2001 SEA Games TRIALS It's finally over!! That was all I thought of after I crossed the finish line in the 3rd and last race yesterday. So many things were going thru' my head...and yet I was fatigued to the point that I was just mentally numb. I came in 3rd in all 3 races today and that is phenomenal for my standards. For the first 2 races, I was behind the top 2 guys, Andrew & Meng and I was happy to be there. It will take Meng some serious mistakes for me to be able to come in 2nd, as I did in 2 other races. But he was careful yesterday and I made relatively more mistakes than him. It's not just a milestone for me, it's almost historic enough to be in my version of the Guinness Records. It's really not about my pumping, my tactics, my diet or preparation. It's really about Jesus in me, the Christ who enabled and empowered me beyond my human abilities. During the entire afternoon, only one thing was going through my mind...that was a song we sang in the church service early this morning. The lyrics "In every victory, let it be said of me, My source of strength, my source of hope, Is Christ alone." were just ringing all over and over again..."I'm living for this cause, I lay down my life to you alone, I'm living for the truth, the hope of the world..." At the beach while we were waiting for the races to begin, I was feeling drowsy and sleepy from a lack of sleep the night before. I was feeling grouchy, tired and physically drained. I wasn't the most enthusiastic monkey on the water...till the thrill of the race drove up my adrenalin! I remembered what my friend, Julie said to me, to look unto Jesus, not unto myself...and I reminded myself of that all the time. I had the most upwind starts in all 3 races, though not necessary having the best speed at first, but was able to catch up when sailors start to fade away as the waves can crash you down very easily unless you make effort to crash thru'. The first race, for the most experienced sailor, would be most favourable because amateurs usually take one race to understand the wind/current conditions etc...but I was kinda honed better from the last 3 weeks of racing. So my game plan was already set and I followed it...it happened to be the same route that Andrew & Meng took as well, which explained why we won. The winds were shifty and especially large angles on the extreme tacks of the course. So it was especially beneficial to sail on the inside of the course and making many tacks in shifts. Sailors who take extreme tacks never recovered and I always wonder why they continue to do so in the subsequent laps & races. The current was enormously strong over the weekends and it was logically better to stay near shore than outside. However, the gains will certainly be a lot more when the sailor takes advantage of both shifts and currents at the same time. On the reaches and downwind, it is just muscles (pumping) and riding waves. Yesterday's conditions were beautiful for riding waves and if not for that, I would never have held off the boys... During the first upwind leg in the first race, I was second to Andrew when I was caught up by 3 other guys by the time I finished my reach. Disaster! I was really feeling physically weak, the toll of the last 3 weeks' racing was taking effect then. I decided to catch back my position on the second upwind...so I did...I played with the shifts, cashed in on the guys' mistakes and way before I reached the upwind mark, I was 3rd and leading the next guy by quite some distance. Meng wasn't making mistakes already so I just had to maintain my position and not make mistakes myself. By then, I was pulling a distance of about a leg from the guy behind me and comfortably sailing past the finish line 3rd. 2nd race was a little more exciting. First we had 'star' treatment...the Straits Times photographer, May-E, was clicking away on the boat and I was both pumping hard and smiling wide for her.What a deal! So many things to focus on...amazing isn't it? My hair, my smile, my stance, suck in my tummy if there was any, and then there were the race elements, the wind shifts, the currents etc...Andrew was overwhelmed by the enormous amount of tasks during the foto-shoot that he fell in once during the reach. I laughed, evil me. :) The best part was when ONE HUGE MOVING ship started to sail towards our upwind buoy. Suddenly, there were shouts all over...Meng warned me about the moving ship as I saw him tack away...I was heading towards it...and at the same time, warning other guys. I asked Meng 'HOW??' Then I saw Andrew courageously pumping his way into the bow of the ship and attempting to make the buoy. I suddenly imagined him getting run over by the ship. :( I reminded myself not to get distracted as it would be darn easy to. As expected, about 3 guys got distracted and lost lotsa ground. I staked my claim on 3rd position and maintained it till the end. Lots of things can happen in a race and it's no excuse to be distracted by them. For a tennis player or soccer player, the crowd would be the biggest distraction. They can boo, cheer, throw flowers or beer cans...the athletes' performance must never be tagged to external factors for then, it would have been proved the greatest futility for the amount of training effort put in. Would you want to lose your Grand Slam title because of some rowdy spectator in the stands? No!! Neither should