東亞運過後，霍震霆領導的港協暨香港奧委會（下簡稱港協）已準備討論是否爭辦2019年亞運會；而足球金牌到手後，要求政府增撥資源發展足球的聲音更是不絕於耳。然而，體育界所面對的問題似乎不單是政府的支持是否足夠，體育界自身的管治是否完善更值得關心體育的人士關注。繼有柔道運動員在東亞運期間發起「香港體育苦主大聯盟」上街抗爭後，今次到女子花劍項目的運動員遇到難題。
採訪：eg9515, wing
劍擊是香港的精英體育項目之一，但其實只有男女子佩劍、男子花劍與女子重劍四項被算作精英體育項目之內。而女子花劍與男子佩劍的運動員都不能在體院受訓。因此，女子花劍運動員一直只能自費訓練和自費參加比賽。即使如此，女子花劍運動員近年在國際賽也能創出佳績，在零八、零九年的亞洲賽都能奪得團體賽銅牌，成績媲美四項精英項目。
去年底，香港劍擊總會（下簡稱劍總）突然宣布將成立「香港女子花劍隊培訓中心計劃」（下簡稱培訓中心）。根據計劃的細節，女子花劍本地排名前八的選手在今後會到一所私人劍擊學校──「香港劍擊學校」──受訓，費用全免。除此之外，過去一直自掏腰包變相「蝕錢」參賽的選手，更可以獲得劍總支持申請由體育學院撥款的「精英資助計劃」。計劃出台之後，即引起了一些女子花劍選手和年青選手家長的質疑。部分人更曾發聯署信予劍總要求交待。為甚麼這個看似對運動員有利的計劃卻會引起她們的反彈？
總會單方面更改準則 私人劍校獨霸出賽權
首先，培訓中心成立後，即意味著日後遴選國際賽參賽選手的方法會改變。以往參加女子花劍國際賽的資格十分簡單，就是依據報名者的本地排名作唯一的選拔準則。在這個培訓中心成立後，劍總已表明，日後遴選國際賽參賽資格時，也會考慮選手在培訓中心的訓練態度和出席次數。換言之，所有有意代表香港參加國際賽的女子花劍選手都必須要到香港劍擊學校訓練。
由於整個構思根本沒有在醞釀期間諮詢運動員的意見，所以運動員擔心訓練的時間表不能配合她們。女子花劍選手都是業餘運動員，故訓練時間表是否與她們上班、上學的時間有衝突，必然會影響她們的出席率。果然，當運動員出席有關計劃的簡介會時，便被告知培訓中心的訓練時間表，可見有關方面根本沒有遷就運動員的意思。但時間表的編排卻在新的遴選機制下對國際賽參賽權有決定性影響。
私校自行向劍總提議獨攬培訓中心 竟獲通過
根據劍總的說法，設立該培訓中心是因為需要為今年年底的廣州亞運做準備。而為了應付到時港協審核代表資格時的機制，故需要設立該培訓中心並評核運動員的訓練態度與訓練次數。然而，劍總從未出示過港協的有關文件，顯示設立培訓中心是參加亞運的必備條件。我們亦曾向港協就有關問題查詢，但到本文上載前，仍未得到回覆。
值得注意的是，在劍總給予運動員的通知中，香港女子花劍隊培訓中心計劃是「由香港劍擊學校所建議」的。換言之，培訓中心的建議本身不是由劍總提出的。據現時女子花劍本地排名第二、一向不在香港劍擊學校受訓的杜佩賢透露，劍總執委會從來沒有討論過有關事宜，只靠電郵通傳便通過了這個從沒有諮詢過運動員的計劃。
利益衝突 選拔不公
明報報導
而由於香港劍擊學校的校長是在劍擊界頗負盛名的劍擊總會副會長黃贊先生，劍總的決定更予人輸送利益之嫌。雖然劍總強調培訓中心的服務由香港劍擊學校免費提供，但計劃將其它劍擊會所培訓出來的頂尖女子花劍選手都變相「收編」到私人營運的香港劍擊學校，運動員質疑該計劃將成為劍擊學校宣傳的伎倆。況且，如果運動員得到香港體育學院「精英資助計劃」的撥款，還需要最多上繳兩成的撥款予香港劍擊學校作經費之用。
到目前為止，非在香港劍擊學校訓練的女子花劍選手都拒絕參加該培訓計劃。結果劍總在上月公佈的亞青賽名單當中，果然將排名前列，但不願參加培訓計劃（即出席率不可能達到要求）的選手「踢出局」。兩位未有本地排名，又是跟隨香港劍擊學校訓練的劍手（據說該兩名運動員在學校的劍擊教練也是來自香港劍擊學校的人員）卻被選中參加三月初在菲律賓舉行的亞青賽。有趣的是，劍總曾白紙黑字說明培訓中心計劃的對象為在成年組、青年組和少年組排名前八位的選手。換言之，沒有排名的兩位女子年青花劍選手根本沒有資格參與培訓中心的訓練，卻為何能奪去排名前列者的參賽權？
培訓中心效果成疑
運動員向主流媒體申訴後，得到了劍總的回應。劍總在回信時堅持培訓中心的計劃方向正確，並否認黑箱作業和利益輸送的指控。劍總唯一的讓步是打算公開邀請各單位申請接辦女子花劍的培訓計劃與男子重劍的培訓計劃，似乎劍總對利益輸送的質疑還是有一定的敏感度的。然而，公開邀請後的評選機制如何運作，是否會有運動員代表參與決策卻是劍總未有提及的。
儘管劍總作出了少許讓步，但不認同培訓中心計劃的女子花劍選手未有打算妥協。對她們來說，成立培訓中心並不必然能提升選手的成績。首先，由於香港劍擊學校可說是培訓中心的「承辦商」，培訓中心的教練都是來自香港劍擊學校。但有運動員便曾指出香港劍擊學校的教練的質素根本比不上運動員原來的教練。此外，長期集中訓練是否最佳的訓練方法頗成疑問。歐洲的劍擊強國都是在大賽前才會組織國家隊集訓的。更何況劍總雖以「體院模式」來形用培訓中心計劃，但私人劍擊學校根本不可能有體院所具備的設施和服務供運動員使用。所以除了選手集中訓練可算是與體院的訓練方式類似外，培訓中心的配套與所謂的「體院模式」相距甚遠。既然無法證實港協必然會將不參加培訓中心的運動員拒於亞運大門之外，硬要這個培訓中心上馬是否恰當？
