Penang Swimming Club Regatta 10-11 March 2001 It has been a whirlwind month...it went by almost as fast as I thought Carl Lewis had run passed me. Training wound down to moderation 2 days before the Penang Regatta which was held over 10-11 March at Penang. It was intended to stretch me in all manners and much more, indeed, than I had imagined. We rented 3 cars and drove up on Friday afternoon with 7 sets of equipment and 2 coaches. It proved to be a longer ride than we had planned for, with much unforeseen delays. Ranging from roof racks, bladder problems, paper work, you name it we had it. :) Setting off from our club at 3 p.m., we reached Penang only at 2+ a.m. (real early!). Just when I had expected myself to be able to get a much-deserved sleep, the boys wanted supper, and beer. Off we went, to eat the famous Penang char kway teow, laksa etc...when we were done, it was almost 4 a.m. after we cleared a horrendous road construction jam. I figured I slept only at 5 a.m. The next morning at 10 a.m., we were gobbling down our breakfast at KFC before rushing to the Opening Ceremony at 11 a.m. at the Penang Swimming Club. Blah blah blah... we rigged up our gear and were on the water after lunch. There, we waited for 2 hrs for the OD to lay, relay buoys, shift and reshift the boat etc...I had to do my pre-race homework 4-5x which truly frustrated me! They just cannot decide if the OD boat be on the starboard or port side of the start line. They also cannot decide on the range of wind shifts, plus, the start line was a wee too short. The best part was, the start line port buoy was also the 3rd mark which boats will round coming downwind. And, there are 470s, catamarans & lasers racing on the same course, and windsurfers start last. I had my first shock doing my first start, when I decided it was port bias and was nicely pa0srked there...and at 1 min, charging head-on with a bunch of catamarans, 470s & lasers. I had my first screwed-up start for the regatta. Ker Wan & I had supposedly had good starts considering port start was correct. We overlooked a major wind shift and overlayed enough for the whole fleet to tack on top of us. I spent the rest of the race just trying to recover from my mistakes and finished decent. We had another race and finished well though I can't remember what position. By the way, the wind was good...ranging from 10-13 knots. Thank God we had minimal pumping that day. I survived much better than I imagined...despite the lack of sleep, jet lag and fatigue. We rewarded ourselves with loads and loads of Penang good food afterwards. From char kway teow, laksa, prawn noodles, mee chiam kuay, soya bean, rojak etc...to buying loads of pirated VCDs...Sunday's race was exciting. The wind was lighter, sometimes planing on upwind in gusts but it was otherwise, predominantly pumping for the 3 races. There were protests, changes in finish rules and arguments. I hesitate to write these accounts with optimism but I was honestly pissed off by some of our sailors, and definitely, the OD. The OD had made changes to the finish line rule only to revert it back after the race and qualify all the sailors who had not obeyed the rule. This resulted in some sailors losing their positions to those who were ignorant of the change. This caused Thye to lose his first place (including 300RM) to Andrew (who had missed the correct finish line). I had my points reverted too... and sailors who had multiple OCS and flouting of rules were not penalised at all. Unfairness and lack of integrity reigns in this regatta and many of us swear never to return again. I came in 4th in the Mistral Men's class ultimately, sailing very well and holding my own among the boys. I had insulted the guy whom I had asked if I could join the Men's class since there is no Ladies class or Open class. He had told me most gently that I could take part if I just wanted to have some fun. Sure...I wanted fun but I came to do well...:) POWERPUFF GIRLS RULE!!!!! 2001 KL SEA Games Trials 17 March to 1 April 2001 Till now, we have done 12 races in this series of 16 races to make up the SEA Games Trials. 4 of these are Singapore Open & Tudor International races. Tudor was the worst race I have in this series and the curse child. I had 10 points for both which I have no choice but to discard. My March trials races were good, having one of the top 5 scores in the team of 11 sailors taking part in this selections. In these races over the last 2 weeks, my scores were (positions counted as Overall in the fleet of 11): 2, 8, 8, 5, 5, 2, 7 & 4. We are allowed to discard 4 races in this series and unfortunate for my Tudor results and a couple flukes (storms and sudden wind shifts), I could have much better results than these. The best races are my 2 races of 2nd positions. I had one each week. The rest are average results and in those circumstances, I will focus on covering my rival and making sure I cross the line ahead of her. Ultimately, I strive for personal best races which mean top 4 positions. Everytime the conditions are tricky and shifty where wind judgement supercedes pumping prowess, I tend to excel. I got the 7th position in a strong wind race where everything bad began to snowball on the start line. I had TC Chua who was on Formula equipment, knocking me hard just as we charged off the line. I couldn't recover my rhythm and groove...Murphy's law took over from then...everything bad happened since. At the moment, I'm 4th overall in the National Team (out of 11) in this selections and fighting to climb to 3rd and keeping my Ladies champion podium to myself. I hoped I proved the point that lady windsurfers are no losers among the boys... We have had decently light training load this week...all of us were on shortboard on Tuesday when it blew up to 16 kts. I enjoyed the relaxing planing, smooth