windsurfers lose the win due to moving ships, rude fishermen or bikini-clad babes in distress. Sometimes, windsurfers can have the greatest excuses from a broken batten, anchor line, rope tears, forearm cramps to collisions with sailors. Reasons are as valid as the reality of the sun, but whether we let these affect our performance SUBSEQUENTLY is totally our decision. In the 3rd race, I was pooped by then...tired and no groove for pumping. I had one of the best starts but can't quite deliver...I rounded the first round's upwind mark no. 6 or so. It was quite a disaster. I didn't pump hard in the reach so I can think better in the next upwind. I fought back in the second upwind... Thank God the wind picked up and I was comfortably planing in good speed. I climbed back to 3rd spot by then and never looked back. However, Coach Tan mentioned that I should have made sure my angle was good when I could do so, but I didn't. Otherwise, he was sure I would have caught up with Meng. I figured he was totally right. What followed was comfortably wave-riding except when I was chasing another guy to the finish line. And it was 'The End' when I heard the whistle. Phew!!! So, after 16 races over 3 months, I was finally ranked 4th (out of 11) in the Overall position & 1ST in Ladies in the National Team. I led the next lady sailor by a whopping 20 points, exceedingly more than I had imagined!! I was sorry that she was not sailing well but I just had to do my best in every race regardless of whether I was already the Ladies Champion. I was sore about the Singapore Open & Tudor results as they had pulled down my overall points disgustingly. If not for these, I would have been 3rd overall! Nonetheless, I am contented and happy. I cannot help the fact that I couldn't train much or quit my job prior to Singapore Open. But I'm glad that God, my Defender always stands strong on my behalf. The verses which really pulled me through these weeks are: 2 Chronicles 16:9 "For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him." 2 Chronicles 20:17 "You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem! Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the LORD IS WITH YOU." How can I fail when the Almighty God is with me and ONE with me...HE is IN me and I in Him...It was HIM through me...I did it through Him. Praise God!!!

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.

From a motivation email I received today...When you almost want to give up, that's the time to PRESS ON!!! Check out Michael Chang's website http://www.mchang.com "If you can dream it, you can do it." ~ Walt Disney You can, but few ever do. Why? Well, it is simple: We can all dream big (or small steps), but most people stop at the dreaming part and never take action. Why you ask? Again simple: Fear - we're all scared to move out of our comfort zone. The difference is, that people that live out their dreams like Walt Disney get scared and still take action and lots of it! End of story ... You likely already know this theory, but don't live it out - that can be the hard part. What I know personally is that my success is based mostly (90%) on my ability to take action and get past the things that terrify me. Yes, my success to date is based on my ability to do the things I'd rather not, or would rather run from - fast. After gaining the experience and confidence from overcoming 20 major fears, taking action out of my comfort zone is much, much, much easier. Why? Well, because I've been down the road so many times before that I know what to expect: 1. Feeling of extreme stress and physical discomfort. 2. Development of self-doubt and temptation to retreat or avoid the fear. 3. Decision to commit 100% to pushing through the fear. 4. Take action. 5. Stress decrease and feeling of confidence. 6. Pushed through, got a result, and feel empowered and adding another level of confidence. 7. Thinking that was not as bad as I built it up to be.

It's been almost 3 weeks of full-time training and it already feels like ages has gone by. Much has changed since...let's begin from the Bio-data. I've lost 3-4 kgs ever since I embarked on the f/t training program. My sister marvelled at how 'effective' my coach's 'weight-loss' program was as she asked me what are the exercises I do everyday. Perhaps Coach may diversify his business into the health & weight-loss sector. I'm sure he'll do marvellously. I'm stuck in a stage of chronic fatigue at the moment. My body is trying hard to transcend the current stage of fitness into a higher level. I fell ill twice in the last 2 weeks. Propelling myself to train from just 2x a week to 6x a week would perhaps jump-start my body into rejection and immune-system shock. I have, however, only 2 weeks to peak for the trials. As much as I'm trusting God for supernatural intervention and blessing, I'm impatient for myself to reach a higher level of skills. For others who have been training full-time for the last 3 and half months, the results are manifesting NOW...I cannot afford that long a time...I have only 3 weeks. I need tremendous amount of grace for this miracle. My trainings begin from morning, say around 10+ a.m. where I'll be doing sets of exercises. Everyday's different so I cannot pinpoint what I do. Just on friday, coach rode on bicycle beside me while I'm running. It was a 4km run and he made sure I stick to the speed which he