Team Briefing for SportExcel Grand Final 2014

Dear IBSC swimmers and parents,

Please be informed that there will be a Team Briefing for those swimmers selected to the SportExcel Grand Final 2014 as follows :-

Date :  5 August, 2014 (Tues)
Time : 7:00 pm
Venue : Cheras pool

The finalist T-shirts will be distributed during the team briefing. Your attendance is appreciated.

Regards,
Vincent Low
Team Manager

The Star : Swimmer Lai Kwan sets PB but falls short in the semis

BY RAJES PAUL

GLASGOW: Not even three years away from the national team could stop Chui Lai Kwan from making waves in the pool at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.

Chui Lai Kwan broke her own national record in the 50m freestyle event at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games on Friday. - Filepic

On Friday, Lai Kwan rewrote her own national record to reach the semi-finals of the women’s 50m freestyle when she clocked 26.00 at the Tollcross Swimming Centre.

Last year, she clocked 26.02 during the University Games.

But as expected, Lai Kwan found the going tough in the second semi-final heats yesterday when she finished last with a time of 26.10 in a eight-member field.

Lai Kwan, who left the national team in 2011, did reasonably well at the Malaysian Open recently and that led to the Swimming Union of Malaysia (Asum) giving her a chance to don national colours in Glasgow.

Asum secretary Edwin Chong is happy that Lai Kwan did not disappoint.

“She may be an independent athlete now but she has been actively training on her own. I’m glad that we kept our door open to give even non-national athletes a chance to feature in big Games,” said Edwin.

“I believe that every athlete deserves a chance to qualify on merit. I’m happy that Asum took this stand. It is good for Asum, good for the athletes and good for the sport.”

In the heats, England’s Francesca Halsall shattered the eight-year Games record with a superb time of 24.31. The old mark of 24.61 was set by Libby Lenton of Australia in 2006.

The Star : Malaysia pays tribute at Commonwealth Games

GLASGOW: Malaysian athletes and officials donned Malaysia Airlines uniforms for the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony – a mark of respect for the 298 who died on board the downed MH17.

United as a nation: National track cyclist Fatehah Mustafa carrying the Jalur Gemilang flag at half-mast as she leads the Malaysian contingent, with athletes and officials dressed as MAS staff, into Celtic Park during the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony in Glasgow, Scotland.

The Malaysian contingent marched out to Celtic Park with national track cyclist Fatehah Mustapa as the flag bearer. The flag was at half-mast.

Just behind her were athletes Jupha Somnet (cycling), Surizan Awang Noh, Fatin Shafika Md Sukri (women’s hockey), Nor Fidrah Noh, Fairul Abdul Jabal (lawn bowls) and Farizal Ismail (rugby) along with officials Fahmi Omar (NSC press attache) and Mohd Fahmi Abdul Jalil (rugby manager).

All of them were dressed in Malaysia Airlines uniforms.

The rest of the contingent wore black armbands over their traditional baju Melayu.

The entire Commonwealth family stopped to observe a minute’s silence for those who had died so unneccesarily.

National lawn bowler Siti Zalina Ahmad said it was an emotional moment.

“The Malaysian contingent shares the sorrow of the families who lost their dear ones in the disaster. The MH17 tragedy has made all Malaysians united. I will wear the black armband throughout my stay here in Glasgow,” said Siti, a two-time Commonwealth Games gold medal winner in the singles event.

Women’s badminton doubles player Vivian Hoo shared her sentiments.

“I feel really sad. I think this (marching together during the opening ceremony wearing black armbands) is a good way to empathise with the victims’ families,” she said.

“I felt truly proud to walk as a Malaysian.”

Top track cyclist Azizulhasni Awang said he was nearly overcome with emotion.

“We had to put on a brave front although I was choked with emotion. What happened was terrible. During the opening ceremony, we showed our unity even in times of distress. This will spur us to do our best.”

The tragedy has also touched athletes from other countries.

