This is a brief summary about Masters Swimming in Hong Kong and the local competitions for the season 2011/12 which will come to a close in March 2012. Hong Kong has about 30 swimming clubs with masters swimmers and like most countries, not all members participate in the Masters swimming competitions. For those that do compete, you need to be registered with the HK Amateur Swimming Association (HKASA). For registration, you need to complete an application, confirm your age, pay HK$100 and get your registration number/card for the season (Apr - Mar). If you are already registered in your own country, provide details to HKASA at least 6 weeks before the meet. For each meet, you will also need to submit an entry form (and fee of HK$12/event) at least 3 weeks before the meet takes place.

This season there will be 6 Masters Meets held at TWO indoor swimming pools (airconditioned and lotsa room for swimmers; free entry to stands for spectators). They are all held either throughout the day on a Sunday or in the afternoon afternoon starting from 1:30pm with a warmup beforehand. Selecting a date in the Article Index on the right will display the event program for the selected meet. Although the meets are typically local affairs, there is a small core of non-local swimmers.

In addition to these indoor events, there are a few open water swims held throughout the year at various beaches around Hong Kong which are coordinated by various organisations.

The HKASA have a convoluted (details available but tricky to find) website (see Others section on this website for their URL) where you can check what they are up to and get their email info should you be passing through and would like to attend a Masters meet or two. They are sticklers on protocol and you should plan well in advance as they don't always answer overseas email enquiries. Consider telephoning them first, say you are calling from whichever country, that you are a registered Masters swimmer in your country and wish to participate in a Masters meet in HK. Ask to speak to the Masters Co-ordinator and expect to repeat your message a few times (if you don't know the local language) ... Good Luck!