S’pore Cycling Federation apologises for ‘oversight’ after National C’ship is rescheduled
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Cyclists competing in the OCBC Cycle National Team Time Trial Championships in 2018.
PHOTO: ST FILE
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SINGAPORE – The Singapore Cycling Federation (SCF) has apologised and pledged to review its processes after it was forced to postpone the OCBC National Championship – Individual Time Trial (ITT) due to an “oversight”.
On June 9, the SCF announced on social media that the event has been rescheduled from June 25 to Sept 3, leaving some participants angry and frustrated.
“We have not been able to secure the required road permits and approvals from the relevant governmental authorities to hold the ITT,” said the SCF.
“This failure is due to an oversight on the part of the SCF and immediate actions have been taken... so that it is not repeated for the Team Time Trials scheduled for Aug 6.”
SCF told The Straits Times it has already filed the required documents for the ITT, to be held along Tanah Merah Coast Road on Sept 3, and will provide updates to participants.
Those who are unable to make the new date can e-mail shermaine.lee@singaporecycling.org.sg
The National Championships are organised for competitive cyclists and national athletes.
In the ITT, riders set off individually at regular intervals (30sec to 1min). The cyclist who completes the course in the fastest time is the winner. There are categories for different age groups, as well para cyclists.
Lee Yi Hung, one of more than 80 riders who had already signed up, was frustrated by the postponement.
The 19-year-old told ST: “At least, they have accepted responsibility but the general feeling is how can they mess up an important thing like this?
“It feels like all my training has gone to waste because there is very specific training that goes behind preparing for ITT that focuses on 30 to 40-minute bursts of power as compared to three to four hours of endurance for road rides.”
SCF general manager Mahipal Singh shared that stakeholders such as the Singapore Police Force, Land Transport Authority, Singapore Navy – Changi Naval Base is situated at Tanah Merah Coast Road – and construction firms working along the stretch had to be engaged as part of the approval process.
He explained: “Planning for each year’s event starts the previous year... we have to submit our applications for permits and approvals at least five weeks before the event date. On this... we were late in one aspect of the entire road closure approval process, which meant we could not get approval in time.
“We are sorry for the lapse and I made it a point to call every registrant – failing which, their club captains or managers – to notify them and to apologise to them.”
He added that the SCF has “reviewed our processes... so that this does not happen again”.