Rachel Findlay, Scotland’s women’s singles shuttler, said: “It was sad to know what happened and we felt the pain too. I think it was a good gesture of the team to do what they did.”

India’s men’s doubles shuttler Akshay Dewalkar had this to say: “It was a sight to behold, watching the team showing their support while the country is mourning.

“We are saddened by the tragedy too. The Malaysian team has the support of the entire Commonwealth family.”

The Star : Malaysian swimmers all out on first day

BY RAJES PAUL

GLASGOW: Malaysians Erika Kong Chia Chia and Tern Jian Han must be cursing their luck.

They came within a whisker of making the semi-finals on the opening day of the swimming competition at the Tollcross International Swimming Centre on Thursday.

In the women’s 50m breaststroke, Erika clocked 33.51 to finish 17th - just missing the cut by one spot. Her compatriot Christina Loh Yen Ling finished 18th in 33.64.

In the men’s 100m backstroke, Jian Han also came close to making the semi-finals before settling for 17th spot with his time of 58.50.

Only the top 16 swimmers make the semi-finals.

It was a damp day for Malaysian swimmers as the others – Kevin Yeap Soon Choy, Vernon Lee Jeau Zhi, Welsom Sim Wee Sheng, Yap Siew Hui and Nadia Adrianna Redza Goh – all came up short in their respective events.

Team manager Mae Chan summed up the team’s first day action as “not good and unlucky”.

“We could have had two swimmers in the semi-finals. It’s a pity that Erika and Jian Han missed out,” she said.

“It’s tough out there with Australia, Canada and England boasting strong swimmers. The disappointment today will only spur our swimmers to bounce back stronger in the other events.”

The Star : Christina’s on a ‘record-breaking’ mission in Glasgow

BY LIM TEIK HUAT

The 19-year-old Christina proved she is a worthy successor to Siow Yi Ting after replacing the latter as the region’s breaststroke queen with a double-gold feat at last year’s Myanmar SEA Games.

Christina Loh is aiming to break Siow Yi Ting's national record of 1:09.82 in the 100m breaststroke event at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games beginning next week.

The Penang-born teenager is raising the bar higher for her second Commonwealth Games appearance.

She wants to erase Yi Ting’s long-standing national record of 1:09.82 in the 100m breaststroke event, which hopefully, will propel her to a place in the final.

The now-retired Yi Ting clocked the mark at the 2009 Laos SEA Games.

“Breaking the 100m breaststroke national record is my goal this year and I will attempt to accomplish it in Glasgow,” said Christina, who has a personal best of 1:10.55.

“I will need to dip below 1:10. If I can swim that fast, with help from stronger opposition, hopefully it will come along with a berth in the final.

“It’s quite hard to say though if the timing will be good enough as I’m sure many swimmers from previous Games would have improved too.

“If I can make it that far, it will be a very big achievement for me as (Chui) Lai Kwan is the only Malaysian woman so far to swim in the 100m freestyle final, in New Delhi four years ago,” said Christina, who will also take part in the 50m and 200m breaststroke events as well.

The 50m distance was Christina’s pet event in which she currently holds the national record of 32.11 set at the World Championships in Shanghai in 2011.

However, she does not think highly of her chances in the 50m breaststroke, and has switched focus to the longer distance.

“My performance in the shorter race has been affected for some time. It’s quite hard to juggle between a few distances at one time.”

Lim Keng Liat is the only Malaysian swimmer to have stood on the Commonwealth Games podium so far.

The Sabah-born swimmer achieved the feat in Manchester in 2002, taking silver in the 50m backstroke and bronze for the 100m distance.

The aquatic medals have been coming in through the divers since then and Glasgow should not be any different.

Merdeka Swimathon 2014

MARK YOUR CALENDAR ON 31 AUGUST, 2014!