deems acceptable...he would scowl if my pace dropped and encourage me if I'm running fine. One time, he even said "the SEA Games Gold medal is just ahead...PRESS ON!!" and that would propel me into a sprint for the mark. ahaha...He kept urging me to hang in there and push it when it's the most painful!!!! I hate that feeling!! It's a cross between suicide and hallucination. The pain is so excruciating that I don't even have the mental energy to think to myself 'what am I doing here?' ahaha... After land training, I would be so dazed from the fatigue, most of the time entertaining stars in my vision and feeling nauseous. I would grab my cushion and lie there till I regain my sanity. The wonderful thing is, he will never let me laze on my exercises. Not if I drop the weights on my floor and flooding the place with my torrents of sweat, grimacing in the purest of pain and veins threatening to explode. He makes sure I finish the sets and the reps. These will, without fail, leave me with no appetite for lunch or any food for that matter. I would then have to force myself to gorge the food which I brought from home, distracting myself by reading some windsurfing materials. In less than an hour's time, I would be rigging up my equipment and out on water. Contrary to the beach-bum impression, training life is pretty hectic. I don't get to go around entertaining friends, speak to other bums and build sandcastles. Then it's another 4 hrs of pure pain out on the sea. He even forbids me to bring out Camelbak for rehydration to emulate race conditions. Again, he wants me to pump, pump, pump the sail...and when I feel all the pain, I'm supposed to press on through the threshold!! Don't ask me if I find the sun too glaring or too hot... I don't have the time to think about such trivials when I'm out there. I'm discovering that the life of a professional windsurfer is much of pain and more pain...ahahaha...and I'm somewhat addicted to it! Sunday's training: My fatigue has manifested. I have somewhat forgotten how to race...getting into a nervous wreck and forgetting all that I've trained for and learnt in the past 3 wks. All the full-time sailors have gotten into this trap of wrongfully performing and crashing out when it really matters. The underdogs just ate us up like bread. I must be able to separate in my mind what is pressure, ambition and desire. To deliver that which matters at the right time. It's another cycle of 6-days of training beginning from tomorrow...grace grace...

It's my first rest day today and I'm in my sister's home playing with the lovely children. I've had 4 days of professional windsurfing and I have to admit I'm in pain, aching real badly and thoroughly bonked out! Each day's routine lasts from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Tuesdays to Sundays, Mondays being off days. We would begin each day with land trainings that is progressive and periodical. The first day of training included 200 squats, 120 bench pulls (20 kg), 140 sit-ups, 140 back extensions and 2 min hand grip on the pull-up bar. After a short nap and lunch, we went out to sea. The training prescription differs every day as we want the individual muscles to recover. I had my breakthrough y'day though and I have to say I'm more elated than I can describe. There were about 10 guys, plus me out at sea. We had constant winds of 17-20 knots and quite constant gusts on the upwinds at 25 knots for about 2 legs. We sailed huge courses, triangling among Tanah, Keta aand Padang. We ran about 4 races and by 5 p.m., all of us were whipped to pulp. I had my breakthrough in the 25 knots upwinds, sailing steadily and holding my board speed equal to Meng, who was on a raceboard 380. Even coach went "Well done!" after we reached the buoy. I had set my sail rigging according to Masako's and it worked miracles. I was hanging on to my dear life as the gusts threaten to overturn my board and catapult me. Though my veins felt like exploding, I told myself "Never give up, hang on!" and steadied the powerful gusts with the big waves. By the 3 race's upwind, my harness had torn on my butt. Wow! That $100+++ worth of harness is gone in one strong wind...it's either the harness or my back and I'm glad it's the harness. I've never sailed so well in terms of speed and angle before in 25 knots before. I seem to have caught a glimpse of the strong wind technique...I'll never fear it again, neither the huge winds expected at 2002 Asian Games. I must take care not to lose too much weight as it'll disadvantage me in winds from 25 knots to 30 knots. When wind is above 25 knots, your board that is placed on the beach starts to fly. Hope it helps your imagination. The FIGHT is tremendous, as you are pulling your sail with every ounce of your strength and bodyweight, making you realise how mighty nature is. With wings we fly, with guts we try! In the downwind legs, my speed was horrendous. I did not dare to release my outhaul for fear that I would be overpowered. I would do that the next time and ride mightily on the waves. Right now, my feet are laden with long cuts and blistered skin on my toes. My quads are totally sore and I'm on a journey to discover whether Deep Heat Rub, Tiger or plasters are the best solutions for muscle aches. Gosh...a whole new phase begins tomorrow once again. I anticipate sprints, more torture and more water-time. Stay Tuned!

