Red Dot Swimming

Rachel Tseng and Nur Marina Chan are the 2 new additional swimmers who are recipients of the Singapore Sports Excellence Scholarship Award 2014 ! Congratulations!

Singapore Swimming appoints Sergio Lopez as Head Coach

Singapore Swimming Association (SSA) announced today the appointment of Sergio Lopez as the Head Coach of Singapore Swimming.

Spaniard Lopez, 45, has served for the past seven years as the Head Coach and Aquatics Director at The Bolles School. It was at Bolles where he trained Singaporean swimmer Joseph Isaac Schooling for the last four years. Schooling, who medalled at the 2014 Commonwealth and Asian Games is ranked top 10 in the world in the 100 metres butterfly event and also regarded as one of the best butterfly specialists at college level in the United States at this point.

“I want to thank the Singapore Swimming Association and the Singapore Sports Institute (SSI) for believing in me and giving me this chance to lead Singapore Swimming.

"It is a privilege to have been chosen to lead Singapore Swimming to greater heights and to work alongside the Singaporean coaches and help them develop swimming to the highest levels possible.

"The ultimate goal is to establish Singapore Swimming as one of the top in the world over the next five years. I know that it is not an easy task, but I believe that with the talent of swimmers, coaches and the resources that the SSA and SSI have in place, the dream is attainable.

"This is a team effort and I believe that if we all work for the good of Singapore, then the sky is the limit,” said Lopez.

During his time as Head Coach and Aquatics Director at the Bolles School, Lopez was also part of the USA Senior National Coaching Team from 2012 to 2014 and USA Junior National Team Coaching Team from 2009 to 2014. He was also the Olympic Coach for Singapore in 2012 and Head Coach for Netherland Antilles in 2008.

He has produced the likes of 2011 World Junior Championships backstroke medallist, Ryan Murphy, and women’s 200 metres individual medley world record holder, Ariana Kukors. Most recently, Lopez also coached Tao Li five months in the lead up to the 2014 Incheon Asian Games, in which Tao Li achieved a silver and a bronze medal in the 50 metres and 100 metres butterfly events respectively. Lopez also trained the likes of Leonis Lau, Samantha Yeo, Cheryl Lim and Aaron Teo during his time at Bolles.

“Sergio and myself share this dream to see the Singapore flag at the highest level as many times as it is possible at every international competition that we compete in," said Joscelin Yeo, Vice-President (Swimming), SSA.

“At the same time, we will be work on creating a culture of ‘Sustainable Success’ that as long as we keep working hard, we will have the opportunity to be on top of the Swimming World," she added.

An Olympic swimmer himself, Lopez represented Spain from 1984 to 1996. He won a bronze medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games and came in fourth in the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games, both in the 200 metres Breaststroke event.

“Sergio has proven himself at the highest levels as a swimmer and as a coach in his almost 30 years of swimming experience. His continued success, drive and ambition made him the outstanding candidate. It is our aim to keep SSA moving forward to achieve greater success in the future. We look forward to working with the swimming fraternity to capitalise on his appointment so that we can continue to take the sport to greater heights,” said Lee Kok Choy, President, SSA.

In addition to his role as Head Coach, Lopez will also be appointed as an Advisor Coach of the Coaching Academy of the SSI. Lopez will be working with SSI in developing a cadre of elite level coaches who can assist in guiding the programmes and efforts in enhancing capability development as advisors and collaborators.

“Sergio has a proven track record of not only developing athletes but inspiring and lifting the standard of coaches he has worked with and we at SSI intend to capitalise on his passion and expertise to assist in developing a vibrant community of coaches across the sports in Singapore. Sergio’s main role obviously will be to develop the swimming community but he will assist the greater coaching community as well by actively participating in our coach training programmes of mentorship and continuing coach education, for example, as we establish our Coaching Academy,” added Troy Engle, Director, Coach Development at SSI.

Lopez will begin his appointment as Head Coach of Singapore Swimming on 1 January 2015.

The annual arena - Singapore Swimwear Warehouse Sales is here again!
Everything going for good discounts of more than 50%.
26th to 30th November 2014.

Hi fans of the FINA World Cup! Only 3 pairs of tickets remain up for grabs if you post in the comments section, a selfie / photo of you and our various posters, banners and stickers found at various locations in Singapore!

Dear Friends of Red Dot Swimming,

Please find an informative article on nutrition for the young/adolescent swimmer at the link below:

http://www.usaswimming.org/ViewNewsArticle.aspx?TabId=0&Alias=Rainbow&Lang=en&ItemId=6424&mid=11780

Please also find a link to a sports psychology article written by Dr Jay-Lee Longbottom of Mental Notes consulting.

http://mentalnotesconsulting.com.au/three-reasons-why-you-need-a-balance-between-studies-and-swimming/

We hope that these articles will assist you in planning managing your child’s diet and coping with studies and swimming.

Team Singapore swimmers use final leg of FINA/MASTBANK Swimming World Cup 2014 as preparation for SEA Games 2015

The FINA/MASTBANK Swimming World Cup 2014 presented by Yakult is set to make its final stop in the Lion City come 1 November to 2 November 2014, after completing six of its seven legs structured across the Middle East, Europe and Asia. Singapore is hosting the two-day meet for the eighth time, and Team Singapore will be led by the likes of Tao Li, Danny Yeo and Amanda Lim. They will be joined by more than 100 local swimmers at the 3,000 seat world class OCBC Aquatic Centre. Team Singapore will use the final leg of the competition as a platform to prepare for 28th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in 2015.

