elisa reached the Finals. In 2012, she was the Women's National Singles Champion.

KCC Elisa Cheung in ac

tion at USRC

Birthday boy Ronnie Ng celebrated his 102yrs!

We were thrilled to have Ronnie Ng grace the newly opened bottom green with his presence as we celebrated his 102nd birthday!

2020 Premier League - postponed The summer league was to begin in April 2020, but then postponed to August due to COVID-19. In July, the HKLBA announced that the August start date had to be postponed indefinitely as the number of COVID-19 cases spiked.

21

Kids Culinary Challenge

COOKING CLASS Thursday, 9th July 2020

22

23

F&B News

F&B Functions fnb@kcc.org.hk Teresa Yu 3473 7125 Dorothy Lam 3473 7169

Wine of the Month

August to September

Chateau Peyreau, St Emilion, Grand Cru 2013 Delicious ripe and sweet black cherry fruit, balanced by a lovely freshness and limestone minerality. Very attractive with an refined and layered long finiah. $80 per glass $350 per bottle Chateau Morin, St Estephe, 2013The Platte has intense earthy and black fruit notes with medium tannin & acidity. A complex yet wellbalanced representive of the region with pronounced aromas. $68 per glass $300 per bottle

Grill Room

Open Daily Lunch 12:00nn-3:00pm Last Order 2:30pm Dinner 6:30pm – 11:00pm Last Order 10:00pm Tel: 3473 7120

24

Main Bar

Sun – Thu 12:00nn – midnight Fri, Sat & Day before PH 12:00nn – 1:00am Mon – Fri(Happy Hour) 5:00pm – 8:00pm Tel : 3473 7127

The Boundary Cafe

The Pavilion

Mon – Sun 7:00am - 11:00pm

Mon – Sun 11:00am - 11:00pm

Last Order 10:00 pm

Last Order 10:00 pm

Tel : 3473 7112 or 3473 7114

Tel : 3473 7152

Regular Favourites and Promotions

Daily Set Lunch Served Monday – Friday excludes Public Holidays.

Changed daily and just $90 per person.

Thai Food promotion

August 2020

photo for reference only

Bordeaux Wine Home delivery

photo for reference only

German food promotion

(September to October 2020)

Jul to

Sep photo for reference only

25

KCC Wimbledon Day

TENNIS

Tennis Convenor Jessie Rao tennis@kcc.org.hk

By Aziz Khan

26

June 28th saw the return of the annual KCC Wimbledon Day. A delay in the event due to government social distancing rules did not affect participation, and all of the Divisions (A+ & A, B/C/D &E, Social, Juniors) were fully attended with waiting lists, so many thanks to those whom took part/came to support & apologies to those whom missed out this time around. The intense heat on the day was doused by the enthusiasm on display by all participants (and the champagne at the end obviously!), as everyone enjoyed a taste of some real grass court tennis. In particular, some highly ranked HK male & female players took part, and despite the lack of grass court tennis in HK, the overall standard of play was high. Most importantly everyone had a great time, all in all a fantastic event. Special thanks to the sponsors in particular, Teleshop, Perrier, Zooba Bar & Grill and SeaRock Lounge, Green Urban Mobility Ltd, Sergio Tachini, Le Coq Sportif, Wilson, KCC Cricket Section for the numerous prizes (clothing and bags, gift vouchers, coupons, other prizes) that were presented on the day, we really appreciate your support and hope to continue working together going forward. Would also like to extend thanks to Stephen So & Jessie Panjabi for ensuring a smooth & enjoyable junior tennis event on the day, and the tennis subcommittee (Jessie Rao for managing the whole event, Monte for carrying out MC duties, KS Wong for the draws & prizes, and all other committee members for their various contributions). We also cannot forget the efforts of the KCC staff on the day, a big thank you to all of them. Once again, major thanks to all of those that attended, we hope to see you again next year!

Results A+&A Division B/C/D/E Division Social Division (Maki Hauser Trophy) Juniors Division (Age 12-13) Juniors Division (Age 14-15)

Winner Kaka LIN Spencer KWAN

1st Runner Up Richie FOWLER Paul MA

2nd Runner Up Janet LAW Siddharth JAIN

Tony WONG

Nelson FUNG

JB ROY

Tyrun GIDWANI

Tishaan ALWANI

Cai MCGUNNIGLE

Andrew LAU

ďź?

