For months, Kristin Ngai has been practising smiling while biting onto a chopstick at home, ensuring she shows six to eight teeth – the standard required to be one of the 75 volunteer prize presentation assistants from Hong Kong for the National Games this month.
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In addition to smiling, the 30-year-old bank clerk said they were also trained for three days to stand, sit and walk in specific ways, as they would be under the spotlight, helping with the presentation of medals as well as guiding athletes onto the stage.
While the training sessions were on weekends, she had to take 7-8 days of annual leave, or one-third of the days she is entitled to, to volunteer during the Games, but she considered that “a worthwhile experience”.
“Hong Kong has not hosted this before, and there might not be another opportunity to get involved in large-scale sporting events like this here, and I really want to be part of it, which is why I signed up,” Ngai said.
She also said that, ahead of the Games, volunteers were told to not gain weight so they could fit into the pink gowns that had been tailor-made for them and they should not wear nail polish or have visible tattoos.
“There is also an interesting request,” Ngai said. “We shouldn’t be too tanned, to achieve a more ‘oriental beauty’ complexion. The hair should also be kept quite dark.”