Taking place on 1 December 2013 in Tsim Sha Tsui East, Kowloon between 6.45 am and 12 pm, the New World International Triathlon will see participants swim 1,200 m in Victoria Harbour, cycle 30 km up and down some of the city's steepest roads and run 7.5 km along Tsim Sha Tsui Promenade to the finish line at the Avenue of Stars.

 

The deadline for entry to the triathlon is 28 October 2013.

 

Organizing the event is Aquawiz, which specializes in staging multi-sport events. The company's series events include the Hong Kong Aquathlon Series and Aquawiz Open Water Swim Series.

 

2013 marks the first time New World Group is title sponsoring the New World International Triathlon. Aiming to help promote sports development and nurture future sports stars, the group in 2012 established the New World Springboard sustainable community program comprising the New World Swimming Academy and New World Basketball League. The program provides free long-term swimming and basketball training for under-resourced youths.

 

The New World International Triathlon is one of the events in the "Hong Kong: Our Home" campaign launched earlier this year. This city-wide campaign that runs until the end of 2013 emphasizes public participation, and provides a platform for enhanced publicity of events and activities which engage a wide cross-section of the community. It aims to make Hong Kong a more livable and enjoyable city and one that instills in residents a sense of pride about their home.

 

Local and international participants are set to take part in the New World International Triathlon on 1 December. The race categories are Elite (Men and Women), Age Group Triathlon, Turbo (Men and Women), Flash (Men and Women), Super Star Aquathlon (Boys and Girls), Age Group Aquathlon and Relay Triathlon.

 

For those travelling from within the Asian region to compete in or watch the triathlon, there are numerous daily flights to Hong Kong and flying time is relatively short. Numerous airlines serve The Pearl of the Orient; from Beijing for example the list includes Cathay Pacific Airways, Hong Kong Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Dragonair and Air China Limited, while from Bangkok the choice includes Thai Airways International, Hong Kong Airlines, Cathay Pacific Airways, Emirates and Air New Zealand.

 

And with the race day of 1 December being a Sunday, Hong Kong offers plenty of reasons to build a weekend getaway around this sporting event. Fly to Hong Kong on the Friday afternoon or evening, catch a late Sunday or early Monday departure back home and you have a full two days to explore the sights and sounds of this fascinating destination.

 

An exotic and intriguing mix of East and West, Hong Kong abounds with culture and heritage; Taoist temples and Edwardian edifices stand side by side with towering skyscrapers, there are Eastern Han dynasty (25 – 220) tombs, 13th Century ancestral halls, walled villages, Victorian architecture and World War II relics. Modern-day attractions include Madame Tussauds Hong Kong, Ocean Park Hong Kong, Hong Kong Disneyland and the Avenue of Stars.

 

Hong Kong Disneyland is one of only five Disney themed parks in the world and since its grand opening in September 2005 has welcomed over 38 million visitors. Located on the Tsim Sha Tsui Promenade in Kowloon, the Avenue of Stars traces over a century of Hong Kong cinema – from ‘the father of Hong Kong cinema' Lai man-wai who in 1913 directed Hong Kong's first feature film Zhuangzi Tests his Wife, to today's international superstars like Jacky Chan and Chow Yun Fat who have helped make Hong Kong the ‘Hollywood of the East'.