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A GOLD4HK NFT asset of Hong Kong Olympic gold medallist fencer Cheung Ka-long (right) and coach Gregory Koenig after winning in the men’s foil in Tokyo. Photo: GOLD4HK

GOLD4HK NFT collections set to immortalise Hong Kong’s fencing king Cheung Ka-long, his teammates and their Olympic memories

  • A collection of 5,424 NFTs of Cheung and co are to be minted and rolled out on December 27 and January 20
  • ‘What we achieved with Hong Kong is something amazing and I wanted the community to remember this for as long as possible,’ coach Gregory Koenig says
Fencing
Olympic gold medallist Cheung Ka-long and his men’s foil team are dipping their blades into the NFT market with their “GOLD4HK” collection to be released after Christmas.
NFTs (non-fungible tokens) are blockchain-verified tradeable vouchers that guarantee the authenticity of a digital asset. Each asset has a unique ID tag that is traceable back to the original creator, and is “minted” on the blockchain to introduce value and exclusivity, to be traded like physical assets.

Touted as the first NFT-led community for fencing champions around the world, top Hong Kong foilists Cheung, Shawn Cheung Siu-lun, Lawrence Ng Lok-wang, Ryan Choi Chun-yin and coach Gregory Koenig will feature in a collection of 5,424 NFTs across two batches.

But the plan goes beyond the piste and into the reinvigorated Hong Kong sports world, building a community for local fans “on the road to the next gold” for the Paris 2024 Games, and potentially delving into the so-called metaverse.

A GOLD4HK NFT asset of Hong Kong Olympic gold medallist fencer Cheung Ka-long after his triumph in the men’s foil in Tokyo. Photo: GOLD4HK

“What we achieved with Hong Kong is something amazing and I want the Hong Kong community to remember this for as long as possible,” said coach Koenig, who leads the team in a preseason training camp in his native France this month.

“It’s also always good for the team to have something in common outside of the fencing hall.

A GOLD4HK NFT asset of Hong Kong fencing coach Gregory Koenig after his athlete Cheung Ka-long wins the Olympic foil final. Photo: GOLD4HK

“Before [Tokyo 2020], I didn’t know anything about Instagram or all these digital media things. I was only on Facebook as an old man. But after the Olympics, I received so many social media messages and started to understand how things work a little bit – how people are very interested in being in touch with the Hong Kong fencing team.

“I understood that this is a new way of communication. Of course, we never forget that our most important goal is to train and get good results in competitions.”

Aside from preserving some of the city’s most memorable sporting moments, each NFT doubles up as a GOLD4HK community membership, where exclusive owners can access other merchandise, experiences and early-access privileges.

A GOLD4HK NFT asset of the Hong Kong men’s foil team; (from left) Shawn Cheung Siu-lun, Cheung Ka-long, coach Gregory Koenig, Ryan Choi Chun-yin and Lawrence Ng Lok-wang at the Tokyo Olympic Games. Photo: GOLD4HK

“The collections and memories we will be selling are great digital art, but we want to go further and create a programme that has never been done before for sports fans, especially for Asia,” said GOLD4HK head of marketing, Timothee Semelin, teasing an all-inclusive package for next year’s 2022 Asian Games.

“We will give away a trip for two to go to Hangzhou, China – flights, hotels and VIP tickets – to watch the Asian Games in September. This is the kind of thing you can expect the community to win.

“Of course, we have ideas to create more collections and make existing communities bigger in the future. We’re thinking to partner with other athletes and communities from around the world.”

GOLD4HK founder Oleg Vorontsov, an Olympic memorabilia collector and investor in the increasingly popular sports NFT sector, outlined the importance of the collectors market for sporting events, national Olympic committees and sports federations.

“We have created this trial programme in Hong Kong to increase public awareness of its athletes’ outstanding performances in fencing,” Vorontsov said, clarifying that GOLD4HK has no association with the International Olympic Committee or the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong.

“The fan engagement [element] is particularly convenient for the team, who are – Covid-19 pandemic willing – often on the road for international events for the next three years.”

A GOLD4HK NFT asset of Hong Kong Olympic gold medallist fencer Cheung Ka-long (left) and coach Gregory Koenig after winning in the men’s foil final in Tokyo. Photo: GOLD4HK
Tokyo 2020 men’s individual foil gold medallist Cheung, who continued his winning ways at this month’s domestic Open Championships, added: “We think this can be the biggest NFT project Hong Kong has seen so far.

“We are happy that as a team we can all be involved and create a new way of interacting with fans, collectors and the people interested in our journey to Paris 2024 – but first to celebrate the amazing year for our sport in Hong Kong.”

The first collection of NFTs will be minted and released on December 27, with digital art “immortalising all members of the [men’s foil] team” during Tokyo 2020 Olympics preparation and competition.

There are two costs for a gold or platinum membership – 1.88 and 3.88 Solana via its blockchain platform, which is around HK$2,500 and HK$5,000 – and lasts for three years leading up to the next Olympics.

The second collection will drop in January 20 next year, promising other unique pieces, private auctions and behind-the-scenes content.

GOLD4HK is also interested in attracting demographics who are hesitant to invest in sports projects – or those who find even the mention of NFTs daunting in itself.

“It’s going to take a bit of time to educate the market and sports fans, to understand this new experience,” said Semelin, an NFT trader himself.

“The athletes are very passionate about the project. We’ve had many discussions with them and they are going to be on Discord chatting and live-streaming to the community, also organising private events and dinners, and in-person events in Hong Kong where we can watch and cheer the team on together, wherever they are in the world.

“You can expect GOLD4HK to have exhibitions in the city very soon – there’s a lot coming – and we hope the fans will see the value and embark on this with us.”

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