CSC to introduce Asian clubs' swim meet for kids
Chinese Swimming Club to hold new swim meet for kids from Asian clubs in September
Super Junior will hit town for two days in September but, instead of the South Korean boyband, the action will instead unfold at the Chinese Swimming Club (CSC) pool, where up to 800 swimmers, aged 8 to 12, will bid to outdo themselves, and each other.
The 107-year-old club in Amber Road will hold the inaugural CSC Super Junior Swimming Invitational on Sept 3 and 4, with clubs from Japan, the Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand already confirming their attendance.
At the official launch yesterday at CSC, the club's swimming convener Victor Chia said: "We thought that there were not enough racing opportunities for the later part of the year for our younger swimmers in the current local calendar, so we converted (one of) our in-house swimming meets, held over the September school holidays, and opened up the meet to all the local clubs in Singapore and clubs in the region.
"We felt that it was a good way to foster better ties with the other local clubs, and make new connections with the overseas clubs."
Registration fee for each swimmer costs $40 (or $32 for early birds) for four individual events and two relays, with each additional individual event costing $8.
PRIZES
No cash rewards will be offered, but organisers may offer prizes to the 10 best male and female swimmers from the five age-groups.
Other than the National Schools meet, the Singapore National Age-Group Swimming Championships (Junior) in March is the only major local contest for swimmers aged 12 and below. The latter event is restricted to swimmers who are members of the Singapore Swimming Association's (SSA) affiliates.
The Super Junior meet, which is sanctioned by the SSA, will also be open to swimmers who are not members of any club or school.
Organisers say it will cost about $150,000 to stage the two-day event, with at least 17 sponsors and partners already on board to defray costs.
CSC technical director (swimming) David Lim said: "We are not looking to break even and it is not about making money from this event.
"We just want to entice swimmers to keep on training and give them the opportunity to race more."
He added that clubs would traditionally have internal time trials in September to select swimmers for the Junior Inter Club meet, to be held yearly in November.
"Most of the club's trials are hand-timed, and here we are offering the opportunity to race with electronic timing."
The club aim to make this meet an annual affair on the local swimming calendar.
Chia said: "We want to create a great meet and, hopefully, it would become an iconic junior meet for clubs."
For more information on the inaugural Super Junior Swimming Invitational, e-mail aloysius_yeo@chineseswimmingclub.org.sg
We want to create a great meet and, hopefully, it would become an iconic junior meet for clubs.
— Chinese Swimming Club’s swimming convener Victor Chia, on the inaugural Super Junior Swimming Invitational
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