ďź?

Other Updates & Announcements Club Terrace Renovation Renovations are currently taking place with regards to the terrace located opposite the tennis practice wall.

Scheduled completion is in early August, and this will provide comfortable seating and improved views of courts 1 & 2, this will provide comfortable seating and improved views of courts 1 & 2. Views of the cricket ground will also be visible on the other side, all in all providing a more enjoyable experience for those in attendance. As a result, we look forward to welcoming more spectators and support for the club during league matches in particular.

HKTA Summer League Update Due to the Coronavirus, the HKTA Summer league has unfortunately been cancelled. The various KCC teams were looking forward to competing, espescially since the club is now more widely represented across divisions and formats.

In any case, please keep an eye out for some inter-club friendly matches that occur in the coming weeks, as teams look to keep up to speed in anticipation of the HKTA Winter League later in the year.

Prudential HK National Tennis Championships The HKTA announced in June that the Prudential HK National Tennis Championships, one of the biggest local tennis events in the calendar, will be delayed and scheduled to start in early August. If all goes well and to schedule, the various events (Men’s & Ladies Singles & Doubles, Mixed Doubles, Mens & Ladies Presidents Cup Singles & Doubles) will play out over August/September. There are a number of KCC representatives taking part, so please head down to Victoria Park to catch a glimpse of some high quality tennis in HK.

27

Maintenance Work Achievement for KCC

Even though the Corona Virus have been occurred for months, MDSC has managed to launch and complete vary renovation and refurbishment projects and maintenance tasks around the Club.

Project 1) Feb 2020 – Air conditioning improvement including FCU replacment with defective thermal control units replaced and PAU overhaul, false ceiling refurbishment, and floor tiles replacement within Boundary Café

Air Conditioning improvement

Floor tiles replacement at the Café’s entrance

Boundary Café reopened on 1 March 2020

Project 2) Feb 2020 – False ceiling renew, Air handling unit and Fan Coil Units replacement in Kitchen

False ceiling panel and FCU replacement

Kitchen reopened on 13 Feb 2020

28

PAU replacement in Kitchen

Temporary Kitchen set up outside Pavilion during Kitchen closure

Project 3) March 2020 – The Flooring of Pavilion and Main Bar were polished and waxed on March 12 and 19 respectively.

Project 4) March 2020 – Lawn Bowl Lower Green Renovation (from March to June)

Turf removal

Layout the new Turf

Turf Growing up

Irrigation and Drainage system installaiton

Resanding

nce

Irrigaton and new Turf maintena

Grand open on 11 July with ‘Bai Sun’ ceremony

Bottom Green ready to handover

29

Project 5) June 2020 – Tennis Court Terrace Renovation Dismantle the Planter trough and floor tiles

Making protection

Floor tiles applying

Fencing installation and iron works

Job completed

Tempered glass railing installation and wall repain ting

- Job completed on 23 July -

Besides the above major projects, a number of maintenance tasks have also been accomplished in the last financial year as below: 1) Audio equipment realignment and set up in Pavilion.

2) The Fresh air-cooling unit (PAU) replacement for Main Bar & Snooker room.

3) A new Pizza Corner was set up in Boundary Café.

4) Water leakage withdrawal in Pro-shop and Snooker room.

5) Carpark management and improvement.

6) Re-built of Cricket Wicket 7) Additional sump pumps for Lawn Bowls Green.

8) Mosquito Trap devices were installed around the Main Ground and Lawn Bowls.

9) Artificial Turf replacement at Sun Lawn.

10) Moving on project is to replace the flooring and padding at the Multi Spot Hall, and Heritage Maintenance for the Main

Building.

MDSC will continuously to make improvement for the Club’s facilities and environment, in order to let our member, feel home relaxing and enjoyable in every corner within the Club premises.

