By Jeanette Wang
I SWAM against former Singapore swimming star Ang Peng Siong. That is what you could be boasting, come May 17, at the inaugural Manulife Charity Swim at Toa Payoh Swimming Complex.
The event is in aid of Manulife?s adopted charity, The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund, which helps support some 8,000 children from low-income families.
Ang will be swimming in the 100-metre Novelty Challenge, where the public can bid to swim against him.
They can also bid to race in the other Novelty Challenge ? against former Singapore swim queen Joscelin Yeo. Only the top seven bids each for Ang and Yeo will win a start on the blocks.
The Manulife Charity Swim will also have an Individual category and Affiliate Challenge. Swimmers in the individual category have to raise a minimum of $100 and can choose to swim either 10, 20, 30, 50 or 100 laps.
In the Affiliate Challenge, Singapore Swimming Association (SSA) affiliates have to raise a minimum $1,000 and will race in a 4×100-lap relay.
Beijing Olympics-bound swimmers Bryan Tay and Tao Li will be among the targeted 300 swimmers on the day.
Jeffrey Leow, president of event organiser SSA, said it was hoping to raise at least $30,000.
The public can sign up from now until May 12 at www.swimming.org.sg. The top individual and affiliate fund-raisers, and Affiliate and Novelty Challenge winners stand to win prizes.
Oh, and if you want to beat Ang, you had better start training. The 45-year-old, whose 1984 100m freestyle national record of 51.09sec was broken only last December by Tay (51.00), is still fighting fit. The time to beat: 58 sec.
1 Comment
July 22, 2008 at 11:31 am
[...] Manulife Financial and the Singapore Swimming Association are organising a charity swim on 31 May (Saturday) at the Toa Payoh Swimming Complex. All proceeds will go to The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund. To find out more, check the report out here [...]