管治欠佳或致人才流失
這次事件亦再一次反映了體育總會的管治質素未如理想。對女子花劍運動發展具深遠影響的一項計劃，怎可能未經執委會的討論和諮詢運動員和教練的意見便倉卒實施？試想想，如果一位基層教練知道自己訓練出來的女子花劍選手，若打出好成績後將要到另一所私人劍擊會受訓，那麼這位教練會否維持對女子花劍的熱誠？其中一位因為不願參加培訓中心而喪失參加亞青賽權利的選手楊皓斯已因此事而打算改練精英項目之一的佩劍，足見這措施可能會導致女子花劍的人才流失。
既然如此，劍總是否應該暫緩有關措施，聆聽運動員的聲音再作決策？長遠來說，要讓運動員和教練員的聲音不被忽視，大概劍總以至各體育總會的決策機關都要有代表能反映運動員和教練員的聲音才能提升各總會的管治質素。
回應
明報今日副稿：離開劍校獎學金遭凍結
在香港劍擊總會執委審批下，香港劍擊學校包攬今年亞洲青少年劍擊錦標賽女子花劍所有參賽名額，不止代表香港出賽，就連向香港體育學院推薦傑出運動員申請獎學金，同樣有「差別待遇」。
曾在香港劍擊學校（「劍校」）受訓的廖恩尉，09/10 年度成功向體院申請運動員獎學金，但去年12 月離開該校後，每月向體院領取的生活津貼立即被凍結發放；劍總其後致函指出，因她上報新跟隨的教練只有初級證書，而她是高級運動員，故立即被劍總中止獎學金。
廖恩尉表示，她在「劍校」時的教練，是來自內地的，據她所知，連一張本港教練證書都沒有， 「如果看證書，在劍校受訓時，都應該不能成功申請吧？」她又說，現時他的教練雖然只有初級證書，但帶過不少隊伍到海外比賽，亦有不少學生得獎。
成績較佳申請反失敗
她又指今年也有申請2010/11年度獎學金，但申請已被劍總拒絕， 「我成功申請的前一年，只拿了兩銅，去年則有一銀一銅，成績還要好了，反而不成功」。
另一有申請09/10 年度體院獎學金的馬凱玲，於同年度與同隊一名於「劍校」受訓的隊友， 一同外出比賽， 成績一樣，但她申請獎學金不成功，隊友則成功了， 「沒解釋原因，只知自己申請失敗了」。
明報今日副稿二：母嘆：怎教導何為「公平」？
亞洲青少年劍擊錦標賽每組別有4 個參賽名額，報名時在本港17 歲或以下組別排第4 的張楚瑩，參賽資格原可說是囊中物，但希望隨着月初公布名單而落空。其母張太表示，以往女兒一向獲劍總推薦代表香港出賽，女兒近期狀態大勇，今年1 月劍總的最新排名中，楚瑩在19 歲或以下組別更排名全港第一： 「一生人有幾多次可打上首8 名，可以代表香港參賽呢？」
排名第一卻落選
張太表示， 現年16 歲的楚瑩，小五開始參加劍擊，至今已有6 年，現時每周花4 至5 日練習，放學後有時練至10 時才回家，往年排名一直保持在4名之內，今年在19 歲或以下組別更打出第一，令媽媽既開心又安慰， 「她真的很努力，而且成績有目共睹」。女兒每星期都會跑步練氣，為表支持，作為媽媽都會陪伴在側，「運動可以鍛煉意志、毅力，所以我好支持她」。她說，學劍私人班每小時要300 元，團體班每小時則約100 多元，一個月花在劍擊開支上，差不多要數千元。現時劍總為女子花劍隊開設免費培訓中心，她說，劍總沒諮詢過家長意見就在「劍校」開班，這並非她們所願，所以就算免費，都不會參加。
今次參加亞青賽的希望落空，張太亦十分感慨： 「女兒年紀尚小， 自己努力打出成績，最終原來是無用，今次只想劍總向我們交代排名、成績是否重要，教我如何教導女兒什麼是公平、公正。」
香港的腐敗已滲進社會各層面
想不到連體育界也有這些不公義的事情，看來香港已病入膏肓，癌細胞已擴散至身體各部份。
雖然我幫不上忙，但在此向各體育苦主獻上我點點的關懷。
此外，我從最近溫哥華反冬奧事件中亦得到了一些啟示 : 我們是否真的需要大型的運動會(例如香港是否要申辦亞運)?運動是否為了比賽?比賽是否一定要透過大型的國際運動會? 在這班反冬奧人士的網站中www.no2010.com你會得到答案(我只粗劣地翻譯了標題)。
Why We Resist
the 2010 Winter Olympics
The Olympics are not about the human spirit & have little to do with athletic excellence; they are a multi-billion dollar industry backed by powerful elites, real estate, construction, hotel, tourism and television corporations, working hand in hand with their partners in crime: government officials & members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
10 Reasons to Resist 2010
1. Colonialism & Fascism 殖民主義和法西斯主義
