ABSTRACT
Taekwondo facilities in Hong Kong cannot satisfy the elite taekwondo players’ needs. Apart from this, there are no facilities which are specific for taekwondo. According to the information from Hong Kong Taekwondo Association (HKTKDA), there are 44 taekwondo unions under HKTKDA, and each of the unions had their own training venue (Dojang) without a unifying standard in term of size and safety measures. According to the previous research, providing a good standard of sports facility is one of the crucial factors to motivate athletes, and to improve elite athletes’ performance. In order to promote taekwondo, players need to get good results in international competitions to gain the public’s support. Hong Kong Taekwondo Association should find ways to enhance elite taekwondo development. Numerous factors are affecting the growth and development, which should be taken into consideration in order to improve the current situation. The purpose of this study is to find out the relationship between sports facilities and elite sport development in taekwondo, and to give some useful information to the government and the sports association to improve the current taekwondo situation. Up to now, there are no studies investigating elite taekwondo development in Hong Kong; the findings of this study can contribute to taekwondo development, and also highlight the importance of sport facilities in developing a sport. The researchers use a qualitative method in this study, mainly because of the availability of the data. Data collection was conducted through one-on-one interviews. The major finding is that the lack of taekwondo facilities in Hong Kong is one of the key factors affecting the development of elite taekwondo. Hong Kong Government and Hong Kong Taekwondo Association can eliminate the limitations of the taekwondo facilities, for example, increasing government support in providing training venues for elite taekwondo athletes, and the Hong Kong Taekwondo association should promote taekwondo frequently in different ways. Practitioners can make use of the findings in this study to improve facilities in Hong Kong for future development.
