Chapter 21: Sport and Recreation
BECAUSE of its very hot and wet summers it is usual in Hong Kong for the major sports such as soccer, rugby, hockey, and cricket to be concentrated in the winter months when comparatively cool and dry weather can be expected. Since the racing calendar covers the same period, the winter season is, for the Colony's sports enthusiasts, a very busy time. Despite this variety of attractions every form of sport continued to be well attended in 1957, with soccer still attract- ing the largest number of spectators. During the last season the Jockey Club also recorded a record attendance, both in the members' stand and in the public enclosure.
It is impossible in the brief compass of this Chapter to mention all the sports which now have a place in Hong Kong's sporting calendar. From table tennis to-rifle- shooting, from soft-ball to boxing, each game has its own enthusiastic group of players and supporters.
There was the usual number of visiting teams in several sports. The Hong Kong Football Association kept up its reputation for supplying first-class entertainment from over- seas by arranging visits from the All-India team after the Melbourne Olympics and a team from Israel.
During the year Hong Kong was represented at the Malayan Merdeka Games by football and basketball teams; preparations are now under way for the forthcoming Asian Games in Tokyo where, it is hoped, the Colony will be well and successfully represented in soccer, basketball, swim- ming and athletics. Funds are also being raised to send a team representative of a number of sports to the 1958 Empire Games in Cardiff.
Miniature football is without question the really popular game in the Colony. It is difficult to estimate the actual