30

Membership Update Welcome to the following New Members / Subscribers

Corporate Nominee Prashant GOEL

Corporate Nominee Hemal JHAVERI

Corporate Nominee Bill LAM

Corporate Nominee Jacqueline POON

Ordinary Voting Member Donald LUNG

Ordinary Voting Member Stanley LAM

Ordinary Voting Member Matthew WONG

Ordinary Voting Member Shaan NANIK

Football Junior Subscriber Krish SADHWANI

Football Junior Subscriber Jules BRUNO

Football Junior Subscriber Sukhvir SINGH

Football Junior Subscriber Isak LIMBU

Corporate Nominee Manoj LACHMANDAS

Ordinary Voting Member Lalit LAUNGANI Football Junior Subscriber Omario ALLAM

31

Reaching New Heights – High Altitude Wines

WINE

Convenor Danny Gohel wine@kcc.org.hk

After 3-months of “quarantine”, the first event after the January AGM was the tasting and dining with the wines made in high altitudes co-organized by Brian Cheng and Brett Butcher in May 2020. Wines from Mendoza, Argentina dominated the evening with others from Lebanon, Sicily and Switzerland (of course!). The evening was a good start of the regular KCC Wine Society events and started from a “high” point.

32

Bordeaux 2000 – 20 years on…

The next event in June was the Bordeaux 2000 wines organized by Danny Gohel. The Wine Society had accumulated several classed growths and it was timely to have them 20-years on with some big names such as Gruaud Larose, Montrose, Figeac, d’Armaillac, Giscours and a non-bordeaux (Craggy Range Sophia from New Zealand) as a surprise which came in overall 5th in ranking. The top ranking (#1) wine, by far, was from Pessac Leognan, Ch. Olivier. Afterwards we enjoyed a French-inspired menu, washed down with stellar Ch. Prieure Lichine and Ch. Pontet Canet wines (vintage 2000).

Wine School

Anatomy of the Wine Grape – When you are swirling the wine in the glass, consider the alcohol, acidity, oils, sugars, tannins etc. All these components come from different parts of the grape as seen in the figure.

(Figure from - Molecules 2019 (24);165)

Upcoming Tastings August – October 2020

As the current situation of COVID-19 pandemic is still fluid with social distancing and restriction placed on bars and restaurants, ALL KCC Wine Societies events (Cellar Tastings, Wine Dinners etc) are being organized as per Government regulations and the Club’s operations.

Please provide us with your updated eMails and mobile number (for whatsapp group) so that we can keep you updated by eMail / Whatsapp / Notice Board.

33

Report of the KCC Golf Society outing to Kau Sai Chau South Course on 29 th May 2020 As with our last outing on 3rd March, nearly three months ago, everyone was happy to be drinking in the fresh air again, hoping to be able for once to tame the South Course.

GOLF

Convenor Sanjay Nainani golf@kcc.org.hk

We were very fortunate with the weather, and as my group set off for the first tee, I even noticed a patch of blue sky, sufficient as my mother used to say, to stitch a pair of sailor’s pants (she was Canadian).

Today was the day on which some of our more senior players shone, notably our Stableford winner and winner of the Eagle Cup, Peter Shum with 38 points. He gathered 5 pars on his front nine 39, and 2 more pars coming home in 44, compiling a gross 83. He attributed his good ball striking and scoring to his recent visits to the Club’s Simulator, please take note.

(L to R) Matt Collins, Simon Scanlon, Matt Stiller and David Brettell

Runner-up was Peter Hung who garnered 36 points, with 48 shots on the front nine and the same number, 48, on the back nine, which most of us found the more demanding half.

Third equal was Henry Chow, one behind with 35 points, matching Peter Hung’s 48 on the front nine but finding the second nine more challenging. Henry was in the same flight as the two Peters, so it appears that they were inspiring one another with their good play.

(L to R) Duncan Wong, Vincent Lee, Lai Ho Un and

Ashok Mahtani shared third spot with 35 points. After 5 holes he was level par with 3 pars and a birdie, and his front nine 39 matched the score of Peter Shum. Ashok’s gross score of 87 gave him a net 70.

The Bubble Player, affectionately dubbed “Bubble Boy ”, was Ravi Sujanani. Ravi started well with two pars in the first four holes, including at the short second, where he was nearest the pin until later overtaken

by Duncan Wong, but he clearly struggled at the short 5 th hole, “the postage stamp”, and thereafter was unable to regain his early momentum.

