SWIMMING FOR A GOOD CAUSE

The fifth edition of the SAFRA Swim for Hope, held from 9 to 11 Oct at all SAFRA clubs island-wide, saw a record number of participants raise almost $80,000 for charity.

This year's event had over 1,700 Operationally Ready National Servicemen (NSmen) and their families swimming many laps, where each lap swum raised $1. The money goes to four beneficiaries - Aquatics Heart & Hope, Community Chest, Singapore Armed Forces Care Fund, and Singapore Children s Society.

Senior Minister of State for Defence and Deputy President of SAFRA, Dr Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman, was at the event finale held at SAFRA Tampines on 11 Oct. He presented prizes to the top 10 swim marathoners who swam the most laps, and also presented the cheque to the four beneficiaries.

Speaking at the event, Dr Maliki highlighted its significance, saying: "It provides an opportunity for our NSmen community to do their bit for charity and also gives them a reason to keep fit."

He added: "It creates opportunities for them to raise funds for charity while having fun as a family We have also expanded the programme - today, we see the paralympics and the special needs community coming forward to take part in the activities."

Also taking part in the charity event were units from the Republic of Singapore Navy, including more than 260 participants from the Naval Diving Unit (NDU), 185 Squadron and the Navy Force Readiness Squadron. National athletes such as water polo player Lee Kai Yang and diver Mark Lee also swam alongside the NSmen and their families.

Mr Lee found the event to be highly meaningful, saying: "It is good . to give back to society and help the needy . Singapore has supported me (as a national athlete), and I hope that taking part in this event allows me to give back to society."

Recruit (REC) Chia Jian De from the NDU agreed. He said: "It gives us, divers, a chance to do something that we like to do for charity. Our demanding training in the NDU, where we have swimming sessions three to four times a week, definitely prepared us well to give our best today."

REC Chia felt the event had the added benefit of giving the unit a chance for cohesion and bonding, saying: "This event also gave us the chance to meet up outside of camp on the weekend, and do something good for the community."

This year's event featured a unique swim marathon concept which challenged seasoned swimmers to clock more than 250 laps in the pool. Mr Vincent Koh Chaik Chuan swam a total of 1,317 laps to be the top swim marathoner, and earned himself a spot in the Singapore Book of Records for the highest number of laps swum on consecutive days by an individual. He was also the individual category winner in 2013 and 2014, clocking a total of 306 laps and 342 laps in six hours respectively.

Last year, 1,500 NSmen and their families swam a total of 72,049 laps, and raised about $77,000, with additional donations.