Lacrosse set to become ‘major sport in Hong Kong’, thanks to Go Park Olympic-quality field
Former captain hails ‘huge milestone’ for Hong Kong lacrosse, as city teams get ready to pursue 2028 Los Angeles Olympic ‘dream’
Lacrosse can become a “major sport in Hong Kong”, said former captain Carrie Hui Ka-hei, after an Olympic-standard playing field was opened at the futuristic new Go Park Sai Sha complex in Ma On Shan.
The Go Park facility is Hong Kong’s first artificial turf lacrosse field and has been built for the six-a-side format, which is poised for an Olympic debut in 2028.
Hui, the city’s first lacrosse professional, who played in the 2013, 2017 and 2022 10-a-side World Lacrosse Women’s World Championships, said: “It is a huge milestone for the lacrosse community to have our first field in Hong Kong.
“It is a luxury for us to have printed lines and goals – in the past we’ve had lines marked with talcum powder. This will help promote lacrosse in the city.”
Currently head coach of the local association’s women’s high-performance programme, Hui, who played for US team Baltimore Brave, said the “faster, more compact and more skilful” sixes format was already usurping the traditional longer-form lacrosse, only four years after its 2021 launch.
Between eight and 12 teams are expected to qualify for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. An extra qualification spot is set to be available, with the Haudenosaunee Nationals, ranked at world No 5 and No 7 in men’s and women’s sixes, respectively, unlikely to be granted entry, despite former US president Joe Biden petitioning the International Olympic Committee on their behalf.