Story contributed by reader Mark Chew

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Suzanne Seah (left) of ACJC and Chong Limin of VJC won bronze and silver respectively in the A Division Girls K1 500m race. Despite being extremely fierce rivals on the water, off the water they are good friends who push each other on. (Photo © Mark Chew)

MacRitchie Reservoir, July 8, 2008 – 6-time champions National Junior College were unexpectedly dethroned by new kid on the block Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) in the A Division Boys category at the 2008 National Schools Canoeing Championships last week.

ACS(I), only in its third year in the A Division, surprised a crowd of NJC supporters by winning Gold in the K1 1000m, K1 500m, K2 500m, K2 1000m events to clinch top honours at the National Championships.

ACS(I) also clinched top honours in the B Division Boys category, but were denied a grand slam by a mere one point in the C Division that was eventually won by St. Joseph’s Institution.

In the Girls A Division, 2007 champions NJC successfully defended their title against underdogs Anglo-Chinese Junior College. ACJC, who have not broken into the top three for the past 15 years, caused a stir at the championship by leapfrogging over favorites Raffles Junior College, Hwa Chong Institution and Pioneer Junior College to secure a top-3 finish for the first time in over a decade.

Despite the surprises and upsets at this year’s Championships, the athletes took the opportunity to forge new friendships with their peers from the various training center’s all over the island, making the 2008 National Schools a resounding success.

Final overall result (in order of position):

A Boys: ACS(I), NJC, Meridian JC
A Girls: NJC, ACJC, St. Andrew’s JC

B Boys: ACS(I), Hwa Chong Institution, SJI
B Girls: Temasek Secondary, NJC, Damai Secondary

C Boys: SJI, ACS(I), HCI
C Girls: Crescent Girls’ School, Temasek Secondary, CHIJ Katong Convent