Story and pictures by reader Lam Chun See
MacRitchie Reservoir, March 29 and 30, 2008 – The 5th National Junior Canoeing Championships were held over the weekend of March 29 and 30 at the MacRitchie Reservoir. In all, there were a staggering 187 events, with 73 events for the 1000 m category held on day 1 and the remaining events on day 2 for the 500 m category. A total of 530 junior paddlers from 33 schools/affiliates contested keenly for top honours. Competitors were grouped into two age categories: Junior (18 years and below) and Under-15.
One highlight of this year's competition was the newly-introduced K4 events. The men's teams from Kanoe Sports and the women's teams from Mountbatten CSC won golds for both the 1000m and 500 m races.
One of the most keenly fought races was the Men's 500 m K1 event where less than half a second separated the top 3 rowers. The gold eventually went to Muhammad Syaheenul Aiman of Mountbatten CSC. The full results can be found at the Singapore Canoe Federation website.
The results give a good indication for what to expect in the closely watched Inter-Schools Canoeing Championships in July. However, it was difficult to gauge exactly how each school fared, because some of the competitors raced under the names of their sport clubs rather than their own school's club. Nevertheless, looking at the medals tally, it appears some of the traditional heavyweights like Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) and National Junior College will making making waves at the Bedok Reservoir come July.
The spectator turnout was good this year, thanks partly to the fine weather. But the viewing experience was somewhat marred by the crowded conditions around the Paddle Lodge area where record numbers of participants and spectators had to jostle for space with officials, joggers, weekend recreational canoeists, tourists, and even a couple of anglers! The near chaotic situation was aggravated by ongoing construction work.
For readers who enjoy watching water sports, the next event to look out for is the 8th National Schools' Dragon Boat Championship 2008 to be held next Saturday on 12th April at Bedok Reservoir. See you there!
N.B. If you recognise yourself or your friends in any of the pictures, feel free to leave the names in the comments section and we'll update the captions. If you know which events are pictured above, let us know too. Thanks.
We have hundreds of pictures… can’t be bothered to go and sort them out.
Anyway, we take the pics for our own use. Also, readers send in their contributions. Not for us to give them to you.
And we don’t take credit – we only take cash. : )
Shireen – “I may need…we will definitely need…I will need”? Surely you mean “Please may I”! Some courtesy lah, please.
I may need those canoeing photos you took at MacRitchie for a PUB Exhibition coming on 25th July that will be used for display at MacRitchie Reservoir area. We will credit the photographer and we will definitely need your full resolution for these pics. Please contact me at the email address if you are the one who took the photos above. I will need any photos of activities or events you have taken besides these canoeing photos in MacRitchie. Hope to hear from you soon!
Photo3 the black and white boat
Thanks for the names but which picture are you referring to, SA?
SAJC Men K4 from first rower to last — Eugene Say, Ng Yong Xiang, Nicholas Wong, Jonathan Gan
hello! thanks for the pictures. the green K4 you took right at the top is the boat from RJC! comprising of me, Tan Jian Rong, Goh Soolin and Meera Sitaram
Bernice
btw that first picture is the rjc k4 500m who got silver, rowers are bernice heng, tan jian rong, goh soolin and meera siteram in order.
More photos up on my website!
Readers might also find Mr Lam’s personal account of the championships a fun read 🙂
Oh dear, please don’t apologise! We’re very grateful you sent in the story and pictures!
Hi Chun See,
Your photos look quite alright. Don’t worry about it. I’m sure having some photos are better than having none at all. 🙂
Jun Wei
I must apologize for the poor quality of the photos. The better ones were actually taken in the earlier part of the day and were of the less important heats and semi’s. When the important finals came up, the late afternoon sun was behind the rowers as they came in. I just don’t have the skill to handle these difficult lighting conditions; especially the shimmering water surface.
Another thing was that this year, they shifted the finishing line further out for safety reasons. The high-speed K4’s needed a longer braking distance.