Online voting for Cathay 2023 Hong Kong Sports Stars Awards (HKSSA) has begun. Members of the public are welcome to cast votes for their favourite athletes. We are pleased to announce that some of our sailors are nominated under the following categories:
No. 27 Nicholas Halliday is nominated for “Hong Kong Sports Stars Awards for Men”Nicholas Halliday has been a full-time athlete since the age of 18. He won the Asian Sailing Championships 2023 and Asian Continental Paris 2024 Olympic Qualifier in December last year and qualified for the Paris Olympics! He is the first Hong Kong sailor to qualify for the Olympics by finishing 1st in the Olympic qualifications.
In addition, Nick’s performance has gradually matured. He has represented Hong Kong in the Asian Games twice. He finished 7th at the 2018 Asian Games, and he finished 4th at the Hangzhou Asian Games last year (unfortunately the medal race on the last day was canceled due to lack of wind), which shows Nick’s continuous progress.
Many national team sailors have praised Nick as a very hard-working athlete who trains six days a week. He spends time hiking and biking on the rest day. Many Hong Kong youth team sailors have also stated that they regard Nick as a role model.
No. 61 Stephanie Norton is nominated for “Hong Kong Sports Stars Awards for Women”Stephanie Norton has been a full-time athlete since 2019. She has made history for the Hong Kong sailing team time and again. She qualified for the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 and was the first sailor in Hong Kong’s history to successfully qualify for the Olympics through the Olympic Qualifier. She won the first silver medal for the Hong Kong sailing team in the history of the Asian Games in the Hangzhou Asian Games last year.
Stephanie performed well last year. She first won 3rd place in the Kiel Week in Germany in June, and won the silver medal in the Asian Games at the end of September. She received the “2023 Female Sailor of the Year” award at our inaugural annual awards presentation last year. Likewise, Stephanie is also a role model for our youth national team sailors and young sailors in Hong Kong.
Stephanie has used her efforts to bring Hong Kong sailing to the international community, allowing the world to witness the strength of Hong Kong sailors.
No. 108 29er Team – Emily Polosn & Tiffany Mak is nominated for “Hong Kong Sports Stars Awards for Sports Combination”Emily Polson and Tiffany Mak joined the Hong Kong National Youth Team in 2022. They dominated in different local and overseas 29er regattas last year, including the 2023 29er Asian Championship, Female U17 class at the 2023 29er World Championship, and the 29er female and 29er U16T class at the Australian 9er National Championships, and many more.
(It is worth mentioning that they successfully defended the 29er Asian Sailing Championship during Hong Kong Race Week earlier this year and were titled champion in the 29er Asian Sailing Championship for two consecutive years.)
Emily and Tiffany received the “Outstanding Junior Athlete Award” twice in the Shine Tak Foundation Outstanding Junior Athlete Award from the Hong Kong Sports Institute last year. It was the first time our national team sailors have received this honor twice. They also won the “2023 Youth Female Sailor of the Year” at our inaugural annual awards presentation last year.
The two young athletes are about to switch to 49er FX. We look forward to their continued outstanding performance in the new boat.
Please vote for sailors. Those who successfully vote will have a chance to enter a lucky draw and win fabulous prizes. Please vote and show your support for the athletes’ tenacity and persistence in their training.
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