LIM Chee Wee (SIN): “Singapore is looking for a new coach”

Interview with Mr LIM Chee Wee, Committee Member of the Archery Association of Singapore and coach of the athletes from Singapore in Ogden   As the host nation, how are you preparing for the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games?  As the host nation, we already have two spots for our team. We have sent three boys and three girls to Ogden because we still need to meet the minimum qualification score. Possibly we will go for the five competitions that serve as qualifier for the Youth Olympic Games.   The team from Singapore is now looking for a new coach, but it is very difficult to find one, since our coach will have to work on a volunteer basis. I am here as a transition coach. Right now we are working on many aspects like mental training, schools... We need to organise the school system so that the students can travel to numerous competitions and follow classes at the same time. For example, it is not a holiday in Singapore now. This is our biggest challenge at the moment. Some of our schools allow e-learning: the kids can go to their school's website using a laptop and communicate with their teachers via webcam while they are abroad for competitions. Actually there is a school system in Singapore that combines school and elite sports, but archery is not among the sports that benefit from this school/sports programme. In the long run we hope to make archery be part of this programme.    What is your goal for these world championships in Ogden? Our goals is to have at least three athletes reach the minimum qualification score, and to qualify at least one archer for the last 16. Another of our goals is to find a coach who could prepare our team until the London Olympic Games in 2012.   Vanahé ANTILLE FITA Communication