What do you currently do? 

I currently work for Loughborough University/Loughborough Sport as the Recreational Sport and Physical Activity Graduate Officer! I’m originally from Hong Kong but came to the UK (Loughborough specifically!) for university and seem to have found a home here.

In my free time, I also do freelance media and video editing work, as well as my own creative projects.

Tell us about your sporting background.

I grew up fortunate enough to be able to try quite a few sports within and outside school, such as swimming, kung fu, and tennis. However, the sport which I stuck with was rugby. I started playing rugby when I was eight at a local club, then quickly time passed and I was soon part of the Hong Kong Podium Programme - essentially, the national youth elite academy. At this point, rugby took over my life, but as it did, I realised more and more that elite sport wasn’t for me. By the time I got to University, I soon only played rugby recreationally, and now, not at all.

Now, I participate in a variety of sports recreationally at the university, ranging from tennis to athletics. Most recently, I’ve joined the trampolining club and attended my first few competitions. My current main sport is Padel!

What is your area of interest when it comes to accessing sport?

I am particularly interested in Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) within sport across all areas, though my personal interest is within LGBTQ+ people within sport, particularly the hidden barriers affecting participation. Through volunteering, I’ve picked up some experience in disability inclusion within the sport.

Why did you want to become a member of the Youth Board?

Growing up, I didn’t necessarily always have the best experience within sport, with moments of complete disconnect – at times, it was why I had some of my biggest lows. I never want anyone to feel the way I did in sport, and I wanted to be able to make a change, so sport is welcoming for all. Fundamentally, I wanted to be able to make a difference within sport in the wider society.

If you could change one thing about sport or physical activity for young people, what would that be?

I want to change the perception of sport many people have, and I mean this in two ways.

For young people, it could only be as little as one bad experience for negative perceptions of sport to form and stick. I want to be able to show everyone that sport can be a welcoming place for all, and to reduce the bad experiences people have, or change the perceptions of those who have had bad experiences. Working in Higher Education sport has illuminated the impact PE can have on future sporting experiences.

In the other sense, I want to change perceptions where sport can be seen as a hinderance to other things, such as academia. Sport should be seen as something which can co-exist alongside work or academia, given the wealth of positives it brings, making it more so a benefit, rather than a hinderance.

Tell us a fun or interesting fact about yourself.    
Alongside playing rugby as my main sport, I was also a figure skater!