Former national swimmer Kenneth Goh unveils team for Singapore Aquatics elections
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Former national swimmer Kenneth Goh (centre) and his team (clockwise from left) Tay Chin Joo, Ow Yong Weng Leong, Leonard Yeo, Yeo Kai Eng, Dominic Soh, Michael Foo, Christopher Ng, Wendy Lim and Jacquline Chow.
ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY
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SINGAPORE – Former national swimmer Kenneth Goh wants to rally the community to build “an aquatics legacy together”, should the Singapore Aquatics (SAQ) presidential candidate and his team be voted in at the national sports association’s elections.
On July 20, the 46-year-old – who previously held the 50m and 100m breaststroke national records – held a press briefing at the Chinese Swimming Club, where the current SAQ secretary-general unveiled his team and manifesto.
Goh, who is an academic director and associate professor at the Singapore Management University, said he picked his team based on stability, competence, motivation and personality fit.
He added: “The last two years have been a fulfilling experience for many of us in the team, working closely with our member clubs and other stakeholders to strengthen our community.
“The synergy of the team has allowed us to succeed in accomplishing our objectives. We want to continue on this trajectory and that is why we are standing as a team again.”
On July 17, The Straits Times reported that current president Mark Chay will not seek re-election
The 42-year-old former Olympic swimmer will focus on his health and his role as the 2025 World Aquatics Championships’ organising committee co-chairperson.
On Goh’s slate are six others on the current executive committee – treasurer Yeo Kai Eng, who is running for secretary-general, vice-presidents Ow Yong Weng Leong (partnerships), Christopher Ng (swimming), Dominic Soh (water polo), Wendy Lim (diving), and assistant secretary-general (water polo) Leonard Yeo.
The three new faces are treasurer candidate Michael Foo, who is on SAQ’s audit committee, ex-Olympic swimmer Tay Chin Joo, who is running for the vice-president (artistic swimming) role she held from 2008 to 2012, and Jacquline Chow, who is a candidate for assistant secretary-general (swimming).
SAQ’s annual general meeting (AGM) has to be held by Sept 30, when its president and nine other positions will be elected.
Affiliates have to be given 21 days’ notice of the AGM, while the deadline to submit the nomination forms is seven working days before the election. Goh and his team are the first to announce their intention to run for a four-year term.
In the briefing, he said that they are in the midst of reaching out to the SAQ affiliates and welcome any competition because “it is good that clubs have a choice”.
Their plans include empowering member clubs, expanding access and diversity in aquatics participation, leveraging technology and science for pipeline development and growing the ecosystem through partnerships.
Among the more immediate challenges he identified is how they can leverage on the 2025 World Aquatics Championships to “catalyse interest and participation in aquatic sports” in athletes, corporate partners and the public.
Goh also wants to grow participation at the Masters level and hopes to provide affiliates with affordable access to more pool facilities. This can be done through partnerships with private facility owners and national sports agency Sport Singapore to increase the number of performance development centres.
He also thanked the outgoing Chay, vice-president (artistic swimming) Steve Chew and assistant secretary-general (swimming) Chan U-Nice for their service and noted that aquatics has enjoyed a boom in the last two years under Chay’s leadership.
The number of affiliates has grown from 112 to 137, and an increasing number of athletes – from 2,600 to 2,800 – participated in SAQ’s structured aquatic programmes and competitions. In a first for a South-east Asian country, Singapore also won the rights to host the World Aquatics Championships.
Chay noted that he backed Goh because of his “right attitude, aptitude and experiences”, while another former president Lee Kok Choy said the latter will “continue the good work and bring the aquatics community to the next level”.
Former national swimmer and four-time Olympian Joscelin Yeo added: “This is an experienced and competent team. They are familiar faces in the aquatics scene and are not afraid to bring on board new perspectives.
“I am confident of their ability to take aquatics sports to new heights.”