By now, the key organization hates me...ahaha...for having not followed PROPER PROCEDURES, taking matters into my own hands, and propagating this issue beyond s'pore (only UK, ISR, JPN, IND & HK only wat...ahaha). I was sorry to get some guys into trouble as it was all my own hyper-enthusiasm at fault. Some people are just their usual paranoid, control freak selves which perceived my actions as another of the certain-sailor's saga. All I wanted was to fight for the ladies class & get it back by any/all means. After that, I also got some nasty comments from a couple of sailors to say I claimed credit and staked my berth in SEA Games. I had no qualms about knuckling down on those hard, gently as I possibly can! I am so glad that this struggle came abt coz more of His glory is manifested. To be one of the 2 classes accepted among 39 appeals, i think it's a miracle and MUCH MORE. It's abt 5% winning chance. I was glad to have gone thru' this battle as I surprised myself with the hunger that I never knew I ever had inside. I had answered every single question that could possibly confront an athlete...why i'm doing this, for wat, for who...wat if's...the answers I hope would be strong enuf to see me thru' the toughest times. To properly put this, it's certainly a refnining fire for me...to burn off impurities, sieve every fear, obstacle and disbelief in my spirit. It has left me stronger, focused and all-ready to pounce on anything that would challenge my God. My spirit and mind has taken a higher dimension of faith and intimacy with JESUS... in the same token, I feel that I cannot compromise a non-believer for a partner as the level of understanding is only at the tip of the iceberg. Coach's training is tough!!! He had to give me a 30% discount as I almost vomitted and felt faint after doing 2 sets. One of the horrible ex includes hanging on a pull-up bar for 2 mins, at least 3 sets. It's to make yr forearms BURN literally (simulate pumping intensity in races). They did BURN... i would slip down several times, when my fingers & fingertips could not hold on anymore, tightening every single muscle I can find on my shoulders & back....to have to jump back up again to finish the 2 min. After that, I felt like the veins were all gonna burst or go short-circuit. Of coz, my much-hated fartleks were part of it...thank God it wasn't a great problem as I had been a middle-distance runner for many years. After I forced myself to gobble down my lunch, we went out for water trainings in good winds. With storms impending, and gusts settling to more constant puffs, we enjoyed the chops, puffs of gusts and seeing so many sails out in the sea. It's always good to have sailors in addition to the National Team sailors, which is the case most of the time. We had good gusts that hit me and man, when you feel like giving up the sport, one good feeling can bring you back with full passion. The speed and adrenalin-rush was more than resuscitating. The chops added in to the element of control and height. I had to pull my downhaul tight as the stronger gusts force me to open up my sail to depower. Coach sailed with us in the good winds and demonstrated a jump when he successfully caught a wave and cut off the lip nicely Ooooh...I went...trying hard to scream like bimbos do. Then he did several more lay-downs NEAR successfully. Scream I did...ahahaha...it means so much to have a higher standard to follow...which explains why HK, Japan and many other countries could do well. We had to do sausage courses and for the first 2 races, I was still desperately trying to recover from the tremendous fatigue I sustained since morning. I sailed in last, cruising through in pain. Then voila, in the 3rd and second last race, I zipped past everyone to come in 1st overall in the fleet. aha!! One of my rare hat-tricks again and Coach gave me a thumbs-up as he finished 3 places behind me. I had happened to catch a good start, followed all the wind shifts, sailed in all the gusts and had perfect board speed. At one point, Jon and I were neck to neck and he was upwind of me and following me less than half a metre away...and I maintained my angle, kept my speed and eventually sped off ahead of him, pulling away more and more. Somehow, he lost his angle and reached the upwind mark some 5 board-lengths away from me. Fluke you can call it...but I've tasted winning races and I'm addicted to this taste. The last race saw the storms coming and winds shifting drastically. We headed back to the club to have another short session of planing...there, I tested my upwind planing speeds and stance. Felt really good...TILL I woke up this morning to a totally aching body and saturated brain. Boy, am I still walking with a wobble and a twist...at 7 p.m. we are going to have a reunion dinner with most sailors in the windsurfing team, to play family to Coach Q. Can't wait to be there...to say we are not united is a lie...Happy Lunar New Year, everyone!!!

17 Jan 2001 THE STAR Malaysian Newspapers: SEA Games No more appeals as KL SEA Games panel shut the doors KUALA LUMPUR: Two additional events--the women's mistral one boardsailing, lightweight, in yachting and the women's up to 69kg category in weightlifting--have been included to the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games' programme. They were included in the Games following appeals made by Indonesia and Myanmar at the SEA Games Federation (SGF) meeting last Saturday. The addition of the two events takes the number of gold medals at stake in the 32-sport Games, which will be held from Sept 8-17, to 390. Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Hishammuddin Hussein said that they would not entertain requests for any more events. "This is final. There is no room for the inclusion of further events in the Games,'' said Hishammuddin after the SEA Games organising committee's board meeting at his office yesterday. He added that the sports associations had major roles to play in ensuring the success and smooth-running of the Games. "We need the assistance of all parties concerned, including sports associations, to make the Games a successful one,'' said Hishammuddin. Meanwhile, a decision will be made next week on the venue of the shooting competitions. The two venues shortlisted are the Subang Shooting Range and the Langkawi International Shooting Range.

