Story by REDintern Christa Tan. Photos by REDintern Benedict Teo
Defending 420 champions Kimberly Lim Min (right) and Savannah Siew Kiah Hui clinched the gold with 13 points. (Photo 1 © Benedict Teo/Red Sports)
National Sailing Centre, Friday-Sunday, February 28-March 2, 2014 — Winners from the 2013 NSC Cup Series returned to reclaim their titles at the Series 1 of this year’s race. The 420 pair of Kimberly Lim Min and Savannah Siew Kiah Hui, last year’s challenge trophy winners, took a five-point lead on the scoreboard after finishing with a total of 13 points.
The first series of the NSC Cup saw a total of 137 competitors from all classes. The NSC cup comprises of three series spread throughout the year. After the third series, the individual points from each series is added to determine an overall winner who takes home the challenge trophy.
“We took it as any other competition. It’s nice to start off the year with this win,” said Kimberly Lim Min. The 2013 420 World Champions also added, “Much preparation will definitely be needed for the upcoming competitions, which are trial events for major overseas competitions.”
Elisa Yukie Yokoyama and Samantha Yom Jingyi finished second with 18 points. Loh Jia Yi and Jonathan Yeo came in third with 21 points.
This is the first regatta of a crucial year. Sailors in all classes are gearing up for the selection trials for critical competitions later on in the year.
Matthew Scott Lau, winner of the NSC Cup series 2013, took the Laser 4.7 title with 20 points. Coming in close behind was Bernie Chin Cheok Khoon with 23 points, followed by Justin Chew Hanyi with 40. Matthew commmented, “My three-point win over Bernie serves as good motivation for the upcoming regattas, as they are important and decisive trial events.”
Laser standard champion Mark Wong Vinn Howe, who is aiming to qualify for the Asian Games, dominated the fleet. He won eight out of nine races to garner eight points, after a discard. Mark recounted, “I’ve been training hard these few months and I couldn’t wait to showcase and apply what I learnt in an actual race. It felt great that I could finally see all my hard work translate into physical results.”
Shane Ong Wei Jing and Jeremy Ong Teng Yuan took home the silver and bronze medals with 23 and 27 points respectively.
The happy winner of the Laser Radial category was Ryan Lo Jun Han. He finished with 14 points and a nine-point lead over last year’s overall champion, Jevyn Ong Jingrui, who settled for the silver with 23. Malone Pun claimed the bronze medal with 34 points. The strong wind conditions on the first day of racing proved favourable for Ryan who is “more confident that my training has helped me improve”.
After a rocky start, Marcus Ng Yao Jie bounced back to claim the title of Byte champion. He holds a strong 23-point lead over silver medalist Jarold Chia Han Loong, who finished second with 49 points. Tang Bo Kuan scored 67 points and finished third.
In the windsurfing RS:X category, first-place finisher Merrick Pang Jun Yi scored 14 points and came out strong with a six-point lead over Chuah Jun Ler, who scored 20. Leonard Ong, who did not attend the first three races, had to settle for the bronze medal with 21 points.
With favourable winds on the first day of racing, Wallance Gan took home the gold medal with 13 points in the Bic Techno category. Wallace described it as an “uexpected win”.
Ynez Lim Si Ying and Izzaz bin Mohammad tailed Wallace with 17 and 21 points respectively.
Full race results for NSC Cup Series 1
More photos next page
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