The event will showcase Singapore’s brightest swimming talents as they pit their skills against some of the world’s elite swimmers, including South African Chad Le Clos, Hungarian Katinka Hosszu, Japan’s Daiya Seto, Francesca Halsall from Great Britain, Canada’s Ryan Cochrane, and Australian Emma McKeon. Swim Queen Tao Li, who recently bagged bronze and silver in the 100m and 50m Butterfly event respectively at the 17th Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, will be one of the139 Singaporeans competing in the FINA/MASTBANK Swimming World Cup 2014. The 24-year-old clinched silver in the 50m Butterfly at last year’s event, and she looks set to perform at the event again.

“I am excited to be part of the Singapore leg of the FINA World Cup and I am hoping to do well in the Women’s 50m Butterfly event which I won a silver last year. This is the first time that I am swimming at the OCBC Aquatic Centre and it gives me the opportunity to experience the venue where I hope to excel in next year’s SEA Games,” said Tao Li.

President of Singapore Swimming Association, Mr. Lee Kok Choy expressed his excitement over Singapore playing hosts to the final leg of the competition, saying: “This year’s FINA/MASTBANK Swimming World Cup promises to be a spectacular event. With world class international swim stars like Chad Le Clos, Katinka Hosszu and Daiya Seto coming to town, it will give our local swimmers a fantastic opportunity to compete side by side against them in a bid to prepare for next year’s SEA Games. I encourage everyone to join us and be part of this fantastic event”

Chairman, Organising Committee, FINA World Cup 2014 Singapore, Mr Ang Peng Wee showed his enthusiasm over the exciting line-up of activities for the FINA/MASTBANK Swimming World Cup Singapore 2014 . He said: “This is the first time that the FINA/MASTBANK Swimming World Cup is held at the OCBC Aquatic Centre and with Singapore being the final leg of the series, we will witness the crowning of the overall champions right here in Singapore. This year, we have come up with the tagline ‘Swim With Us’ to engage the swimming community. This is important as we ramp up towards hosting next year’s Sea Games in Singapore. We will be having meet-and-greet sessions, relay challenges in between the heats and finals, and swim clinics for everyone to enjoy. It’ll be an exciting swimming extravaganza not to be missed!”

Chad Le Clos and Katinka Hosszu will be back to defend their overall championship titles for the third consecutive time. Both swimmers bagged a total of five gold medals in Singapore last year.

Other big stars to look out for include Japan’s Daiya Seto, who clinched gold in the 400m Individual Medley at the 2013 World Aquatics Championships in Barcelona. The 20-year-old recently bagged two gold medals (200m Butterfly and 4x200m Freestyle Relay) and one bronze medal (400m Individual Medley) at the 2014 Asian Games.

Also joining the pool of international stars are Francesca Halsall from Great Britain, who achieved bronze in the 50m Freestyle at the 2013 World Aquatics Championships in Barcelona, and long-distance swimmer Ryan Cochrane from Canada who is an Olympic silver and bronze medalist. The 26-year-old Cochrane is also a two-time defending Commonwealth Games champion in the 400m and 1500m, winning both events in 2010 and 2014. Australia’s Emma McKeon is another noticeable star who will be in attendance. The 20-year-old won four gold medals and two bronze medals at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

The FINA/MASTBANK Swimming World Cup Singapore 2014 will kick off with the heats at the OCBC Aquatic Centre from 9am – 12pm on 1st and 2nd November. In between the morning action and the finals in the evening, swimming enthusiasts can look forward to a new feature of the FINA/MASTBANK Swimming World Cup Singapore 2014. They can be part of the two-day swim fiesta themselves, by participating in the Yakult Relay Challenge in between the heats and finals from 1pm to 3pm, on Saturday and Sunday (1st an 2nd November). Happening for the first time in Singapore, swimmers can form a team of four by purchasing a package ticket in order to compete in three relay categories – Family, Masters (35 years and above) and Open. Cash prizes of up to S$1,000 will be up for grabs.

The finals of the FINA/MASTBANK Swimming World Cup Singapore 2014 will begin at 5:30pm to 8:00pm on both days.

In addition to the two-day meet, a swim clinic will also be held by the FINA/MASTBANK swim stars a day after the event concludes. The stars will conduct the clinic on Monday, 3rd October 2014 at the OCBC Aquatic Centre from 4:30pm to 6:30pm.

Prior to the event, a meet-and-greet session at Kallang Wave Mall will take place on 31st October, Friday, from 12:30pm to 2:30pm, and fans will get an exclusive chance to interact with FINA/MASTBANK swim stars such as Chad Le Clos and Daiya Seto.

Tickets are currently on sale at www.sportshub.com.sg/sportshubtix.

Welcome back the Singapore Swimming Team!

Congratulations to the Singapore Swimming Team on their performance at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games. The team produced Singapore's best achievement at the Asian Games by winning 1 Gold, 2 Silvers and 2 Bronze medals. They also broke 1 Games Record, 1 National Record and 5 Personal Best times.

The Singapore Swimming Team will be arriving back from the 2014 Incheon Asian Games on Sunday, 28 September at 2.20pm on SQ607 at Terminal 3! Let's welcome them home!

photo credit: Gary Tan