Ask me if God is real in my life & I'll say "Check out the News below" & tell me if God doesn't open the Red Sea today?!!!!! A miracle of miracles....a blessing of blessings & grace of all grace! I'm so overwhelmed! Just as He was telling me the night before "Stand still and see the salvation of God" and that "Without faith it is impossible to please God" I stood firmly on the grace ground, believing hard & resting hard on His promise. It came to pass, just as He told me! This is my God...who never wavers and changes!!! Only two extra events for KL SEA Games KUALA LUMPUR - The decision of the South-east Asia Games organising committee yesterday to include only two additional medal events in this year's SEA Games has brought a host of reactions. Some were happy, some were sad and some were nonchalant about the decision. According to Bernama, only two events out of the 39 requested - one each in yachting and weightlifting - were approved for inclusion in the Kuala Lumpur Games. The two events are the women's Mistral One boardsailing (yachting) and women's weightlifting (up to 69kg). An elated Low Teo Ping, SingaporeSailing president, said: 'We have a couple of women sailors, Toh Lee Ching and Rachel Ng, training full-time with the hope that there would be a women's category. 'Now, that has come true and we are very happy. 'With our Chinese coach Qian Hong on board with us, we have good chances for medals. It's only a question of colour. 'Hopefully, when it's nearer the date, we can tell you the colour of the medal.' In contrast, the Singapore Bodybuilders' Federation, which had been eager and ready to send athletes to compete for eight gold medals, was disappointed that the sport's appeal was turned down. The weightlifting fraternity, on the other hand, was nonchalant about the inclusion of an additional medal event. Said Tom Liaw, pro tem president of the Singapore Weightlifting Federation: 'We have not decided on sending any women lifters, so it does not really affect us. 'Anyway, the lifters have to be prepared and ready to compete at the SEA Games level, otherwise it would be pointless to send them there.' Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, chairman of the organising committee, said: 'We approved only these two events after considering the time constraints. 'Today's decision is final.' He added that the decision was taken after considering various factors such as the Malaysian athletes' chances of winning medals, as well as organising costs and preparation. He said: 'As it is rather late, I think our decision to accept only two additional events is already fair to all.' But try telling that to Paul Chua, president of the SBBF. He said yesterday: 'I'm disappointed. 'I believe Singapore has lost a chance to win a few gold medals, because we have been winning things in the region. 'But the Singapore National Olympic Council did its best and we are not going to cry over it. 'We are looking at better horizons such as the Asian Games next year, which is our main target.' With the inclusion of the two events, the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games from Sept 8-17 will have 390 events in 32 sports.

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So much has happened! My life has been thrown a curve and set me on a roller-coaster high and low all at the same moment. I must have experienced the widest myriad of emotions in these few days as good and bad news hit me right in the face in continuity. On Monday morning, I received a call from my coach that the latest Notice of Race fax for the 2001 SEA Games has excluded the Ladies category from the Sailing classes. My heart skipped a beat and I experienced a numbness which put me into instant denial of factual information. However, I refused to receive that as final and set about on a short intense journey of appeal. I did my homework and straightaway rallied all the Important people in the International Olympic Council to lend a voice to this thoroughly sexual discriminating tragedy. This inclusion of the Ladies class has always been a see-saw discussion due to several factors: 1) Malaysia, does not have any lady windsurfers hence does not want to include a category they cannot win a medal in. 2) Malaysia, being a Muslim state, does not put equality on Ladies events. Many of the sports categories do not have ladies categories only until recently when under foreign attack. Up to 2-3 mths ago, it was a tentative arrangement that there will be a Mistral Men's (open) and Mistral Ladies in the 2001 SEA Games like the Olympics. However, the latest fax we received yesterday indicated Mistral Lightweight (Open) and Heavyweight (Open). Never before in SEA Games history do we have such weird combinations and not to mention the exclusion of the Ladies category. We always had the 5 categories Mistral Men's Lightweight, Heavyweight, Men's Raceboard Lightweight and