Singapore Aquatics raises over $430,000 at golf fundraiser - Singapore News

Source: The Independent
Author: Khalis Rifhan

SINGAPORE: The Singapore Aquatics raised over $430,000 during its 85th-anniversary golf fundraiser, held on April 3 at the Tanah Merah Country Club Tampines Course.

The fundraiser was graced by guest-of-honour Mr Edwin Tong, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, and Second Minister for Law. Also present was former Team Singapore athlete and Olympic gold medallist Joseph Schooling.

"Having experienced first-hand the life-changing impact of swimming, I firmly believe in the transformative power of aquatic sports.

I hope that with this fundraiser, we can continue to empower and motivate everyone involved, including our athletes, coaches, and the swimming fraternity.

Together, we can drive our aquatics community towards a brighter future," said Schooling (pic below), who announced his retirement from competitive swimming on April 2.

According to Singapore Aquatics, the money raised will be allocated across four key areas:

Grassroots Development, Development Pathways for the five aquatic sports, High-Performance Programmes, and a General Fund - for coach and staff development.

Singapore Aquatics' president, Mark Chay (pic below), further explained that the funds would benefit the association.

Chay mentioned that under the development pathways, Singapore Aquatics will nurture talents in swimming, diving, artistic swimming, open water, and water polo through initiatives such as the "Emerging Talents" scheme to shape the next generation of aquatic stars.

The funds raised will play a pivotal role in driving Singapore Aquatic's initiatives forward, including enhancing infrastructure and providing competitive opportunities for Team Singapore aquatics athletes ahead of major competitions such as the 2024 Paris Olympics and the 2025 World Aquatic Championships, which Singapore will host.

"With the Paris Olympics on the horizon, we want to make sure that our athletes heading up don't just go there to make up the numbers but go on the world's biggest stage and make a big splash.

We can also do more to help bring the sport to the masses and institute programmes such as our Empowering Lives through Aquatics initiative, where we introduce water safety and aquatics to under-privileged kids," commented Singapore Aquatics president Mark Chay.

Singapore Aquatics will hold a gala dinner on May 10 as part of its 85th anniversary and ongoing fundraising effort.