IBSC is proud to announce that we are organising a Merdeka Swimathon 2014 jointly with Persatuan Renang Amatur Kuala Lumpur to raise funds for the club's activities especially in empowering the needy swimmers to live better through sports. Details as below :

Event	:	Merdeka Swimathon 2014
Date	:	31 August, 2014 (Sunday)
Venue	:	Kompleks Renang Kuala Lumpur
Registration of swimmers	:	7:00 am.
Event Starts	:	8:00 am. – 12:00 pm.
Eligibility	:	Any IBSC members or non-members who registered with a valid Pledge Card returned to IBSC with collection of min RM50
Award	:	1.   Top 3 fund-raisers 2.   Longest distance junior swimmers (Under 12 male & female) 3.   Longest distance senior swimmers (13 and Over male & female) 4.   Certificate of participation 5.   Lucky draws
Deadline for Return of Pledge Card	:	16 August, 2014

So, set your record by swimming non-stop for the longest distance your stamina can stretch you and at the same time show to us that you too can chip in to bring the fund$ home. Each participant will be entitled to a goodie bag, Swimathon T-shirt, certificate of participation and a Lucky Draw.

See your coach or any of the IBSC committee members to get your Pledge Card today.  IBSC swimmers are to returned the Pledge Card together with the funds collected latest by 16 August, 2014 so that the swim events can be finalised soonest possible.

The Swimathon Pledge Card can also be downloaded here.

We look forward to your participation in this carnival event.

Meanwhile, we take this opportunity to thank the co-sponsors below for coming forward to support our Merdeka Swimathon 2014.

ELLENE PARTY FRIENDS

3rd Selangor Arena Short-Course Sprint Invitational Swimming Championship 2014

Dear IBSC Members,

Kindly be informed that IBSC has been invited to the following invitational short-course swimming meet as a Guest Club :

Invitational Event	:	3rd Selangor Arena Short-Course Sprint Invitational Swimming Championship
Organiser	:	Persatuan Renang Amatur Selangor (PRAS)
Date and Time	:	12 – 14 September, 2014 @ 8:00 am each day
Venue	:	Pusat Akuatik Darul Ehsan, Shah Alam, Selangor
Championship Rules	:	Rules and By-Laws of FINA
Date of Reckoning	:	1 January, 2014
Age Group	:	Group 1 – 4, Open
Entry Fees	:	a.         Registration fee of RM20 per swimmer b.         Individual entry fee of RM6 per event c.         Relay team entry fee of RM24 per relay event
Closing Date	:	12 August, 2014
Rules for Guest Clubs (Applicable to IBSC)	:	1.         Limit of entries of 20 male swimmers and 20 female swimmers 2.         Swimmers from Guest Clubs will be automatically classified under the “State swimmers” category
Competition Events	:	50m, 100m, 200m Freestyle 50m, 100m Breaststroke 50m, 100m Backstroke 50m, 100m Butterfly 100m, 200m Individual Medley 4x25m Freestyle Relay 4x25m Medley Relay 4x50m Mixed Freestyle Relay 4x50m Mixed Medley Relay (2 female + 2 males)

Please download Invite and Meet Information here.

Due to the above restrictions imposed on Guest Clubs, eligible IBSC swimmers will be selected by the Swim Committee to represent the Club in the above invitational meet. Short-listed swimmers will be notified in due course.

Best Regards,
IBSC Swim Committee

Latest update : List of selected swimmers have been finalised. Kindly refer to IBSC Facebook Closed Group page or the notice board.

SportExcel Grand Final 2014 - Qualifiers List

Congratulations to the Qualifiers who made a cut into the SportExcel Junior Swimming Circuit 2014, Grand Final which is scheduled to be held on 9-10 August, 2014 at Kompleks Renang Kuala Lumpur, Bandar Tun Razak.