Heavyweight and Ladies for the last 3-4 SEA Games. However, this time, we only have 2 categories and the Olympic Games Ladies category is not included! Of course, this runs contrary to what Olympic windsurfing has been promoting. I remember clearly on the 31 Dec 2000 afternoon at the National Sailing Center in Singapore that Lee Lai Shan was telling me that any event held under the International Olympic Council umbrella must include as a basic, the Olympic Games categories (in this case, Men's & Ladies). I've checked the IOC website and saw that 2001 SEA Games is organised as a IOC & ISAF event (http://www.ioc.org.my). Lee Lai Shan was telling me should this situation happen, I can write to IOC and complain. I'm angry that the MISTRAL ladies class is considered NOT important and not worthy to be in such a major Games. The last thing I want to accept is this fact! It is a major insult to all ladies windsurfers who have committed themselves to such a cause only to find themselves in a Sexual Discriminatory discussion. I can't help but see this form of sexual discrimination as an issue larger than just a category issue. The best part of this issue is that ALL other sailing classes (Optimist, Laser, 420, 470) all have Ladies classes except for MISTRAL. I don't understand why. They even had the 420 Ladies & Laser Radial for Ladies which were not even in the Olympic Games!! I don't see why MISTRAL WOMEN can be less important than the Laser Radial and 420. I have quit my job in the hope that I can train full-time for Asian races and later, European races, but if countries (especially Muslim countries) are excluding Ladies, what can I fight for? I wrote emails to Rory Ramsden, Head of IMCO International, Aaron Botzer (Olympics International Jury), Lee Lai Shan, and many other key people all over the world. I appealed to them to rally their support for SEA Ladies windsurfers. While I've done all I possibly could in my limited capacity, I sought God for words of comfort and miracles. All my life God has always been faithful and showing Himself to be more than that recently. When there was initially not yet a Ladies class, He gave me a word "The hearts of kings are in His Hands, HE turns it wherever He wishes." He also taught me to "Hold fast to the confession of your faith". I hung on to that word and confessed & believed hard enough to see it coming to pass. The next notice came with the inclusion of the Ladies class. I was more than elated. I was filled with an overflowing revelation of God's grace and mercy, love and power. Then the next challenge came when I came to know that my buddy was going full-time. I was shattered as it seems now that I could lose the fight to something as irrelevant as 'unpaid leave'. I cried out to God! HE heard me and gave me another Word which today, I saw it come to pass yet again!! He told me that just as He multiplied the 5 loaves and 2 fishes, He has the power to MULTIPLY the little training I have. Trust Him and it'll manifest. Today, I can testify that it has come to pass. After 2 months of weekend training (twice a week) while my buddy does full-time training 6 days a week, my results are on par with her. I lost Singapore Open to her by a sheer one point. I lost Tudor International to her even though we had the same points but it was on a countback default that she gained the edge. Coach however reassured me that our standards are on the same level and if I train full-time, I would be able to improve at a much faster rate. Today, I'm standing here seeing yet another miracle. He showed me in the BIBLE last night as I came to Him in faith and desperation. He showed me Exodus 18 "Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord." My bookmark dropped out from my Kenneth Copeland daily devotions book which shouted the verse from Psalm 40: "Be still and know that I am God" I broke down in tears!! Surely, I feel like I'm on the edge of the Red Sea and the Egyptian armies are hot on my heels. I have nowhere to go and no way of escape. I've quit my job and have no idea that I have to face this ultimatum. Yet I know that since I've done everything possible within my means, I'm gonna be still and know that He is God and He will work miracles now. I just need to stand still and keep hanging on strong to the confession of my faith. This morning when I stepped into my office, I received emails from Rory Ramsden to the President of Singapore National Olympic Council, Malaysian Yachting Association President, and many other key people involved in this issue. He requested for a redress in this most regrettable issue which the International Olympic Council disapproves since they have been promoting women's sports to be included in the Olympics. I cried as I read through the mail. I could see God's fingerprints all over the place. i know deep in my heart that all will be well...If God be for me, who can be against me?

