book review
Sporty girls Author and Founder of Women In Sports Empowered (WISE), Alicia Lui, talks to Nicole Cooley about her journey into sports What sports do you recommend starting with? I mention in our crowdfunding campaign, “If you don’t like to play sports, you haven’t found the right sport for you”. We simply need to give different sports a go. In Hong Kong, running and hiking are easily accessible. Water sports like kiteboarding, paddleboarding, wake surfing and other outdoor sports like rock climbing are also great.
How can girls build sport into their daily routine?
Alicia Lui, founder of Women In Sports Empowered
Tell us a bit about yourself? I grew up participating in different sports such as figure skating, horse riding, swimming and basketball, and generally preferred running around and moving! I also care deeply about personal development, women’s topics, and gender equality, but it wasn’t until 2017 that I officially formed Women In Sports Empowered Hong Kong (WISE HK), a volunteer-led non-profit initiative to champion sports for women and girls.
So what is your book about? Sporty Girl Journals is written primarily for girls aged 10 and under. It focuses on the stories of 10 Hong Kong-based female athletes and is illustrated by 10 female Hong Kong. Each story has a key message behind it that shows a few of the life lessons that sports impart, and there are activities that help girls dream big and bold on and off the sporting field.
Why did you decide to combine the journal with stories? The idea for this book originates from pulling together a few things that we’ve 36 expat-parent.com
done at WISE HK. I also wanted it to be suitable for young girls to carry around in their bags and felt it was important to combine stories with activities and journaling. Journaling is therapeutic and athletes are fantastic role models who do incredible work.
Where do you take your inspiration from? The tagline of the book is “channelling girls’ inner sportiness”. I want to use the book to help girls define what “being sporty” means to them, but also as a way to help girls understand themselves, their strengths, their identity and express self-love and gratitude. I want to encourage girls to be sporty, creative, compassionate and so much more.
What are the benefits of sports for young girls? Sports gives us community and belonging. It brings us joy, fulfilment and meaning, relieves stress, nurtures competitiveness and ambition and helps us to become mentally tough, resilient and adaptable - all very important in this constantly changing world!
Start small and build up. Take the stairs rather than the elevator, or exit the MTR one stop earlier and walk the extra distance. Allocate some time to exercise in your daily calendar and stick to it! Five minutes every hour during the workday accumulates to 40 minutes a day. When we start exercising regularly, it becomes a habit and we no longer need to “make time” for it.
Where can we buy the new book? Sporty Girl Journals is available at Gone Running and T8 Labs (both in Wan Chai), Lantau Base Camp in Mui Wo and Bookazine stores across Hong Kong.