Living with quarantine: Anna Healy Fenton in Macau talks to Hong Kong athletes and team directors whose Games were nearly scuttled by SARS.
Learning to eat with knives and forks instead of chopsticks and practising basic English phrases topped the list of last-minute preparations for the Hong Kong Special Olympics team as their departure for Dublin neared.
By the time two Super Puma helicopters fly the 22 athletes from Macau to Hong Kong airport on Thursday night , the team will have spent 10 days in the SARS-free territory before arriving in Ireland, as stipulated by the Irish Government.
They have even managed to put a positive spin on their "quarantine" in the tiny former Portuguese colony of Macau, an hour's ferry ride from Hong Kong. "It's been an opportunity for the team to train together," said Mr David Ip, chairman of the Hong Kong Special Olympics team and leader of the trip to Ireland.
The 22 athletes - half the 44 originally due to attend - have been following a rigorous training schedule in between the constant health checks.
Their day begins with 8 a.m. temperature-taking, and medical examination at 8.30 a.m. Then there's breakfast, followed by practice from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at three different sports venues including Macau's Olympic-size swimming pool. Lunch is followed at 3.15 p.m. by another medical check and a session of English language practice.
After an early dinner, it's a lesson in how to wash clothes and manage their laundry, because, as Ms Fay Ho, executive director of the group said, they have yet to receive information from the organisers about their Irish accommodation. Out come the thermometers again and it's lights out at 10 p.m., but bedtime, said Ms Ho, has been shifted later each night to help them adjust to the seven-hour time difference.
They can only do so much preparation since they know little about Ireland. "We don't know what to expect, especially with the food," she said. "I don't know what Irish food is like. It may take a few days to get used to it."
"We've been practising with knives and forks," said gymnast Lau Mei-yu (16). "I have had a very good time in Macau, the training equipment is very good here."
The Hong Kong team will compete in athletics, badminton, table-tennis, bowling, gymnastics and swimming. Like many of the team, it is her first chance to travel. "I am excited about going on the plane," said Mei-yu.
They are hoping for a warm welcome in Dublin, to compensate for the disappointment of missing the host town programme. "Reluctantly we had no choice but to forgo the chance to join the host town programme in Clonmel," Mr Ip said.
"Clonmel citizens have shown enormous support to us. They are going to meet us at the airport and form cheering teams for us. We thank the Clonmel citizens from the bottom of our hearts."
A Dublin-trained Hong Kong doctor, Dr Steven Tam, has volunteered to take care of the team throughout. He contacted his school friend from Rockwell College, Dr Joseph Cummiskey, respiratory physician at Blackrock Clinic and International Olympic Committee Medical Commissioner, who has agreed to be honorary medical officer for the Hong Kong team in Ireland. "We will all be at Dublin Airport to greet the team and they needn't worry about the food - there are great Chinese restaurants in Dublin," Dr Cummiskey said.
Sixty kilometres from Macau in the Hong Kong suburb of Kowloon Tong, staff at the Mary Rose special school where Mr Ip is principal are working extra hard to keep the mood upbeat. This is where five of the 22 athletes who were originally down to go to Dublin go to school.
Mr Ip said many of the athletes did not understand why they could not compete despite being healthy. "In the end it is the athletes who suffer," said Ms Ho. "They have been training for the past four years for nothing. We have cut the squad by half to allay Irish fears and the athletes are crushed."
Mr Ip said the team had been halved because with the extra 10 days in Macau, a 13-day trip had expanded to 23 and costs had risen from €40,000 to €50,000.
Chan Hoi-chiu (15), known as Ah Chiu, is typical of the other athletes who missed the final 22. He was left off this time because he had been to Xian in China last September for a Special Olympics event. Preference for the Irish trip has been given to those who had never taken part in an international event before.
Ah Chiu is still practising his swimming two hours a day, six days a week, as he has done for the last four years in preparation for Ireland. To raise spirits, Mr Ip made sure all 44 athletes received a Certificate of Good Performance in Physical Education this week. Showing his, Ah Chiu said: "I am happy to receive this certificate. I will not stop swimming every day. I will not give up. I will keep on training and wait for the next chance."