gybes and jumps. My ankles hurt now...from jumping off the lip of the waves and not landing properly. Yesterday we sailed long distances focusing on riding waves on upwind/downwind. I figured I love riding on waves...the thrills are tremendous. Coach commented that my speed sense is very good now. After 3 weeks of hard hard racing, the pain has finally taken its toll on me. Aching and in pain, fatigued and tired, even a massage session last night eased me only for the night. Everyone in the Trials is tired and the sailor who perseveres till the end wins! Though I'm leading the Ladies now, I cannot rest on my laurels. Respect my rivals and never never ever underestimate them. You never know when they can beat you unawares until you have crossed the finish line in the last race. Stay tuned for the final results...the Straits Times and Sportscity will cover this final showdown this weekends. :)

GLEN PERONI - Triathlete The Starters Gun Sports and the outdoors have been a significant part of my life since very early, so early, in fact, that my dad tells me I could swim before I could walk. My first taste of competition came in soccer and soon I had two State Championships to cherish. Cycling quickly followed and then, in 1984, I entered my first Triathlon. From that point on I was hooked to the thrill and the challenge of the swim, bike, run events. Through the early 90’s I became a top competitor in Florida and earned two National Championships. I thrived on the busy life-style and hard work and soon found myself using the physical efforts to mask emotional pains. Although I was a competitive athlete with a great job and supportive family and friends I was spinning my wheels in an effort to find direction, focus, and peace. In Transition In the summer of 1995 I realized that my life-style was simply not fulfilling my dreams of a life of peace that I could call upon in any situation. Life was good if training and racing were good and if not, well, I was not happy. My life had become very “conditional” and it was difficult because I knew there was a better way. After a couple of months of soul searching I remembered something my family had told me many times before, “No matter where you go or what you do, God will always welcome you with open arms”. This was all it took for me to get on my knees and ask Jesus to forgive me, to be an active part of my life, and to help me live each day with Him in my heart. At Every Finish Line The challenge remains; to be competitive yet cooperative, to be humble and still stand out. And, as with anything in life, I find myself being challenged and pushed to go the extra mile, to make a difference before I finish the race. I now face these challenges with an incredible friend, a friend who guides me to make a helpful difference in the lives of others. My friend’s name is Jesus Christ and he is Available and Faithful to be your friend too. As every morning brings new things my way I find that my life has the drive and purpose I had a sincere thirst for all along. And as I face each race, each challenge, I know that at every turn and at every finish line there is a friend who loves me with open arms.

JIM QUINN-- Triathlete My Goal My goal has always been to win an Olympic gold medal. When I was eight years old, I began my Olympic quest by going every evening after school to swim endless laps in a cold, murky 25-yard pool. Then one day during practice as my father watched me swim, my coach walked over to him and said, “he’ll never be a fast swimmer”. My father later told me about this, and I was determined to prove my coach wrong. I set out to beat everyone - every practice, every set, every race. The hard work paid off. By the age of twelve I was setting pool records and winning virtually every competition I entered. I continued my winning streak into high school, where I won our conference championship and received All–County, All–League, and All–Section honors, and then into college, where I received twelve All–American honors for my performances in the NCAA Championships, as well as Team Most Valuable Player. After graduating from Johns Hopkins University in 1993, I decided to channel my swimming energies into the sport of triathlon. By my second year in the sport, I qualified for a spot on the US National Team to compete at the 1994 World Triathlon Championship in Wellington, New Zealand. At this event, I placed seventh in the world and recorded a time for the 10-K run that was five seconds faster than that year’s World Champion. My Search for Happiness At a very young age I asked Jesus into my heart, and for years attended church regularly and tried to be a “good person”. But I basically lived my life without really knowing God and what He expected of me. I allowed my intuition, my ambitions and my desires to direct me through life. It was not until age 24, after having achieved many of life’s goals that I thought would bring me happiness - a good job on Wall Street, a diploma from one of the country’s best universities, twelve All–American swimming honors, and now rising success in the sport of triathlon - that I realized how empty I was. No level of success or recognition could satisfy this feeling of emptiness. Winning brought only temporary happiness, and when I lost, I was miserable. “Whoever loves money never has money enough, whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income.” (Ecclesiastes 5:10) My New Life in Christ My decision to recommit my life to the Lord brought tremendous happiness, strength and fulfillment. Now, I have true lasting happiness that can only be found in a personal relationship with God through His son Jesus. I am provided with constant strength from the one who created me in His image, who knows me better than I know myself, and who loves me more than I can possibly imagine. And