15th Aug Evening:
Well everyone is safely esconced in Hong Kong and ready for the contest ahead. The trip over was somewhat unusual as there were no queues at either airport and getting bthrough was a breeze. There was a dleay for the team entering HongKong though as one of their chairs wasn't initially aloud to be cleared.
Although I was on the same plane as the team, They effectively had to be independent of me as I was a referee.
The hotel that the everyone is staying in is 5 stars, very new (4months) and very posh. Its only draw back is that its not close to where the competition is being played which is in the middle of the city in Kowloon. the 14th and 15th have been just preparations for the tournament, checking equipment, going over procedures, classification of players. Competition itself starts on the 16th with the singles.The organising committee in Hong Kong have done an excellent job. They have recruited a large number of volunteers and also obtained significant sponsorship from the HK Jockey Club Charities Trust.

For score boards, they use large plasma screens hooked up to a nearby computer, is that cool or what. The organising committee has contracted out the meals, the marketing material, marking of the courts, boy its all great but a bit different from what we are used to.
On the courts they have masked out all the lines used for other sports such as basketball and net ball, just so that they do not causing any confusion for the boccia players.Certainly having a significant sponsor makes a difference to resources that can be brought to bare.

Hireage of the internet at the hotel is $nz20 per hour so will update the website in another 3 days.

Harvey Brunt-Referee & GM