19 October, 2011
What's On HK

Hedge Fund Fight Night: Support Sassy Girl Tricia Yap!

19 October, 2011

If watching a load of bankers beat each other up whilst you enjoy a slap-up four-course dinner all in the name of charity sounds like your thing, youโ€™re in luck โ€“ itโ€™s time for the annual Hedge Fund Fight Night, which raises around $1 million for good causes!

We catch up with one of the eventโ€™s first ever female fighters and total Sassy girl, Tricia Yap of Pricewaterhouse Coopers (above left), to see how sheโ€™s preparing herself for the big fight!

Firstly, for the uninitiated, can you tell us a bit about the Hedge Fund Fight Night and why us Sassy Girls should go support it?
HFFN is a black tie charity event featuring white-collar amateur fighters from the finance industry. For the fighters, we sign up for 5 months of pain (I mean training!), go through several rounds of cuts up until there is a final 12 that is selected to fight on the night. This yearโ€™s HFFN is a little different as they made it open to girls and will have the first womenโ€™s boxing match ever.

If supporting a fellow Sassy girl isnโ€™t enough to convince Sassy Girls to support it, all proceeds from this event will go to charity โ€“ Operation Smile and Operation Breakthrough โ€“ so itโ€™s an opportunity to get all dressed up, do your bit for charity and have a great night.

From the world of finance to the boxing ring โ€“ is it a natural transition?! Have there ever been any fights on the trading floor?!
Iโ€™m not a trader, but I secretly have definitely wanted to punch a few people during my career… though that would probably have ended it! Putting that aside, I did not have much boxing experience before I started training and what little I had, only involved taking out the dayโ€™s frustration on a punching bag. So it really was not a natural transition โ€“ particularly when we started sparring… the punching bag never used to hit back!

What training have you been up to in preparation for the match? How have you fit it around the day job and your jewellery business? [Tricia has her own jewellery business, Bejewelled Bespoke, here!]
As part of the event, we get two free group training sessions a week and on top of that, Iโ€™ve been doing personal training and my own fitness/boxing training โ€“ totalling 6-8 sessions a week. Funnily enough, my fiancรฉ is also participating in Fight Night so weโ€™ve been training together! The training is by far the hardest training I have ever done โ€“ and Iโ€™m a gym junkie to begin with! Itโ€™s been a huge commitment so

Iโ€™ve had to really focus and become more efficient and productive in order to juggle everything. In short, it will be good to get my social life back after the fight…!

Have you had to change your diet as part of the training?
Part of making the final cut was based on weight. At the start, I was the heaviest girl there โ€“ and what made it more depressing was that the gap between myself and the next heaviest girl was about 7kg. I started making healthier choices with food, which involved using my neglected kitchen A LOT more and completely stopped drinking. 5 months later, I have lost about 8kg and for the first time in my life, I have abs =)

Do you have any other previous sporting experience? Itโ€™s not exactly as if boxing is a typical part of PE at school!
I used to swim competitively at state level in high school and back in Sydney, I would run and participate in ocean swim competitions. When I moved to HK, I started taking part in trail running and adventure racing. I try to keep active because I love food a little too much.

Weโ€™re used to seeing boxers as big burly guys with smashed up noses and black eyes. Are you going to bring a little bit of glamour to the ring? Or are you leaving the mascara at home?
I must confess that Iโ€™m actually thinking of getting eyelash extensions before the match… as I am afraid mascara might run!

Youโ€™re facing off against Rachel Jacqueline from Baker & McKenzie โ€“ do you already know her personally? Are all friendships going to be left at the door?
Sheโ€™s a good mate of mine but equally as competitive. Iโ€™m pretty sure all friendships will be left in the change rooms! However, weโ€™ve agreed that loser buys winner dinner on the weekend.

Are you really going to have the nerve to punch another girl in the face?! [Iโ€™m not sure I could!]
Once in the ring, it will be punch or be punched! As my trainer keeps telling me, the objective of the game is hit and not get hit…

This is the first female fight in the eventโ€™s history โ€“ are you going to give all the guys a run for their money in the fighting stakes?
Rachel, Tessa [Dunlop from Thomson Reuters] and I have been giving the guys a run for their money during the last 5 months of training so yes, we will definitely show them what we can do in the fighting game!

Finally, lots of boxers have fighting nicknames. What would yours be?!
My boxing name is โ€œThe Bullโ€ – very unfeminine I know but it was my high-school nick-name from athletics competitions… and I couldnโ€™t think of anything else!

The Hedge Fund Fight Night is on October 20, 6.30pm, at The Indian Recreation Club, 63 Caroline Hill, So Kon Po, Causeway Bay, 2973 0116.

Tickets cost $1900 individually. Ringside tables are sold out, but there are still some Silver ($35,000 for groups of 12) and Standard ($22,800 for groups of 12) Tables left. See http://www.ironmongerevents.com for more details.

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