Singapore Open Windsurfing Championships 2001!!!! This must be the highlight of the race season with Lee Lai Shan (1996 Atlanta Olympic Gold medallist) gracing the event and eventually winning it. Held over freaky wind conditions and super-strong currents, the top sailors are still the top sailors as the results remain predictable. I've concluded that whatever the wind condition, however heavy the sailor is, results still boil down to the sailor, the sailor, the sailor. The Men's category was won by SEA Games Gold medallist (many times) Phanuthat Ruamsap, followed by Ho Chi Ho and Oka Sulaksana. The Women's class was dominated by the Olympic sailors Lee Lai Shan (5th in Sydney Olympics) who did not have a close rival apart from Masako Imai (Japan-10th in Sydney Olympics) and Yasuko Kosuge (Japan). Personally, it was a win-lose battle and love-hate sentiment. I was leading the Local Ladies up till the very last (7th) race where I lost the lead by one point. Thereafter, I waited hopefully on the 5th day of race, planning to launch a counter-attack with a strategic game plan and renewed energy. The wind did not come and there was not a single race held that day. I can't quite describe the pain...i was sorta on the verge of relief and helplessness. I had to search within myself to find a reason to make up for the sense of illogical loss. I decided that that day's chat with San san was worth the local win. She selflessly imparted precious attitude pointers, strategy advice and directional encouragement. She holds such a humility totally undeserved of an Olympic Champion. For the first time, I had a pro sailor asking me more questions than I asking them. In the process, I shared with her my dreams, goals and hopes in sheer honesty and deep sincerity. Her words had an impact enough to send in my resignation letter the first day I came in to work. Amazing?! For someone who's been there, done it and achieved it, this first step I'm taking is truly the baby step to bigger things. She told me that her goal was not just a personal ambition but rather, a reflection of a larger ambition for her country. She wants Hong Kongers to know that sports can be a career and that Asian windsurfers can make it in the world levels. It is time that we dare to step out and do what we truly believe in. Even if it means going against what society thinks, even if it means defying your logic and that trained system of decision-making. Dare yourself to live your dream because we hold responsible at the end of our lives our fulfilment level. If you dare to accept those 'what-ifs' and 'I-should-haves', then be mediocre. If not, ask God for faith and courage to pursue your call...He'll not call you to failure and if He did call you, He will sponsor you! He shall never allow the righteous to stumble and fall if He will even take care of the lilies in the fields.

I forgot this webby is primarily on windsurfing trainings...I'm so tempted to pen just spontaneous thoughts than note down technical details of every race. We did not have water training on Saturday as there was 0 wind. We had our surprise physical fitness test instead, which I felt, was simply no better than a normal day's training. We were tested on 6 events and my results are as below: 1) Pull-ups (max no. possible) = 4 2) Sit-ups (max no. possible in 2 mins flat) = 73 3) Back Extension (max no. possible in 2 mins flat) = 95 4) Bench Pull (Max weight, 1 rep) = 40 kg 5) Bench Pull (20 kgs, max reps possible, no time restriction) = 39 6) 5.3 km run (fastest timing possible) = 30.16 min Ok...my run is the worst event of all...in the team as well. That goes to show why there r much fats on my body and how much time I have on my hands to run...I tend to lose out to my buddy on events that require time to train or practice technique, in particular (5) & (6). I won the 4 other items hands down. We did the run on Sunday morning, followed by 3 hrs of water-training. The aches have not spared me even as I'm sitting here comfortably. From the physical fitness test results, I'm fully convinced that my 'smart' trainings have shown results. I hope this does not sound boastful as I really am not intending it to be so. An athlete who has limited time and energy, with a full-time job has no other option but to devise smart training methods as well as to know opponents' weakneseses. For me, it's easy because I have only one opponent in theory. I had noted down my variables which can be improved with time and constants which cannot be changed (e.g. personality or ingrained weaknesses). I had focused on those variables and improved on them and trusted in God for the constants to change me inside out. Both had worked. Worse thing was, I had gone thru' this test at one of my lowest fitness seasons, not to mention the rough day at work on Friday. I know I could have a lot better, esp the pull-ups & the run. Water-training: 4-6 knots; easterly strong current; easterly wind; cloudy Race 1: I had fought for an ok start, front-line getting clear wind, ok pumping speed. The shorter the start line, the less it matters whether you start at boat-end or port end. Just aim for clear wind and be on front line. I charged out, pumped real hard only to have Jon tack right in front of me. I shouted starboard but he stayed put, saying he doesn't know the race started. Ok...tough luck on me...I tried my best not to fall, jammed my board into his feet (ouch! I couldn't help it...), quickly tacked, and tried to gain lost grounds. I lost much grounds in this collision. Jon & I were the last of the fleet to untangle and chase the rest. I played the middle ground, felt out wind shifts, focused on my boardspeed and reached the upwind mark at a decent position. Many had played extremes and suffered. The wind is very shifty and that is a no-no, as much as the gains can be big, the losses can choke u too. In a race, consistency is the key! My downwind speed and pumping was decent