Swimming: New SSA president Mark Chay says goal is for sport to maintain No. 1 spot

SINGAPORE - A new but familiar face will lead one of Singapore's biggest sports for the next two years, as nominated member of parliament and former national swimmer Mark Chay was elected unopposed as president of the Singapore Swimming Association (SSA) on Wednesday night (June 29).

He takes over the reins from outgoing chief Lee Kok Choy, who is stepping down after serving the maximum four two-year terms.

Chay will head a 10-man executive committee which consists of five vice-presidents, three of whom were re-elected, and four other new members.

After the SSA annual general meeting at the Black Box Auditorium on Wednesday, the 40-year-old reiterated his team's desire to expand the base of Singaporeans taking part in aquatic sports, cut down on the attrition rate, and enable clubs to flourish.

He said: "We should be consultative, and it's really important as well to understand what the objectives are from a national perspective. At the end of the day, we need to do what is right by the swimmers and the fraternity."

Veteran sports administrator Lee advised Chay to "continue to treat dissenting views with respect", but cautioned that the new team should not be hampered by attempts to please everyone.

Thanking the various stakeholders for their support over the last 16 years in which he also served as SSA vice-president (diving) and secretary general, the 70-year-old told The Straits Times he is looking forward to spend more time with his four grandkids, and is "satisfied" with what he has accomplished during this tenure.

These include building and improving the capabilities of the SSA sports administration, technical expertise and financial structure to support the various aquatic sports.

In the pool, there was a historic high as Joseph Schooling delivered Singapore's first Olympic gold at Rio 2016, and the Republic also made its debut in diving and open-water swimming at Tokyo 2020. There were also numerous national records and breakthrough SEA Games gold medals for artistic swimming.

But there were also several lows, such as the high-profile departures of former national swimming head coach Stephan Widmer, who left prematurely in October 2021.

More recently, several affiliates were unhappy with the SSA's announcement to open a second National Training Centre (NTC) at the Singapore Sports School, as they felt there was a lack of consultation in a move that would deprive them of their best athletes.

While the newly elected team will try and build on Lee's legacy, Chay is not about to compete with his predecessor.

He said: "The circumstances and things Kok Choy and his team had to address when he took over in 2014 are vastly different from today. They have achieved a lot with the volunteers and affiliate and we are building on this foundation."There really is no need to compare with him. What we need to do is do what's right with the current circumstances for the fraternity to ensure that swimming remains the No. 1 sport in Singapore."

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SSA executive committee (2022-2024)

President: Mark Chay*

Secretary general: Kenneth Goh*

Treasurer: Yeo Kai Eng*

Vice-president (partnerships): Ow Yong Weng Leong*

Vice-president (swimming): Ng Cheng Xun*

Vice-president (water polo): Dominic Soh

Vice-president (diving): Wendy Lim

Vice-president (artistic swimming): Steve Chew

Assistant secretary general (swimming): Chan U-Nice*

Assistant secretary general (water polo): Leonard Yeo*

*new members