Crossing Oceans: A Hong Kong Boy’s Journey to Grow Lacrosse in Taiwan ｜Interview with Tim Kwan, Development Manager of the Chinese Taipei Lacrosse Association

Lacrosse is known as stick tennis in Hong Kong. Perhaps you are unfamiliar with this sport, but you can probably infer its appearance from its name. Players hold a pole with a mesh bag at the top as a tool for holding the ball, and compete with each other for the ball with the actions of "carry, pass, catch, shovel, and shoot", to attack the goal, and in the process, legal body collisions are allowed for defense. It is an exciting sport that originated from the Native Americans and emphasizes speed, explosive power, and physical resistance, as well as teamwork.

2020 Inter-school Basketball Tournament (Photo courtesy of Chinese Taipei Lacrosse Association)

Tim Kwan, a big boy from Hong Kong, has played an important role in the promotion of Lacrosse in Taiwan from scratch. He came to Taiwan in 2015 and has been working in the Bag Stickball Association as a promotional planner, international exchange, and technical instructor since then, and is now the manager of the development department of the Chinese Taipei Lacrosse Association, which is a great way for him to come to an exotic country to promote a popular sport at a young age. Curious about the story between Tim and Lacrosse?

(Source: Courtesy of Tim)

When he was studying at the University of Hong Kong, he was introduced to one of the school's specialties, bag stickball. He was so captivated by the sport's sense of speed, explosiveness, and teamwork that she represented Hong Kong at the 2014 World Championships organized by the World Lacrosse Association. The game is not only a cherished memory for a player, but also an infectious atmosphere.

Tim said that Lacrosse is still a minority sport in all countries, but because of the small population engaged in the sport, it is like an exotic family; on the field are opponents, but off the field are friends who communicate with each other, and we all hope that the other member countries can be better, so that Lacrosse can be cultivated and developed in various places, and be promoted to the international arena.

Photo of Tim as a contestant (Source: courtesy of Tim

The friendly environment has inspired Tim to give back and share. By chance, Tim was invited by Lin Yazhen, the president of the Lacrosse Association, to bring her practical experience to Taiwan, where she began coaching and, in recent years, as the organization has grown, she has taken on more responsibility for planning and promoting the program.

Established in 2014, the Association started from scratch, and in 2017, it obtained the official membership of the World Bag Batonball Association, becoming the 52nd member, allowing the sport of Bag Batonball to gradually enter Taiwan's campuses. Currently, there are more than 30 schools with Bag Batonball Clubs in Taipei, Taichung, and Taitung, ranging from elementary schools to universities, and regular inter-school tournaments and Blue Magpie Cups are held.

2020 Inter-school Basketball Tournament (Photo courtesy of Chinese Taipei Lacrosse Association)

Tim said, "In the past four to five years, we have been focusing on cultivation and promotion. In the past two years, the coaches and the administrative team have gradually been put in place, which has allowed us to do more popular promotions.When it comes to future planning, it is even more obvious that Tim and the association's long-term intention, not only the cultivation of players, he said that the association is expected to promote the certification system, that is, about the cultivation of coaches and referees, and in the future, hope to expand the roots of the counties and cities have their associations, and be able to organize their competitions.

2020 Inter-school Lacrosse Tournament (Photo courtesy of Chinese Taipei Lacrosse Association)

Talking about the promotion plan, Tim contact with the lacrosse sport for yet ten years, but the gradual growth of his gradual has more ideas. he laughed that when he came to Taiwan the idea was very simple: share this sport.

"I also hope that student players can set goals and find their own roles in the sport." Echoing Tim's point, although lacrosse is a minority sport, in a friendly and supportive environment, people will think of ways to give back and give the sport a chance to grow.

2020 Inter-school Lacrosse Tournament (Photo courtesy of Chinese Taipei Lacrosse Association)

Looking back at the changes brought about by the sport, Tim believes that after changing her role to a promoter, he has been able to think longer term, believing that the sport can bring more opportunities for the development of the children, and therefore has brought in the concepts of education and personality development, which is more and more in line with the concepts of the Board of Directors. Although he has changed her role from technical teaching to promotion in recent years, Tim, who has a background as an athlete, has not forgotten her original intention, saying, "Though I have gradually trained local coaches, I still hope to have the opportunity to come into contact with the training of athletes."

Uni-magazine interviewed a number of sports professionals who said that they were able to develop their personality traits through different sports, so they were curious about whether Zi-Wa Kwan had gained any inspiration from the sport of baguette. According to Kwan, it's not necessarily stress resistance that develops in children, but rather "the motivation to keep going, whether in good times or bad.

Summer Camp (Photo courtesy of Chinese Taipei Lacrosse Association)

Promoting minority sports is a process from scratch, which not only requires manpower, resources, and even the support of schools and organizations, but the initial origin is the promoter's passionate effort, regardless of hard work. After working in Taiwan for several years, is there a moment of fulfillment? Tim says that he is happy to see that the high school players who trained in the past have now become the core promoters of the association! With more people joining, the association will be able to do more things with a finer division of labor.

Staff of the Chinese Taipei Lacrosse Association

In the past two years, international lacrosse tournaments have been suspended due to the epidemic, but Tim said that players from all countries and cities in the association have kept practicing under the quarantine regulations and have not slacked off.

After the end of the Olympic Games, there was good news from the international community. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) officially voted to recognize the World Lacrosse Federation (WL), which means that lacrosse is expected to become an Olympic sport in the future, said Tim, "Lacrosse was also an Olympic sport in 1904 and 1908, and we know that the IOC has been working hard to get back to the Olympics. Taiwan has been preparing for the return of the sport to the Olympic Games and has been adapting its training program to the Olympic format for a couple of years.

2020 Inter-school Lacrosse Tournament (Photo courtesy of Chinese Taipei Lacrosse Association)

It takes more than just a player's efforts to make it to the international arena; there are also many people behind the scenes, such as Hong Kong's Tim Kwan, who has quietly dedicated her efforts to help sprout more talent in what was once a barren field. We hope that one day, bag stick players will be able to write their honorable moments in international competitions!

For more information about Taiwan Lacrosse, please click the following link:

Chinese Taipei Lacrosse Association