Please note the following :

a)        Date                            : 09^th – 10^th August 2014

b)        Venue                         : Kompleks Renang Kuala Lumpur, Jalan Yaacob Latif,

                                                 Bandar Tun Razak, Kuala Lumpur

c)        Organizer                    : Kuala Lumpur Amateur Swimming Association (PRAKL)

d)        Auspices                     : Amateur Swimming Union of Malaysia

e)        Rules                          : FINA Rules Applied

f)        Age of Reckoning        : As of 1^st January 2014

g)        Team Manager briefing: 8.00am, 09^th August, 2014

h)        Entries                         : Only swimmers who have qualified for their respective events are

                                                  eligible to participate.                   

i)         Closing Date                : 5.00pm on Thursday, 17 July 2014.

Please download Qualifiers List and Invite here.

Lack of key swimmers not a concern to IBSC in Leg 2

On 21-22 June, 2014, the Leg 2 of the SportExcel Junior Swimming Circuit 2014 went on successfully at Stadium Hang Jebat Melaka. Team IBSC emerged as the overall champion club in Leg 2, repeating the success of being on top of the table during Leg 1. This was a real feat as some key swimmers like Goh Yue Hong, Kimberly Ong, Zachary Lim, Pun Pei Jin and some others were absent from Leg 2 and yet it did not deter IBSC from remaining the top points scorer.

IBSC collected a total of 2644 points, followed by PADE (2368 points) and Kelab Renang MSSC (1177 points) while securing 14 gold, 11 silver and 11 bronze. IBSC swimmers were in high spirit and performed competitively despite a stronger challenge from other clubs in Leg 2.

Congratulation to all IBSC swimmers for a great team work in Leg 2 and hopefully our victory can be repeated in the Grand Final.

Team IBSC ready to depart from KL to Melaka in high spirit

Sebastian Soon set the trail ablaze with 5 gold medals (50m and 100m backstroke, 50m and 100m butterfly and 100m freestyle) and was the IBSC's boy top performer for Leg 2. David Ong did not disappoint with 3 gold (50m and 100m breaststroke, 50m backstroke), 3 silver (50m butterfly, 50m freestyle and 100m backstroke) and 1 bronze (100m butterfly).

From left : Steve Khiew, Sebastian Soon and Low Ken Ji, all of whom swept the 3-coloured medals for the 100m backstroke

Iqmal Muqhis powered on despite a leg discomfort to win 2 gold (50m breast and 50m freestyle) and 2 bronze (100m breast and 100m freestyle). Desmond Ng successfully defended his gold medal and bronze medal in 100m breaststroke and 50m breaststroke respectively.

Iqmal Muqhis powering his 50m freestyle swim

Desmond Ng's powerful dive in display

Yap Li Wen emerged IBSC’s girl top performer with 2 gold medals in her pet events, 50m and 100m breaststroke. She added another bronze in 100m freestyle.

Yap Li Wen

Meanwhile, Yeong Zhen Yi added 6 more medals to her collection with 1 gold (100m breaststroke) and 5 silver (50m backstroke, 50m butterfly, 50m and 100m freestyle, and 50m breaststroke).

Yeong Zhen Yi went all out in her 100m breaststroke to win gold.

The club appreciates all point contributors below. Every effort swum by the swimmers fetched points to cement the club as the champion for Leg 2. Well done to all of them!

Overall, IBSC had a successful and enjoyable outing to Melaka for Leg 2. Credits to the Organising Committee, especially to Team Manager Puan Zainon Othman, Assistant Team Manager En Masron Mohamad, Chaperones Mrs Christine, Mrs Tharani Lee and Mr Vincent Low.

Appreciation also goes to all coaches involved in guiding and taking care of the swimmers.

We look forward to the SportExcel Grand Final which is scheduled to be held at Kompleks Renang Kuala Lumpur on 9-10 August, 2014.

See Full Results of SportExcel Leg 2 here.

See more photos at the IBSC Gallery.

Chaperon, Tharani helping reminding swimmers of their event numbers

Ng Zi Syuen, upcoming Group 4 girl

IBSC members value the bonding time together

Coach Kamal and Coach Shazali (at the background) with swimmers

Team Manager, Pn Zainon (in green) checking on the swimmers

Report by MM