Source: My UM

The First UM Sports Day has ended. If you love sports but missed the UM Sports Day, don’t worry. Soon there will be another chance for you to showcase your athletic talent, because the First UM Swimming Gala will be held at the end of this month. The university hopes that athletic events such as the Sports Day and the Swimming Gala will stimulate students’ interest in sports and encourage them to foster a lifelong sporting habit. The availability of more sports facilities on the campus, while providing greater convenience to UM members, also brings new challenges to staff who are responsible for managing the facilities. In this article, we interview several UM students who are frequent users of the sports facilities on campus. They share with us their thoughts on the facilities and the benefits of playing sport.


Playing Sport Makes One Happy

Ivy Lao from the Information and Communication Technology Office won championships in the female staff’s 100-metre race and 1500-metre race on the UM Sports Day. She joined UM as a software engineer six years ago. In the same year she participated in a round campus run held on the old campus and fell in love with the sport. ‘I used to hate sweating. So even when I exercised, I would choose either swimming or going to the gym. But after that round-campus run, I found that long-distance running was great fun,’ she says.  

Lao exercised regularly when she was in college in the United States, a habit she has brought with her to Macao. ‘Intensive aerobic exercises lift your mood and help you look at things in a more positive way,’ she says. Sometimes she runs on the campus, while other times she runs on the street. ‘On the old campus, if you want to jog around the campus, you had to go through a steep slope, which was very tiring,’ she says. ‘On the new campus, it is flat everywhere and you don’ t have to worry about in haling car exhaust fumes. When it rains or when I get off work later than usual, I would exercise in the fitness room.’

Lao likes that there are now more sports facilities on the campus, which makes it more convenient for those who like to exercise, but she thinks when it comes to space usage there is still room for improvement. ‘For example, it would be nice to have a place in the fitness room where you could warm up before exercise or do yoga,’ she says.


Most Used Sports Venue—Fitness Room

According to statistics from the Office of Sports Affairs (OSA), the fitness room is the most used sports venue on campus, with approximately 200 people using it every day , mostly during the period between 4:00pm and 8:00pm. Kenneth Chan, a fourth-year student from the Faculty of Health Sciences and a member of the UM Dragon Boat Team, has been working in the fitness room for more than a year now . Sometimes he would use the paddling machine after work for strength training. Chan says students who are not familiar with the rules often come to the fitness room in impractical clothes and shoes such as jeans and slippers, sometimes even with drinks in hand. ‘When this happens, we need to remind the users about the rules,’ he says.

According to Chan, working in the front desk is fairly challenging. Before the fitness room implemented the quota system, there was usually a long queue at the entrance. Sometimes some students would grow impatient and curse, ‘What the hell is going on? I’ve been waiting for ages!’ Later, the OSA collected feedback from the users and implemented a quota system, which improved the situation.


Training 7 Days a Week

The badminton arena on campus, which consists of four badminton courts, is the second most frequently used sports venue on campus. Edwin Lei, a first-year student from the Faculty of Business Administration, is a badminton aficionado. He trains a minimum of two hours a day, six days a week, with the remaining day devoted to playing football. On the day of our interview, Lei was having a physical education class in the badminton arena, and we were impressed to witness the remarkably explosive force of his moves. ‘I love to work my opponents to their limit,’ he says. ‘That feels really great!’

Lei is the self-driven type. He thinks the best facilities in the world will do no good if people don’t use them to exercise. He laments that there is only one physical education class every w eek. ‘I think there should be at least two classes every week, because you need to practice regularly to make progress in sports,’ he says. As for the frequently used badminton arena and the five-a-side football pitch, he says, ‘Sweating while playing football is good. The artificial grass on the football pitch is more slippery than real grass, so it would be better if athletes are allowed to wear cleats. As for badminton, the cool air from the air conditioning in the badminton arena actually affects the speed of the shuttlecock.’


Improve Skills in Different Ways

Dr Water Wong is a senior lecturer of physical education in the Faculty of Education. When it comes to sports, he is a ‘master -of-all-trades’. He is good at basketball, football, volleyball, korfball, swimming, badminton, table tennis, and tennis. He has tried almost all the sports facilities on campus. ‘Today’s students indeed have a lot more ways to improve their athletic skills. They can use the sports venues whenever they want, which increases their interest in playing sport,’ he says.

UM implements a university-wide physical education, not for the purpose of nurturing elite athletes, but rather for the purpose of helping students cultivate a lifelong sporting habit. ‘The benefits of exercise are endless,’ says Dr Wong. ‘It is fun and it keeps the blues away . If you start a habit to exercise regularly when you are in college, you will reap the benefits for decades to come,’ he says. ‘If you don’ t want to have a 60-year -old body when you are only in your 20s, then you’d better exercise more.’


Challenges of Managing More Facilities

According to statistics provided by the OSA, the front desk service, maintenance of the engine room of the swimming pool, and lifeguard service, are all outsourced. The OSA colleagues who supervise different areas of sports management all have rich experience and expertise. However, the increased facilities on the new campus and the fact that every staff member and student is allowed to bring a family member or friend to use the sports facilities have made management of sports facilities more challenging.

In response to the suggestion that athletes be allowed to wear cleats in the five-a-side football pitch, the OSA welcomes the suggestion but explains that the current rule aims to help minimize damage to the artificial grass and reduce the chances of injuries. If you have any comments and suggestions about how to improve the management of the sports facilities, please feel free to contact the OSA.