On 5 November 2023, the 2023 Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao Greater Bay Area Regatta (Guangzhou Stop) came to an end at the Guangzhou Nansha Yacht Club, where 17 teams competed for glory in a 2-day fierce competition. In the end, Penny Liang, a G10 student from Guangzhou JIU Hong Kong and Macao Children's School (ASJ), stood out as the champion of the J70 Junior Unified category in his team - Dream Team.
The competition is guided by China Sailing and Windsurfing Association and Guangdong Provincial Sports Federation, organised by Guangdong Provincial Sailing Association, Sailing Federation of Hong Kong, China, and Macau Windsurfing Federation, co-organised by Culture, Radio, Television, Tourism and Sports Bureau of Nansha District of Guangzhou City, and undertaken by Nansha District Sailing Association of Guangzhou City. The competition is committed to promoting the vigorous development of sailing in the Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao Greater Bay Area, focusing on the cultivation of young sailors, allowing sailing enthusiasts to respect the sea, learn skills and develop teamwork in the competition.
In this race, there were many teams led by veteran sailors. In the face of strong opponents, Penny's team was not timid and prepared for the race seriously with the attitude of learning from other teams.
Before the start of the race, Penny and her team members would wash the boat, hold a skipper's meeting, and explain the rules of the wind direction and course, etc. In Penny's opinion, it is important to pay attention to every detail of the race. In Penny's opinion, focusing on each and every detail will give us a higher chance to get a better result. Therefore, when checking the boat's equipment before the race, according to the experience of previous training and racing, Penny used electrician's tape to wrap the gap protruding from the side jib locks, and wrapped the lifting position, so as to avoid the rope of the hoisting sails from snagging on the side jib locks and the mainsail falling down, and to minimise the mistakes that might occur during the race.
Despite the careful and methodical pre-race preparations, Penny and her teammates encountered a considerable difficulty during the race. The rules of sailing are very complex and important, and the interpretation of the rules can easily affect the outcome of the race. In this event, Penny's team was troubled by the lack of understanding of the rules. In the end, they managed to solve the problem after the coach explained the rules to them. This was a wake-up call for Leung to realise that she did not know the rules well enough, and she started to learn more about the rules and regulations of sailing.
Penny collected the second place in the 2022 Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Regatta (Guangzhou leg) held earlier in the year, and in this year's event, she won the championship. Penny believes that this achievement is not possible without the hard training of their fleet. She will not be proud of this achievement, but will continue to work hard with her teammates to bring their skills to a higher level for more events and challenges in the future.
And in ASJ's daily learning and communication, Penny has always insisted on challenging herself. According to Penny's parents' feedback, in addition to the improvement of her grades, her child has become more confident and has a great deal of initiative and motivation in her studies. Because of her love for the spoken English classroom and the speaking teacher, Penny has been working hard to learn spoken English, and finally became the representative of the spoken English class. In May 2023, on behalf of the school, Penny visited the Diocesan Girls' School of Hong Kong and participated in the 2nd "Bauhinia Festival" and "Language and Culture Festival" of the ASJ, which was highly praised by the judges of both schools.
At ASJ, we embrace the concept of whole-person education by offering a multicultural curriculum and creating a fun and enjoyable learning environment that allows children to explore their interests and skills in their daily learning, and opens up a broader platform for their all-round development.