The modern Olympics have a long history of racism, from its early founding members (i.e., Pierre de Coubertin, a French Baron who advocated sports as a means of strengthening colonialism) to recent IOC presidents. The 1936 Berlin Olympics empowered Hitler’s Nazi regime. Both the 1988 Seoul and 2008 Beijing Summer Games helped legitimize authoritarian regimes in Asia. The 1968 Mexico City Olympics (where over 300 student protesters were massacred by soldiers, days before the Olympics began) also helped legitimize state terror. IOC President Avery Brundage, an infamous US racist and Nazi sympathizer, didn’t even acknowledge the massacre. But when two Black US athletes raised their fists in a Black power salute on the medal podium, he had them immediately stripped of their medals and ejected from the Games! Another well-known fascist IOC president was Juan Antonio Samaranch (IOC president from 1980-2001), a former government official in Franco’s fascist regime in Spain.
2. No Olympics on Stolen Land 不應在搶來的土地上舉行奧運
BC remains largely unceded and non-surrendered Indigenous territories. According to Canadian law, BC has neither the legal nor moral right to exist, let alone claim land and govern over Native peoples. Despite this, and a fraudulent treaty process now underway, the government continues to sell, lease and ‘develop’ Native land for the benefit of corporations, including mining, logging, oil & gas, and ski resorts. Meanwhile, Indigenous peoples suffer the highest rates of poverty, unemployment, imprisonment, police violence, disease, suicides, etc.
3. Ecological Destruction 破壞生態環境
Despite claims to be the “greenest Olympics” ever, and PR statements about ‘sustainability’, the 2010 Olympics will be among the most environmentally destructive in history, with tens of thousands of trees cut down & mountainsides blasted for Olympic venues in the Callaghan Valley (near Whistler) & the Sea-to-Sky Highway expansion. In the summer of 2007, a record number of black bears were hit on the Sea-to-Sky Highway, with at least 11 dying (attributed to loss of habitat). Massive amounts of concrete used in construction have also caused millions of Salmon to die in the Fraser River, where tons of gravel are being mined to make concrete.