I have fulfillment in knowing that the purpose for which I was created was to use the talents and abilities that He has given me for His glory. Each workout or competition is another exciting opportunity to experience Him at work in my life and to share Him with others. “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:31) My Source of Strength This does not mean that my life is free of challenges. For example, less than a week after placing first in my age division and second overall at the 1997 US National Triathlon Championship, I was involved in a biking accident and broke my right arm. Throughout this ordeal, however, God helped me to realize a new source of strength in Him. “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well-fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:11) He also helped me to realize the meaning behind my injury, that it was being used by God to develop and strengthen my character to be like that of His Son Jesus. “Consider it pure joy whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.” (James 1:2) God gave me strength to endure the pain and setback of injury and to make a comeback less than three months later at the 1997 World Triathlon Championship in Perth, Australia, where I posted the fastest time among all Americans in my age division, and ninth overall. Accepting Christ By accepting Christ, you too can experience happiness, strength and fulfillment through Him. “Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not be weary, they will walk and not be faint.” (Isaiah 40:30-31)

"Believe in yourself. You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you stop to look fear in the face. You must do that which you think you cannot do." *Eleanor Roosevelt {1884-1962 Political Activist & First Lady}

One of the most inspiring stories I've ever read...the closest sport to my heart next to windsurfing...indeed, Jesus is the FIRST Surfer and Windsurfer who doesn't need a sail and/or board to walk on water. What a Saviour!!!! Check out http://www.thegoal.com/ for more... JOJO DE OLIVENCA I have always been fascinated by the sea. But I did not want to have anything to do with the Creator of the sea because I was ashamed of being a Christian. I thought I would become a nerd the very day I started living as a "bible nut". I thought I had to leave everything I loved behind like the girls, the parties and the crack and the marijuana. Everyday was the same for me. I was never satisfied. Any joy I had was short lived. Soon I was back into my old boring life again. My parents talked to me a lot about the gospel. That didn't ring a bell in me. I knew that there is a God but I had decided to think about Him only when I got old, very old! . . . One day, when I was already a professional surfer, I visited my brother. He was recovering from drug-addiction in a specialized Christian recovery center, called Teen Challenge, in the city of Feira de Santana (Eastern Brazil). When I got there I saw this bunch of people with a changed look on their faces, like they had joy and peace that might rub off on you at any minute! It was then that I got afraid of dying and go into eternity without God. I decided to turn my life over to Christ completely. I invited Him to come into my mind, my heart, my blood, everything! I got soaked in Jesus, man! I began reading the Bible and putting it into practice. But I thought, "Man, these people will forbid me to do a lot of things, like going around without a shirt on my back, or go to the beach . . .!" On the other hand, I had a clean conscience that surfing was in the will of God for me. As I meditated whether or not surfing was from God or not, He gave an instant answer: I became the Brazilian surf champion in 1988. I was a nobody, but God put me right up there! What a gift from my heavenly Father! Today, my pastor is all supportive of what I do. He accepts me and so do all the kids in my church. They pray for me as I enter every competition. I was addicted to drugs for eight years. I dabbled with marijuana, cocaine and I drank a lot. When I met Jesus and I found out that trusting in Him is the best thing in life, it was as if my eyes were opened. I realized that what I lived before was artificial, like a mask. Through Jesus, I took off my mask and became a real person. I was a poor kid. I surfed with cheap surf boards. My very first real surf board I got in a competition. But God gave the title champion! God made me, an ugly looking, skinny and melancholic kid, addicted to drugs, into a brand new person. He gave me a wonderful health, lots of physical energy, and a new light in my eyes. I was a slave to sex before, and God gave me real love. God gave me Adriana, a precious jewel, who became my wife. Christ makes all things fall into place in our lives. In all tournaments, God always gave me calm and patience. God blesses me but He doesn't do the surfing for me. I can't become a champion if I don't go out there and catch those waves. You know what I am saying? So I work hard at it, I give it the best I can. When the championship was held in Florianopolis, I had lost all hope of becoming the winner for the second time in a row. Other guys had scored more points that I did. The beginning of the competition was very hard. The sea was unstable and the waves weren't good either. Besides, the other guys were good at the game. In the finals, the scorers added all points and I discovered that I could become the champion for the second consecutive year if I came in second in the last round. I prayed to God, that if He had a purpose for me beyond my joy of becoming the champion a second time, then I was willing to win again. We had a few minutes left for the final go, and I even thought of asking other competitors to "give me a hand" - those who did not depend on results anymore. But