Boost for dragon boat’s gold-medal dream

SINGAPORE — The national dragon boat teams’ aim to win Singapore’s first gold at the SEA Games in 22 years has been handed a timely boost ahead of the June 5 to 16 event.

Triple Pte Ltd, the exclusive distributor for American high-performance sports brand Under Armour in South-east Asia, has signed on as a sponsor with the Singapore Dragon Boat Association (SDBA) in what is the first sponsorship deal for the association since 1990. The one-year partnership is worth a total of S$70,000 (in-kind sponsorship), and will see the national men’s and women’s teams outfitted in the brand’s apparel for the Games’ dragon boat competition, which will feature eight events for men and women at the Marina Bay from June 6 to 7.

The new deal comes at an opportune time for the sport, which has been struggling with issues such as insufficient training funds and getting the national athletes to commit to training for the sport.

The SDBA raises its own funds through fees from its 123 affiliate clubs, public rentals of its boats and fund-raising dinners. Their last fund-raiser in January reaped S$140,000.

John McGrath, SDBA’s vice-president, was delighted to see corporate support ahead of the SEA Games. “We are struggling to get sponsors to see value in partnering a relatively less well-known sport in Singapore, one that has achieved little competitive success. It is not easy, but we need to do that to advance our sport,” he told TODAY at the sponsorship-signing ceremony at the Singapore Sports Institute yesterday. “If we achieve our target of a podium finish in all the events (at the SEA Games), it will be unprecedented. Sponsors will start seeing more value in us, our athletes will gain more confidence and win medals regularly and it will be a turning point.”

Added team manager Derick Tan: “Our dragon boat teams have been making strides over the years, but with more funds, we can definitely take steps in performing better at the regional level. We are looking at more sponsors and those that can provide cash sponsorships can help us go to the World Championships in Canada this year.”

At the 1993 SEA Games, the men’s 500m 10-crew team struck gold for Singapore. The 20-year medal duck was finally broken at the 2013 event in Myanmar, when the women’s team won a bronze in the five-crew, 500m event.

This time, the SDBA has signed on a “secret weapon” in new head coach Nyaing Nyaing Htoo, who started work with the national team nine months ago. A former national assistant coach with Myanmar, Nyaing Nyaing Htoo guided the team in topping the medal tally at the 2013 SEA Games in Naypyidaw with 14 gold medals.

In a first for the national team, the paddlers have also taken eight-month no-pay leave or a semester off school for the SEA Games, training full time at Kallang Basin and Marina Bay while staying at Dunman High School’s hostel. Costs for training, accommodation, food, equipment and athletes’ allowances are estimated at up to S$200,000.

Said Tan: “For this year’s SEA Games, the feedback from the coaches from the time trials we hold every week is that the timings are pretty good. There is still a gap between us and the teams in the region, but we are fast improving.”