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While it is always an unforgettable weekend for players and fans, the true impact of the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens is felt year-round by many others thanks to the Hong Kong Rugby Union Community Foundation’s partnership with the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, the first-ever official charity of the Hong Kong Sevens.

 

This year, the Laureus team at the Sevens will be led by Laureus World Sports Academy Chairman and ex-New Zealand All Black captain Sean Fitzpatrick, accompanied by England Rugby’s leading try-scorer Nolli Waterman and Olympic legends, gymnast LI Xiaopeng and athlete Michael Johnson, who between them won an incredible nine Olympic gold medals.

 

As ever, the team will be out and about in Rugby Week in Hong Kong engaging with a wide variety of programmes identified and jointly supported by Laureus and the Hong Kong Rugby Union.

 

That engagement incudes hosting a very special group of young girls from Laos and Vietnam who are participants in the Pass it Back project this week. ChildFund Pass It Back are one of the beneficiaries of last year’s Hong Kong Sevens fundraising campaign, along with local charities Operation Breakthrough, InspiringHK and Deaf Rugby.

 

The Laureus team will join in a rugby clinic for the ChildFund Pass it Back participants on Wednesday, 3 April at Sevens Central, the Hong Kong Rugby Union fan activation zone at the harbourfront event space in Central.

 

The engagement is one of several planned in what is a day-long celebration of the HKRU’s community outreach with numerous clinics held for members of Hong Kong’s schools, special needs communities, community groups and the HKRU’s wheelchair and deaf rugby programmes.

 

The outreach is part of the Laureus supported Hong Kong Spirit of Rugby campaign, a year-long programme that uses rugby as a means of teaching the Hong Kong Education Bureau’s 7 key values across 80 primary schools in Hong Kong. Several of the schools will be participating in clinics and other rugby themed activities this week.

 

The underlying goal is to infuse the entertainment with a cause and this year all parties have come together to create an innovative public facing campaign inside the Stadium over the Sevens weekend in support of both Laureus and the HKRU’s Green Sevens Campaign.

 

The Green Sevens, now in its sixth year has helped reduce waste generated from the Sevens by 70% since 2014, while food recovery efforts provided meals for over 1,000 people in the community last year.  In 2019, the target of the campaign, with the slogan “Tackle Waste To win”, is reducing the amount of single use plastic used inside the stadium, one of the biggest waste drivers at major events.

 

The HKRU is introducing a new paid-deposit reusable pint made from fully recycled plastic, with over 250,000 purchased for the event. With a lifespan of five years, it is hoped that the initiative will help kick single-use plastic into touch at future major events. Punters opting into the campaign will be asked to make a $10 deposit upon the purchase of a cup. That amount will be refunded when they are finished using the cups for the day and can be redeemed at the concession counters or by use of an Octopus card.

The fans can also support Laureus and the Hong Kong Rugby Union Community Foundation. Instead of returning your reusable pint at the end of the day, simply drop it in the ‘cup for charity’ barrels located around the concourses and your $10 deposit will go to help strengthen the Laureus and HKRU Community Foundation’s efforts to support organizations worldwide that use sport for good in their local communities.

 

The campaign’s outreach to youth in our community continues inside the Stadium with the HKRU once again hosting over 5,000 youth from local schools and community organizations on the opening day of the Hong Kong Sevens, Friday, 5 April.

 

The campaign has also attracted the full support of Hong Kong Sevens sponsor, Fullshare the official education partner of the Cathay pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens.

 

 “As the official education partner of the Sevens, Fullshare continues to demonstrate its commitment to promoting the holistic development of children through sport. Through these meaningful initiatives, we hope the children can not only build up their skills and knowledge of rugby, but also learn the importance of teamwork, trust, respect for others and discipline, as well as improve their self-esteem and confidence,” said Mr Jonathan Broughton, Co-Head of Investments and Financing, Fullshare Holdings Limited.

 

Fullshare will donate 50,000HKD to the campaign in 2019 and are hosting students from the Government primary school, St Patrick’s, one of the participating schools in the yearlong Hong Kong Rugby Spirit campaign, in their box at the Sevens on Friday, 5 April, and for a community rugby clinic with the Laureus ambassadors, on Wednesday of the event week.