too...I pumped hard, rode on the waves and I beat my buddy half a leg. When the wind is shifty, it's as important to gybe in the downwind as you don't want to be in a lifter. You want to be in a header as it will bring you closer to the mark. I definitely do not have the better sailing fitness so I just tried my best to play smart. Race 2: Same conditions...My BEST race in a few weeks. Good start and clear wind, I played out wind shifts and the test of a sailor's tactics is at the last tack to upwind mark. My buddy was actually ahead of me though at a bigger angle but further ahead. I figured the strong current will push me to the mark fast so I underlayed A LOT. I jammed straight to the mark & i even had to bear down a little. Then I knew that I could have underlayed 10 degrees more. Argghhh! But by then, my buddy who has devised a beautiful rhumb line to the mark had overlayed TOO MUCH coz the current pushed her down even much more. I was the 3rd sailor in the fleet of 9-10 sailors to round the upwind buoy. I continued my downwind mission with much gusto which could not outdo the boys. I lost out 2 positions to finish 5th overall. Not too bad...when usually I would fight super hard to get a good bottom position among the boys. ahaha... Race 3: Wind is more shifty and current is stronger than in previous races. We had at least 4 General Recalls and it was tiring waiting, looking, standing there, pumping across the line only to return to start all over again. Everyone was just drifting uncontrollably over the start line and I grazed my board against the Bedok beacon a couple of times. In addition, I had a terrible start and it spoiled my momentum throughout the rest of the race. I caught all the wrong shifts and ended up in headers most of the time. i was getting tired and did not bother to chase up. I gave up the whole race. Race 4: Same as above. Start was bad considering the super short start line and strong current. The fatigue had taken its toll on me and I was just waiting to go back to shore. This should not be the attitude of a good sailor, I must say. Everyone was tired and only Andrew was pumping. The rest were deadened, only I was more deadended I suppose. We didn't cross the finish line and headed straight to shore. I 'finished' beside my buddy who also, like all of us, sailed back to the club, which is a long long way away. How I looked longingly at the powerboat and wished I can be on it. Then it as home sweet home to my 24 inch pooh-pooh...not to mention a pooh cushy given to me by a Hot Chick. aha!

Today's ST...great news!!! Check out the fact that Sailing is the only sport that PM Goh gave his charge of winning a medal at 2008 Olympics. SAILING Banker Low will be 'fully at sea' soon By Marc Lim Sailing body chief to boost the sport after retirement LOW Teo Ping, president of SingaporeSailing, will be retiring from his job as managing director with Swiss bank UBS AG at the end of the month. Although there are many who expect the 55-year-old to ease into the quiet life of retirement, he insists that although he will be retiring from his bank job, he is far from retiring from sports. 'This is my third attempt at retirement and I am glad to say that I am finally successful,' said Low, who has been working in the banking industry for over 30 years. 'It will give me a chance to be led by my heart and not by my head. This will be an opportune time for me to pursue my other interests outside of the banking arena.' Low, who was appointed SingaporeSailing's president last June, will then be able to devote more time to sailing, as well as his other responsibilities. SingaporeSailing will take up to five days of the week, more than double of the time he puts in now. He is also a board member of the Singapore Sports Council, an executive council member of the International Sailing Federation and vice-president of the Automobile Association of Singapore. The extra time that Low has will allow him to guide SingaporeSailing to the next level in its bid to accomplishing its goals, one of which is to win a medal at the 2008 Olympics. And he wants to do it in the best way he knows how. 'SingaporeSailing needs to be very professional and business-like if we want to do well, so I plan to run it the way same I ran the bank,' said Low. 'We will continue to do our business as usual, competing at the highest standards in our region, but we will also embark on some R&D, which if successful, will bring us medals in the 2008 Olympics.' One way Low aims to increase the Republic's chances of an Olympic medal in sailing is to expand the broadbase development of sailors by working closely with the schools and sailing clubs and ensuring that there is continuity among the sailors. The adoption-and-linkage scheme is a programme SingaporeSailing has put in place to help tap the large group of sailors at the Optimist level, which average about 100 to 150 boats. Sailors can sail only in the optimist fleet from the age of seven to 15. With the aid of the adoption-and-linkage scheme, these sailors will either be linked to different classes of boats because of interest or other classes can talent-spot these sailors and adopt them. Other ways that Low intends to professionalise SingaporeSailing is by appointing a CEO to oversee the organisation and help strategise its efforts of achieving its goals. He also plans to implement a bonus scheme to spur the athletes and coaches to greater heights, much like that in a corporation. Likening SingaporeSailing to a pre-IPO company, he estimates that it will take about two years for the organisation to be in full gear. Till then it will be business as usual. Bigger and better A 69 per cent increase in participation, based on registration for next year's National Schools' Sailing Championships. The setting up of two additional fleets, bringing the total to seven, to ensure continuity and transition (in accordance with the adoption-and-linkage scheme).