34

htani, (L to R) Prem Balani, Andy Ma ok Mahtani Ash and l Pau can Dun

Jacky Sung

Conversely, Ravi’s playing partner Barry Melbourne t o o k t i m e l i k e t h e R u s s i a n Ta n k t o g a t h e r momentum, but then had a sequence of seven 5’s, eventually broken by a par 4, followed yes by another 5, with an inward 48.

Sunil Hemnani continued his good form with 40 on the front nine, keeping a 6 off his card, and was going well on the back nine until a slump on the last four holes. He carded a creditable 92 for 30 Stableford points.

The results The Stableford Competition and the Eagle Cup Winner Peter Shum with 38 points st 1 Runner-Up Peter Hung with 36 points 2nd Runners-Up Ashok Mahtani and Henry Chow with 35 points Bubble winner: Ravi Sujanani Near to Pin Winner 2nd hole Duncan Wong 11th hole Daphne Da Rosa th th 5 hole Duncan Paul 16 hole Matt Stiller

Duncan Paul was one shot behind Sunil with a 93, and he showed his accuracy with nearest the pin on the postage stamp. Modestly he said afterwards that his round was boring, but this was certainly a highlight.

Daphne Da Rosa struck her iron shot to the short 11th to perfection to the left of the hole for nearest the pin, and played steadily to accumulate 29 Stableford points. Another highlight was Daphne’s chip uphill from the water’s edge at the par three 16th to 3 inches from the hole to save par.

Matt Stiller was nearest the pin on the 200+ yard 16 th over the pond, striking his 4 iron pure and straight as an arrow right over the flag to about 12 feet, a shot that I was privileged to witness. Matt also had an early bird at the short second, but still erred in triple bogeying the 1st, 3rd and 4th holes, before reviving his round to card an 87. Fellow Australian Matt Collins, who followed him to the tee at the 16th, was a study in concentration as he prepared to swing, and his iron shot ended pin high to the left of the green, from where he very nearly holed his chip.

Like Barry, Matt Collins was consistent with fives, and his frequent refrain was “five net four, two points” no fewer than 7 times between the 4th and 12th holes, punctuated by 2 threes, and overall Matt was one over par on the four par 3s. He had 45 strokes on each nine for a gross 90 and 33 Stableford points.

Well played!

Playing his second event of the season, Jacky Sung was also consistent, with a gross score of 91 and 30 Stableford Points, to match his 30 points on our last outing in March.

We were pleased to welcome Simon Scanlon, our former Captain of Cricket, and I am sure that he will have much better golfing days with us than on this occasion.

I was impressed that Simon managed to keep his equanimity throughout, despite his frustrations.

Again many thanks to those involved in organizing this event, knowing how difficult it is to obtain tee times. Thank you, Sanjay, for your efforts, and to Barry for collecting the entries and for all the time you spent organizing the flights, including late changes. Also, thanks to Duncan for computing the scores on the day, not an easy task under pressure, and for organizing the presentation.

le Peter Shum receiving the Eag from CM Mak

Cup

Henry Chow celebrating his second runner up award with playing partner Peter Hung

Duncan Wong receiving his nearest the Pin award for the nd 2 hole from Duncan Paul

Daphne Da Rosa receiving her nearest Pin award for the 11th hole from Duncan Paul

Peter Hung, first runner up receiving his trophy from Gabriel Lam

Bubble winner a smiling Ravi Sujanani

Duncan Paul receiving his nearest the pin award for the 5th hole from Duncan Wong

his nearest Matt Stiller receiving th le from 16 ho the for the pin award ul Pa Duncan

35

GOLF

Report of the KCC Golf Society Event at Kau Sai Chau East Course on 25 th June 2020 There was an upbeat atmosphere for our Tuen Ng Festival event at Kau Sai Chau East Course – the Sai Kung waterfront heaving with people, sparkling sea, clear blue skies with “cotton wool” clouds, a refreshing breeze, on which music wafted up from the pleasure boats anchored below on the South China Sea. More on the music anon.