God didn't allow that. I came second and got the championship! In the last round, I always try to put two things ahead of me: one is faith and the other is determination to win. The right wave comes at just the right time – this is all too frequent. God has a direct influence on my life, in all moments. At other times, however, other things may happen. For instance, in Ubatuba, at the Town & Country competition, I came into good waves. My board was not good but I was well positioned and I had lots of determination and faith. However something went wrong. Other times, everything goes smoothly, God sends nice waves my way, but I want to show off and then I fall. The difference between us, Christians, and those who aren't Christians is staggering! When surfing or doing anything else, we must always spread the good news about Jesus Christ, His plan of salvation and the love of God for humankind. The Bible says that "the mouth speaks of what it is full of." Therefore we must always spread that which is inside of us, the Word of God. Many people don't understand us and think that we are trying to promote ourselves on top of this image - but that has nothing to do with it. Certainly there are some hypocrites who call themselves Christians but who in fact are only wearing a mask. What we really want is to spread the love of God around to people, so that many people may have a personal encounter with Christ. I use to say that Jesus was the first surfer who didn't need a board to ride the waves. He walked on the water to save his friends who were in a boat and who were afraid of the storm at the sea. Today we ride the waves on our surfboards but as people inspired by Him.

It's ALMOST a month already...time really flew much faster than I could imagine. I'm beginning to catch a glimpse of the revelation of BreakThroughs...overcoming and transcending the current limits into a higher level performance. The comfort zone is the most dangerous!!! It is where you stagnate, get complacent and stay UNCHALLENGED! Over time, you require lesser effort just to maintain the same level of performance just because one has grown familiar with the techniques. In order to break through into a higher ground, one must challenge the pain barrier...Herb Elliot, an Aussie who was unbeaten over the mile/1500, Olympic Champion and WR holder, once said that the objective is to move the pain barrier....and that he ran on fear! This quote was what my runner-friend shared with me. In addition, I was thoroughly inspired by what I read in the Runners' World newsletter: "Bad races are the result of giving in to natural urges: running fast when you feel fresh and slowing down when you start to hurt." -Joe Henderson How true and how magnificent...that which we hate to do is supposed to push us over the hurdle into a new plane. It's only when one feels the pain and exerts even more, gasp even more, feel more pain, hurt even more and keep the lungs burning. Coach always says to push thru' the pain barrier...keep pumping even though our forearms and body are burning with pain...once we push thru' that, we've broken thru' the limitations made through the confines of our bodies. I realise that for this to happen physically, the break through's gotta happen in our spirits and minds first. I could not help but think that what I'm going through is tough and I'm not up to it yet. That way, I would always feel fatigued and under the circumstances. I asked God for a breakthrough in my faith level...He said to go forth and take the land, that He's given me the land. What I did was hold high expectations for myself at my daily trainings which were unrealistic. I always aimed to come in first overall among the boys. This will be the best miracle since I always suffered the most doing the exact physical trainings as the boys. Water trainings will not be as discriminatory as land trainings. This whole week I've done well. Or so I thought. We had gusty wind conditions over the weekdays, shifty and puffs of gusts which can arm a sailor or handicap a sailor. We were able to plane most of the time and since I didn't have to pump as much, I did rather well, coming in 1st several times and others, 2nd and 3rd...mini races were the last items of a day's training. We would have done more than 2 hours of hard sailing: 4 sets of Starboard and Port tack each; sail for 4 min, focusing on stance (closing the gap and railing the board), tack and pump downwind. For this, we would have 8 times of upwind/downwind over about 1 Km each time. The second activity includes 800 pumps. We are required to do 100 upwind pumps on each tack, 4 sets in total and pumping downwind to start again. We would have done many tacks and gybes b4 we have our races which are considered quite huge for the race course. The third activity is to do a bow figure of Starboard/Port sailing for another 4 sets, focusing on speed tuning. By then, it would have been 4+ p.m. and I would have been bonked by then. We would be allowed our rehydration time on the sea, resting for 5 min b4 he starts the timing for the race. 2 sausages each. We would run 3 races each day. I learnt to look for gusts, when to tack into lifters and away from headers, point high through the waves. It was exciting for me since they are the conditions which I usually hate. But I take joy in spotting gusts and planing in them while others did not. Or pumping to plane on a broad reach while others and slowly scooping their sails. I am no doubt a better sailor now than 1 mth ago. At least I have the physical changes to prove it, in addition to the weight loss and toner muscles. The popping veins would prove the amount of pumping I had to do everyday. More importantly, I'm looking forward to shocking my foreign windsurfing friends with a whopping improvement, a lean, mean physique and a