2015 Award Ceremony of Bonuses and Certificates of Merit to Outstanding Athletes and Coaches was held on 7th January in the Conference and Exhibition Centre at Fisherman's Wharf. The Government of the Macao SAR honoured athletes and coaches who have accomplished outstanding achievements in high-level sports competitions in 2015 with bonuses totalling more than MOP 6.5 million and presented certificates of merit to team members of 19 sports. Dr. Fernando Chui Sai On, Chief Executive of Macao SAR, attended the ceremony and offered congratulations to the laureates.
Huang Junhua and Sou Cho Man from the Wushu team, with their stellar performance both at the World Championship and the Asian Junior Wushu Championship, won MOP 320,000 and MOP 200,000 respectively, making them the most-awarded male and female individual athletes. The Dragon Boat team was the night's biggest team winner, bringing home MOP 2,355,000, in recognition of winning one gold and two silver medals from the World Championship.
Athletes and Coaches : Time to Celebrate
In 2015, 124 athletes and 19 coaches of eight sports have been medalled in 10 competitions, winning bonuses with a total value of MOP 6,512,000. In addition, 218 athletes and 83 coaches of nineteen sports were honoured with certificates of merit. Dr. Fernando Chui Sai On, Chief Executive of Macao SAR, Sun Da, Deputy Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in Macao SAR, Ye Dabo, Commissioner of Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China in Macao SAR, and Dr. Alexis Tam Chon Weng, Secretary for Social and Cultural Affairs, presided over the ceremony.
Sports Bureau : Perfecting the System of Competitive Sports
In his speech, the then President José Tavares of Sports Bureau (the Bureau), stated that, with restructuring now complete, the Bureau has taken on new roles since 1st of January. In 2016, the Bureau's priority is to strengthen all-tier talent development, a long-term strategy in need of support from all sports associations. In an effort to perfect the system of competitive sports, the newly-amended Regulation of Bonus Awards for High-Level Sports Competitions and Regulation of Certificate of Merits Awards for Sports Competitions will be put into practice. The two new regulations, along with Funding Programme for Training of Elite Athletes and Funding Programme for Further Education of Retired Athletes, are reflections of a system that is fairer, more comprehensive and more rigorous, aiming to better support athletes as they concentrate on trainings and competitions.
Huang Junhua: the Importance of Staying Calm
In recent years, Huang Junhua's name has been more and more frequently seen or mentioned in the Wushu community of Macao. Once an unknown athlete, he made to the top of his career by winning a gold medal in Nangun and a silver medal in Nanquan at the Indonesia World Wushu Championship last November. When talking about the exceptional performance in 2015, Huang Junhua believes that, besides tough training and continuous support from his coach, his success is partly credited to improved calmness in competition. In future trainings, he will continue to work on emotional stability under the pressure of a competition, so as to perform the best he can and win honour for Macao.
Wan Chi Kit : Extra Incentive
In August, the Macao Indoor Cycling team triumphed at home at the 13th Asian Championship, bagging one gold and three bronze medals. Wan Chi Kit, the young gold medallist in U15 men's singles for artistic cycling, considered the prizes as extra incentive for athletes that motivate them to put even more efforts into training and competition. Coach Lou Weng Meng was delighted to see young athletes playing as well as they can in competitions, saying that he would continue to focus on training players and preparing the next generation of athletes .
Wong Weng Man : Keeping on Training
In the Shuttlecock World Championship hosted last August in Italy, the Macao team took home three bronze medals at women's singles, women's doubles and women's team, which won them MOP 325,000. Coach Lam Kam Hong believed that no matter how much bonus was given, the award ceremony is an important way to push forward development of athletes and sports, because it demonstrated strong support and encouragement from the government. Macao's shuttlecock “leading lady” Wong Weng Man, the three-time bronze medallist, said that life would go pretty much the same, as it is an athlete's biggest achievement and responsibility to win competitions after hard training.
Also attending the award ceremony were Wallis O, Chief of the Office of Chief Executive, Ip Peng Kin, Chief of Office of the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Vong Iao Lek, President of the Administrative Committee of I.A.C.M.,Lou Pak Sang, Deputy Director of the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau, Ma Iao Hang, President of the Sports Olympic Committee of Macao, China, Lo Keng Chio and Chan Chak Mo, President of the Executive Board and the Secretary-General of Sports Olympic Committee of Macao, China, Sports Committee members and leaders and representatives from sports general associations.