The prognostications for the golf from those in the know were not encouraging. “A difficult course, so many blind shots, long carries, you will need plenty of balls”, to which the response “yeah, yeah” would have been wide of the mark for most of us.

The question arises, what separated the proverbial ‘sheep’ from the ‘goats’ in our ability/inability to master the KSC East Course?

A shiny pate, to judge from both the winner and the first runner up in the Stableford competition, or an adventurous mindset, our second r unner up, or simply steady play?

Another possibility is inspiration from the aforementioned music, which to my admittedly untutored ear seemed to be of the ‘Bollywood’ rhythmic variety, which may have suited the swings of the Indian players including our convenor, one of the possessors of a shiny pate, the Stableford winner. However, I am reliably informed that the music was likely a popular Korean imitation rather than the real thing, though it may have sounded like the genuine article. Perhaps a more calming tempo, such as Handel’s Water Music, would have been helpful for other golfers including myself, who knows?

One mystery was the disappearance of balls from seemingly well struck shots, drives that were thought to be very safe, tee shots on the par threes thought to be on the green, nowhere to be found, which compounded the loss of balls well and (un)truly struck into the undergrowth.

Onto the golf….

Peter Shum, Mr. Reliability, continued where he left off at the last event on the South Course, and had a 43 on the front nine including 4 pars, and 50 on the back nine for 30 Stableford points.

A feature of his play was his precision driving from the tee.

Perhaps inspired by the music, Andy Mahtani, had a 48 on the front nine and was going well on the back nine until a slide on the last three, very demanding, holes (which were out of earshot of the music), for 28 Stableford points.

Gabriel Lam also did well returning a gross score of 97 and 33 Stableford points, matched by his playing partner Henry Chow, also with 33 points from the yellow tees. Gabriel was also nearest the pin on the 5th hole, and Henry nearest on the long par 3 eighth.

Our second runner up in the Stableford competition was Matt Stiller, who, on the evidence of his scorecard was the epitome of steadiness with 4 pars, plus a birdie on the short 5th, with an 88 “off the stick” as he put it, including 46 on the difficult back nine. He was pleased to prevail over the talented Chris Carter by a few strokes, and even more pleased to call in advance Matt Collins’ chip in from off the green at the 5th or 6th hole.

Duncan Paul had no fewer than 7 pars in his 90 for 35 points, continuing his good form and finishing as first runner up.

Well played!

The Stableford palm went to the impressive Sanjay Nainani with a gross 90 and 41 Stableford points, including a chip in from a difficult lie on the 7th hole for a birdie, which was appreciated by Matt Stiller and the others in his group.

A special mention should be made of Vincent Lee, who though naturally left-handed has, until recent seasons, been playing right-handed. He now plays most of his tee shots left-handed, apparently quite accurately, and has a mixed bag of clubs, which may be quite heavy to carry. Vincent was also nearest the pin at the short 13th hole, I assume playing left-handed.

As always, our thanks to those who organized this event, including Sanjay for securing 6 flights on a public holiday, including one for 10 a.m., and Barry and Duncan for organizing the flights, and Barry for computing the scores and points so efficiently.

The results The Stableford Competition: Winner st

Sanjay Nainani with 41 points

1 Runner-Up

Duncan Paul with 35 points

2nd Runner-Up

Matt Stiller with 34 points

Near to Pin Winner 3rd hole

Prem Balani

Another possibly inspired player, Vijay Mohinani, who in his own words “was trying to hang in there” from tee to green, once safely on the greens displayed a silky putting touch, stroking the ball in or close, for 29 points.

5 hole

Gabriel Lam

8th hole

Henry Chow (Yellow)

Ashok Mahtani, neatly attired in purple with a belt to match, had 5 pars, two of which were very close to birdies, and was the victim of the ‘lost’ ball on the 15th green, and despite this came home in a creditable 50, for 29 points.

