education
MY
Life
IN
SPORT
Academics seem to play first fiddle in Hong
Kong, but sport can define a character and
change the direction of a person’s life. Kate
Cunich speaks to some people whose life
has been positively impacted by sport
Max Woodward, Age 28
Rugby 7s Athlete at the Hong Kong
Sports Institute
Born and raised in Hong Kong, Max
attended primary school at Hong Lok
Yuen International and then West Island
School for Secondary. Sport was always
a big part of his life, having played
rugby and football for as long as he can
remember and then at school being
involved in cricket, swimming, athletics
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and cross country as well, Max knew he
wanted to follow a career path in sports
from a very early age.
Max studied at Cardiff University,
doing an undergraduate degree in
Business Management and a Masters
in Foreign Relations. It was at university
that he started focussing solely on
rugby, finding that the teachers were
very supportive with helping students
balance academics and sport. “It was
really important for me to learn to
manage my time effectively and have
something away from rugby to be
involved with. Playing sport forever is
never an option so I’m grateful that I
have my degree already and it’s perhaps
something I can pursue when I finish
playing.”
Having been interested in sport for
most of his life, Max’s hero growing up
was English national rugby player Jonny