When Love Gets In The Way...

I love this picture... which way to go! I think that is what Singapore Sailing has to decided after last Saturday. First part of Saturday's talk at NSC was a run-down on the new APIPA initiative by Singapore Sailing and then followed by lunch. The confusing part came next... Thought it was a parents' feedback session but the 1st 45 minutes was taken up by talking about Vision, Mission, etc. etc. Finally, one of the parents stood up to get the meeting back to parents' feedback. While Singapore Sailing can take the parents' concerns into their planning and programs, I thought there were also some instance where parents were recommending solutions for the issues around NSC. It was liked taking over the jobs of Andrew, Mark, etc. etc. at Singapore Sailing and National Sailing Centre. A good example of this was Nat B Squad does not have a regular coach... that is not good and needs fixing very quickly. Out come the recommendation to take Javier (who was engaged to provide the Under-12s sailors with a series of training clinic) over to the training of Nat B Squad because using Javier to run the Under-12s Training Clinic was deemed to be a waste of resources by some parents in the auditorium. Perhaps these types of encounters were the very reason why the session started with the sharing of vision, mission, etc. which was an attempt to share what is important to Singapore Sailing. Since I believed good governance existed within Singapore Sailing, I assumed that the engagement of Javier and the set up of the Under-12s Training Clinic had served an important purpose. I was told the key reason was to identify and create a pipeline of top sailors for the years to come. Is creating that pipeline extremely important to Singapore Sailing and Singapore as a sailing nation? Absolutely! Today, we have Darren, Najwa, Elizabeth, etc. and they are bringing back the medals from AYG to the Youth Worlds. Who will fill those ranks and bring back the medals for Singapore in the coming years... strange to hear that such programs can be considered a waste of good resources? After sleeping on this for 48 hours, I can only come to one conclusion. That is "love gets in the way". As a parent, I have gotten into situations when I would have spent 'no-less-than' my best effort to fight for my child. From what I heard, I think that was what I witnessed. All I can say is that Singapore Sailing has a job to do and a set of objectives to fulfil. Parents' feedback and recommendations are important and hopefully timily. I am sure the management team of Singapore Sailing to do the necessary things... Just for me, Chloe was involved in the series of "Under-12s" Training Clinic and I am thankful that she selected. I prayed Singapore Sailing has the will to continue with such investments in our young sailors. Long term investments are needed for the Singapore's continuous dominance in the sport of sailing! I loved seeing our young sailors bringing back those prestigious medals and expects them to do so in the Youth Olympics and the World Championships around the globe in the next few years. Call me a dreamer!!! Personally, I am looking forward to the first Olympic medal for sailing in 2012 in the UK.