Simulator Competition

36

th

th

13 hole th

15 hole

Vincent Lee Peter Wong (Yellow)

May

Tim Chong

June

Peter Shum

Stableford Winner Sanjay Nainani

Gabriel Lam nearest the pin at 5th hole

Peter Wong receiving nearest the pin prize at No. 15 from Matt Collins

Stableford First Runner Up Duncan Paul

Henry Chow nearest the pin at 8th hole

Tim Chong, May Simulator Winner

Matt Stiller 2nd Runner Up, Stableford

Vincent Lee receiving nearest the pin prize at No. 13 from Duncan Wong

Peter Shum, June Simulator Winner

(L to R) Profiles of Barry Melbourne, Peter Lowther,

Prem Balani and Andy Mahtani

Action on the 14th tee, Vijay about to launch his drive.

(L to R) Profiles of Ash Mahtani,

VijayMohinani, David Brettell and

Duncan Wong

(L to R) Simon Scanlon, Matt Collins,

Matt Stiller and Chris 37Carter

at the 1st tee

CM Mak, Baiju Sujanani and Sunil Hemnani at the East Course – early starters

(L to R) Duncan Paul, Peter Shum, Sanjay Nainani

and Vincent Lee at the 1st tee

Convenor William Shan tabletennis@kcc.org.hk

TABLE TENNIS

HKTTA League Tournament

By William Shan

For the fifth year running, KCC entered the Hong Kong Table Tennis Association’s League Club Tournament.

Competition will start in early July. This year, the number of clubs in Division III amounts to seven (7) with KCC seeded in 5th position. As of the writing of this article, KCC had won its first match against HKCC with a nail-biting 4-3 final score. The team match was decided only after the last individual match (men’s-doubles). Somewhat unsurprisingly the scored was tied at 2-2 going into the last game. George and Kailash dug deep and won the final and deciding game, thus clinching both the men’s-double and team win for KCC. On the plus side, it was a satisfying start to our new season. On the minus side, that was probably the easiest opponent for KCC this season.

With a more challenging schedule ahead, we will have to redouble our efforts in order to achieve the best results we can.

AGM The upcoming AGM will be held in the MacGowan Room on 24 July 2020 starting at 6:00 pm.

38

Table Tennis Sessions

By William Shan

The Sports Hall re-opened on 4 May 2020. As a result, table tennis sessions resumed correspondingly.

Attendance has been nothing short of spectacular since the resumption of the table tennis sessions. All the different time slots have recorded record number of attendees. One Tuesday evening session had 35 individuals showing up to enjoy playing the game. Apparently, there is nothing like a little depravation to ignite the passion for this game.

As you may have noticed, Coach Yeung has been absent since the resumption of table tennis sessions. He had a minor but delicate operation which unfortunately suffered complications during recovery. However, you will be pleased to note that he will returning in early July.

39

A blast from the Past - Part 2 The late 1980’s to date..….

By Adrian Townson

After some reminiscing in a blast from the Past – Part 1, as promised here are a few more memories from the late 1980’s to the current date….

After the “boom years” the late 80's and 1990's saw few internal competitions played as the Sanctuary became less popular and it archaically remained a “Men’s only” place, apart from the annual “Ladies Night” which was always fun, but judging by the picture below a revolt was happening. By the late 1990’s ladies were allowed into the Sanctuary and it remains the goal of the Current Committee to form a Ladies team one day!

SNOOKER

Convenor Navin Ahuja snooker@kcc.org.hk

Ladies Night circa 1983

Over the years the Sanctuary has welcomed many a professional player. Around the late 1980’s Kim Keswani brought a guest to the Sanctuary, a distant cousin of his whom he claimed had just turned professional. So good was this guy that all our members did was pick the balls out of the pockets as he practiced for three days.

The following year this chap became an international snooker celebrity hitting the world snooker circuit with great impact – he was James Watana of Thailand.

Since then and up to the current times, other snooker celebrities have visited the Sanctuary including the one and only Jimmy White and more recently Hong Kong’s Marco Fu. So back to the late 1990’s and the doom and gloom was about to be lifted by a new Convenor and a new enthusiastic Sub-Committee. New funding was acquired and renovations were undertaken, to make the room busy place and active part of the Club. As part of this rejuvenation, the In-House Tournaments

40

were well promoted and attended. In 2001 just one in-house tournament was played, by 2002 there were 4 and by 2009, there were 9 tournaments being contested! Since 2016 we have been competing for 15 Trophies each year!