sharper attitude. Weekend races are a breeze for me now...since they make up only about 20% total effort of a normal weekday's hard work. I did relatively ok over the last 2 weekends. I sailed the correct course, no major mistakes for one wrong idea. I read the shifts fast and capitalised on them to gain over others who did not. Physically I was fresh though I was typically fatigued. We would be driving up to Penang, Malaysia for the Penang Regatta this coming weekends. I would be racing in the Mistral Men's class as there was no Open class (not to mention Ladies class). I wish I do not have to deal with such unnecessary problems as fighting for a Ladies class for me to race in. However, they exist and I have to compare myself with the boys. Good!!! The SEA Games trials would commence for 3 weeks from next week onwards. It'll be one month of packed racing, not to mention high-strung and as peaked as I possibly can! I need God's anointing and grace...Stay tuned for race results.

Check out this article which our former Laser champ wrote abt Iain Percy. Iain Percy, Olympic Gold Medallist By Ben Tan 4 January 2001 Iain Percy instantaneously became one of Britain's great Olympic heroes when he ousted World Champion Fredrik Loof (Sweden) and defending Olympic Champion Mateusz Kusznierewicz (Poland) to clinch the Gold Medal in the Finn Class (sailing) of the recently concluded Sydney 2000 Olympics. His was one of three Golds won by Great Britain in the sailing events. The nation's impressive haul attracted the attention of sailors and administrators the world over, all of whom were scrambling to study the systematic and successful programme put in place by the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) more than four years ago. Yours sincerely was fortunate enough to get an insider's analysis of the British sailing programme when we met in Scotland recently. I knew Iain from years ago, during his Laser days. He made the switch to the Finn only two years ago, in 1998. At that time, Iain weighed in at 89kg, and he has since endowed himself with a full armour of muscles to reach a competitive weight of 98kg prior to the Olympics. "Five days a week of hard work at the gym!" was his answer when asked how he did it. The Finn, like the Laser, is a physically demanding single-handed boat except that the Finn requires a heavier frame because of its larger sail area. The 24-year old Economics graduate strongly believes that systematic training is the key to success. In the two years leading up the Olympics, Iain spent five days a week training with three other equally committed full-time Finn sailors. All were fully financed by the RYA so that every one of the four British Finn sailors could concentrate on sailing and improve as a group, providing quality sparring for one another. (In the Laser class, there were eight full-time sailors under the RYA.) Instead of simply travelling on the racing circuit throughout the season, the four spent a significant amount of time systematically training together in Hayling Island and learning from one another. The training was periodized to allow the sailors to peak at selected events only. Their able coach was there to organize the training sessions - setting the time and place, laying the marks, and conducting the drills. The technical stuff like sail tuning and the finer points of sailing technique, came not so much from the coach, but rather from the sparring partners, who obviously had first-hand experience at the highest competitive level. A typical training week comprised five days of sailing, five days of gym, and three days of endurance training (usually 90 minutes of cycling). Although Finn sailing is an individual sport, teamwork among sparring partners is crucial. Information is shared and not guarded selfishly. That way, the team's standard rises as a whole, and each team member then has a higher chance of beating other rivals at the regattas. But how does one keep the team training together after the Olympic trials, when only one sailor is selected to go to Sydney? "Simple," says Iain, "The RYA plans are long-term, and the sailors that aren't selected for the Olympics are sent to other big events instead of being dumped. That motivated them to continue sparring and pushing the winner of the selection trials, all the way to the Olympics." Behind his success was a team of excellent sport scientists. Iain added that their "full time physiologist for the whole sailing team was a great help. He provided strength and conditioning advice, like setting different target heart rates for cycling, rowing, and running. I had to avoid running because of the impact on the knees, so I did lots of cycling instead. Ben Ainslie [2000 Olympic Laser Gold Medallist] relied heavily on cycling as well. We all wore Polar® heart rate monitors. Our dietician was a part-timer, but that was all right since the physiologist knew quite a lot about supplementation. As the designated team physiotherapist could not be with each individual team member all the time, she arranged a network of physiotherapists and sports masseuse around the country to see to our needs. We were all issued vouchers which where accepted by this network of specialists." Did this master of heavy seas and downwind sailing receive any financial rewards for winning the Gold? "No, there are no financial rewards for winning. What we get are indirect benefits like endorsements, invitations to give talks and run sailing clinics, and opportunities to sail big boats [where the money is]," answers Iain, who is now the CEO of a coaching company called Competitive Sailing. The motivation to win comes from within - not from financial gains, as exemplified by great fellow Laser sailors like Iain Percy and Ben Ainslie. They are the ones who make me proud of being a Laser sailor.