4. Homelessness 喪失家園
Since winning the 2010 Winter Games in 2003, Vancouver has lost over 850 units of low-income housing; during the same period, homelessness has increased from 1,000 to over 2,500. It is estimated by 2010, the number of homeless may be as high as 6,000. Since the 1980s, Olympic Games have caused the displacement of over 2 million people (Fair Play for Housing Rights report, 2007). In Seoul 1988, some 750,000 poor were displaced, in Atlanta 1996, over 30,000, and for Beijing in 2008, an estimated 1.5 million have been displaced. Yet still today Olympic officials talk about ‘sustainability’ and ‘Olympic legacies’!
5. Criminalization of the Poor 將窮人看成罪犯
To ‘clean out’ the poor and undesirables, Olympic host cities routinely begin a campaign to criminalize the poor. In Vancouver, the city has launched Project Civil City and new by-laws to criminalize begging for money, sleeping outdoors, etc. It has also included hundreds of thousands of dollars for increased private security (i.e., the Downtown Ambassadors). New garbage canisters on streets make it more difficult for the poor to gather recyclables, and new benches make it impossible to lay down. These measures fit with government plans to remove poor downtown residents to mental institutions, “detox centers” on former military bases, and the ‘fly-back’ scheme by police to return persons wanted on warrants in other provinces. This is nothing less than a process of social cleansing!
6. Impact on Women 對婦女的影響
Events such as the Olympics draw hundreds of thousands of spectators and cause large increases in prostitution and trafficking of women. In Vancouver, over 68 women are missing and/or murdered. Many were Native, and many were reportedly involved in the sex trade. In 2007, the trial of William Pickton occurred for six of these murders, and he is to be tried for an additional 20 more. In northern BC, over 30 young women, mostly Native, are missing and/or murdered along Highway 16. The 2010 Olympics and its invasion of tourists and corporations will only increase this violence against women.
7. 2010 Police State 警權氾濫
Some 12,500 police, military and security personnel are to be deployed for 2010, including Emergency Response Teams, riot cops, helicopters, armoured vehicles, etc. The RCMP plan on erecting 40 km of crowd-control fencing along with CCTV video surveillance cameras. Special security zones will be established to control entry near Olympic venues. For 3 weeks, Vancouver will be an occupied Police State! And once the Olympics are over, there is no guarantee many of these security measures will not remain (i.e., CCTV).
Repression also involves attacks on anti-Olympic groups & individuals, including arrests of protesters, raids of offices, surveillance, media smear campaigns, cuts to funding programs, etc., all in an effort to undermine anti-2010 resistance. This repression has already been used against anti-poverty & housing groups, environmentalists and Natives, in Vancouver.
8. Public Debt 公共債項
VANOC and government officials claim the 2010 Games will cost some $2 billion. However, this amount doesn’t include the Sea-to-Sky Highway expansion, the Canada Line Skytrain to the airport, the Vancouver Convention Center, or the lower mainland Gateway Project. Including these costs, since they were necessary to win the bid and had to be completed by 2010, makes the true cost of the Games some $6 billion, which must be paid for through public debt, money that could’ve been spent on social services, housing, drug treatment, healthcare, etc.
9. Olympic Corruption 貪污舞弊
The modern Olympics are well known for their corruption, including both top IOC officials involved in bribery scandals (i.e. Salt Lake City 2002) or athletes found to be using performance-enhancing drugs (such as steroids). Yet the IOC still claims the youth need an inspiration and a “model” of good sportsmanship! Despite published reports of bribery scandals involving IOC members and host cities (i.e., The New Lords of the Rings, by Andrew Jennings), the Olympics continue to be seen as an honorable & noble enterprise, thanks to the corporate media.
10. Corporate Invasion 大企業侵入
Government’s and business use the Olympics as a means to attract corporate investment. In BC, the Liberal government has ‘streamlined’ application processes, cut taxes, and offered other incentives to increase certain industries such as mining, oil & gas drilling, and ski resorts. This includes large increases in transport systems, including new ports, bridges, expanded highways & rail-lines. This is all part of their Investment to 2010 Strategy. The results have been dramatic, record-breaking increases in these industries, resulting in greater environmental destruction and more corporate power & influence over our daily lives.
Many of the main corporate sponsors of the Olympics are themselves responsible for massive ecological destruction and human rights violations, including McDonalds, Coca-Cola, Petro-Canada, TransCanada, Dow, Teck Cominco, etc., while others are major arms manufacturers (General Electric & General Motors).
RESIST 2010
“What causes opponents to come of their own accord is the prospect of gain. What discourages opponents from coming is the prospect of harm.”
Sun Tzu, The Art of War