The diversity of the tournaments has also increased over time, with straight snooker; doubles, handicaps, leagues, and volunteer snooker to name but a few.

In 2002 the “Frenchy Cup” was added for the highest break and from the official records an 81 has been recorded, no mean feat for an amateur player. This year will be our 71st year of official In-House Tournaments, as the first recorded Trophy was the Straight Snooker Knockout Tournament won by W. Gaffney in 1949. This was re-named to the Peter Austin Trophy, as a mark of respect to a man who christened the Sanctuary and gave the members a drive and enthusiasm to play the great game.

Albert our ever-present marker continues to ensure they are kept in great condition as well as helping players in all aspects of their snooker! We have in more recent seasons won the Marco Fu Inter-Club Snooker League and even welcomed Marco himself to KCC for the Prizegiving dinner.

We have continued to enjoy much success with visiting overseas clubs and this season we have commenced our KCC friendly match team, to ensure that more of our members get the opportunity to play against other clubs, outside the formal match format. Our Internal competitions remain popular with over 100 participants in the last couple of years, broken only this season by the Covid-19 pandemic, sadly meaning that for the first time in a while all our competitions could not be played.

Still over 60 players have participated in all the tournaments!

Over the years The Sanctuary has participated in many interport matches with overseas clubs playing against us, including the Yokohama Country and Athletic Club (Japan) RAC Club (UK), Tanglin Club (Singapore), Royal Bangkok Sporting Club (Thailand) and the Tattersalls Club (Australia) to name but a few.

These are always great nights!

In 2004 the Sanctuary joined the Clubs Centennial celebrations with a series of events and tournaments both in-house and against others. A KCC team won the Inter-Club Tournament, “The Green Baize Vampires” and I we are sure you will spot a few familiar faces!

Over the years since the Centenary, the Sanctuary has remained a popular place and we have a membership of well over 60 players. Our facilities remain some of the best in Hong Kong and

More recently we have been able to open up the Sanctuary to Junior Members and we have held coaching sessions for both society and club members, well attended by many new faces, keen to learn. Junior and Ladies’ teams may not be too far distant goals for the Society! You will often hear our hallowed “green” grass cricket pitch being favourably mentioned as an oasis in the heart of Kowloon and we think the snooker tables help make that true underground as well, as history continues to be made on our “green” baizes under the club!

We hope you enjoyed a little slice of history from the Sanctuary and our thanks to Sub-Committee member John Greene, as many of the above details are courtesy of his past research and records.

Enjoy your summer and look forward to see all our Society Members and any new players back in the Sanctuary for the start of the new season in August 2020.

Inter-Club League 2020 The 2020 Interclub League has finally commenced and KCC’s first match was a very tough away tie against the reigning champions, the Craigengower Cricket Club, but our Team of Bennie (Capt.), Johnny, Ronnie, Anthony and Scott played out an exciting and very credible 3:3 draw.

This season the Host club are the Hong Kong Country Club and they have set up a link so everyone can monitor the scores and players stats etc., as follows: https://2020interclubsnooker.leaguerepublic.com/l/index.html

In-House Tournaments in the Sanctuary Our In-House tournaments re-started May as the HK Gov started to lift the Covid-19 restrictions. Unfortunately, due to lack of time, we have cancelled our Dutch Doubles and League Tournaments, but all others are being played out to their conclusions. A list of all our winners will be published at the Societies AGM in middle of July 2020.

41

Battle on the 61st Floor

By Herbert Kwok

Convenor Herbert Kwok badminton@kcc.org.hk

BADMINTON

The KCC Badminton Team has accepted the invitation from the Arch Club to play a return match at their home courts on the 12th July.

42

It was, indeed, a very remarkable experience as the courts are located on the 61st Floor of the building. It is the highest located badminton courts in Hong Kong. With the help from our new recruits and younger players, the KCC team has won 16 out of 24 matches. In fact, it was very unfortunate for the Team Arch, as our team was by far the strongest team that KCC has ever send out in the last decade!

KCC Male players : Anoop, Brandon, Eugene, Kan, Liew, Robert & Yash KCC Lady players : Maggie, June, Sabrina & Winnie

43

44