An article from The Straits Times last Friday...it was on a seminar which I attended on Thursday afternoon. Guess what? I had a go at touching Iain Percy's Olympic Gold medal... SAILING $1m does not buy a gold medal But available funds can be used to help athletes excel in their sport By Chan Tse Chueen FACT: Financial support is critical in bringing about sporting success. But should it come before or after the success? Long-term investment and support allowed Iain Percy to win an Olympic gold at Sydney 2000. -- ALLSPORT Singapore offers athletes a monetary reward scheme that is more lucrative than most countries: Win an Olympic gold medal and earn $1 million. So, when Olympic sailing champion Iain Percy showed his gold medal to a group of awed student-sailors from St Hilda's Secondary School on Wednesday, he was asked immediately: 'Did you also get $1 million?' Percy, one of three Britons to strike gold at last year's Sydney Games, was puzzled. When the scheme was explained to him, the 25-year-old told Timesport it has no parallel in Britain. He also noted: 'You should give it before, not after. I won't need to be given this afterwards. I don't mind, obviously. 'But it's like saying get to the destination without any petrol in the car. When you get there, we'll give you all the petrol you want.' Discussion with SingaporeSailing on joint initiatives is what brings Percy to Singapore. -- ABDUL AZIZ HUSSIN Percy, who has started a coaching company called Competitive Sailing, is in town to discuss possible collaborations with SingaporeSailing. He also shared his country's formula for Olympic success with about 60 parents, sailors and officials at the National Stadium yesterday. A heavy financial commitment is the cornerstone of British success. According to the Finn-class champion, about US$60 million (S$105 million) was spent on elite performers in all sports in a single year, largely paid for by the national lottery. In sailing, the sum was about US$4.2 million. He estimated that each elite sailor used about 55,000 (S$139,700) per year. SingaporeSailing president Low Teo Ping puts the figure at no more than $40,000 in Singapore. A national athlete can also receive a training grant from the Singapore Sports Council, capped at $8,000, Low added. The total SingaporeSailing budget, including administration and broad base development, is under $1 million. The difference is reflected in the results. Britain's 2000 Olympic haul was 11 gold medals, 28 in total. Sailing accounted for five - three golds and two silvers. The Republic is still awaiting its first medal since weightlifter Tan Howe Liang's silver at the 1960 Rome Olympics. Percy, an economics graduate from Bristol University, is convinced the medals were the result of high and well-thought out investment plan. Monetary incentive will have little impact, he added. Singapore's former Asian Games champions Ben Tan and Siew Shaw Her agree that money is not the prime motivator. Tan, who collected $250,000 for his Asiad Laser gold in 1994, said: 'I think the incentive has a role to play. But I agree with Iain that it is not balanced. The financial investment should be the more important. Then, if you win, you get a small sum, rather than the other way round.' Siew, a 420 champion with crew Colin Ng, also collected $250,000 - his share of the $500,000 team award. He feels athletes must be driven by passion, and passion alone. He recalled: 'The first time they introduced the scheme in the 1991 Manila SEA Games, it created a distraction. 'I felt the media sensationalised it and everyone just wanted to talk about the money. I felt like the years I put in were not important.' Perhaps the huge financial pay-out here was necessary because of the perceived substantial sacrifices an athlete has to make. But will the sacrifices be so severe if the system were to be more supportive? Percy, who took two years off after his graduation to train full-time for the Olympics, said: 'The favourite question I am asked is what kind of sacrifices I have made. I don't feel I have lost out in any way, except maybe time spent with family. 'The support we had is not going to make you rich, but it won't bankrupt you.