1st PRAKL Junior Splash Swim 2016

Dear All,

Kindly be informed that PRAKL is organising a new swimming meet, 1st PRAKL Junior Splash Swim 2016 for junior swimmers aged 12 and below to spur interest in swimming for junior development and to tap new talents.

It is a great opportunity for members to participate and gain some valuable experience during the forth coming school holidays. Gist of meet is as follows:

Date                                :    12th – 13th March, 2016 (Sat - Sun)
Venue                             :    Kuala Lumpur Swimming Complex,
                                             Jalan Yaacob Latif, Bandar Tun Razak, Kuala Lumpur
Organizer                        :    Kuala Lumpur Amateur Swimming Association  (KLASA)
Rules                               :    FINA Rules applies
Date of Age Reckoning  :    1st January, 2016
Entry Closing Date         :    22nd February, 2016
Team Manager Meeting :    12th March, 2016 at 7:30 a.m.
Entries                             :   No limit to the number of swimmers or events

The order of events are :

Please download :

a) Invite and meet info & team entry forms

b) IBSC entry form (for IBSC members only)

IBSC members are to submit their entry forms complete with payment to the secretariat office before 17 Feb, 2015.

All the best,

IBSC Swim Committee

The Star : Swimmer Kevin continues bid to qualify for Rio

BY LIM TEIK HUAT

PETALING JAYA: Swimmer Kevin Yeap will be hoping for better fortunes as he bids to earn his first Olympic appearance in Rio de Janeiro in August.

The 25-year-old Kevin will compete in the Luxembourg Euro Meet from Jan 29-31 with Welson Sim, Phee Jinq En, Khoo Cai Lin and Erika Kong. This will be the Malaysian swimmers’ first outing of the year.

Kevin will only focus on the men’s 1,500m freestyle, with the goal of meeting the B qualifying time for the Rio Olympics.

The B qualifying time is 15:46.79. Kevin has a personal best of 15:31.67, which he set on the way to finishing sixth at the Incheon Asian Games in 2014.

“I did not have a good 2015 ... I missed the world meet in Kazan with a chest muscle injury. I rested for quite some time, but I have fully recovered.

“I want to try and get into the Olympics,” said the Perak-born Kevin, a gold medallist in the men’s 400m freestyle at the 2011 Indonesia SEA Games.

Kevin has also been overshadowed by the rise of the 18-year-old Welson, who has become the fastest Malaysian for the men’s 400m freestyle since last year.

Kevin held the previous national record of 3:53.26, set at the 2013 Malaysian Open in Bukit Jalil. Welson bettered it by clocking 3:52.83 at the World Cup meet in Doha in November.

At the Luxembourg Euro Meet, Welson will focus on the men’s 200m and 400m freestyle events while Jinq En and Erika will compete in the 50m, 100m and 200m women’s breaststroke. Cai Lin will make a bid to improve on her personal best in the women’s 400m and 800m freestyle.

The Star : Olympic dream still burns bright for swimmer Lai Kwan

BY TAN MING WAI

PETALING JAYA: The lure of the Olympics is what’s keeping 25-year-old swimmer Chui Lai Kwan from calling it a day.

National swimmer Chui Lai Kwan

That, and next year’s Kuala Lumpur SEA Games, are the reasons the short-distance specialist intends to plod on.

“I haven’t reached my peak yet. I still have a few good years left in me. I can still perform at the highest level,” said Lai Kwan, who trains with the Selangor state side after leaving the national set-up in 2011.

“Why would I quit? I still want to swim at next year’s SEA Games.”

At the Singapore SEA Games last June, Lai Kwan rewrote her own national record in the 50m freestyle after missing out narrowly on the podium to finish fourth.

She clocked 25.82 to improve on the previous mark of 26.00 set at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. The B qualifying time for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics is 26.17.

Lai Kwan, a finalist at the New Delhi Commonwealth Games and Guangzhou Asian Games in 2010, also holds the other two national records – 100m freestyle (57.59) and 100m backstroke (1:03.91).

Lai Kwan, who now focuses only on the 50m freestyle, is determined to lower her personal best in the event and boost her chances of a maiden Olympic appearance.

“The Olympic dream is one of the few factors that keep me going. I have competed in all the major meets, except the Olympic Games,” said Lai Kwan, the 2007 Korat SEA Games gold medallist.

“I’ve been training hard under coach Marellyn Liew to secure my qualification to Brazil. The A qualifying mark is 25.28. To dip under the A time seems unrealistic.

“But it’s very possible for me to qualify under the B category. But I must further improve my personal best to stand a chance of making the cut.”

Lai Kwan will have a chance to do just that at the National Age-Group Championships from March 31-April 1 and Malaysian Open from May 5-8.

The Olympic qualifying period ends on July 3.

IBSC Team Briefing - PRAKL Age Group Swimming Championship 2016

Dear IBSC swimmers,

Please note that there will be a team briefing on the PRAKL Age Group Swimming Championship 2016 for registered IBSC swimmers as follows :-

School leave  letter will be distributed during the team briefing. We appreciate your attendance especially those competing in a competition for the first time.

Please also note that IBSC support team t-shirts can still be purchased from the office, till stock lasts.

Thank you.

Regards,
Team Managers

Order of Events for MSSS, 23 - 26 Feb, 2016

The Star : SportExcel - the cradle for junior sports in Malaysia – turns 25

BY AFTAR SINGH

PETALING JAYA: SportExcel, the Foundation for Malaysian Sporting Excellence, was established on April 8, 1991 with one aim: to focus solely on junior development and fuel the dreams of thousands of young talent.

From left: ex-national bowler Shalin Zulkifli, ex-national squash player Ong Beng Hee and ex-national cyclist M.Kumarasen at the media launch of SportExcel Silver Jubilee Celebrations 2016 at Royal Selangor Club, Bukit Kiara. - RAYMOND OOI/ The STAR

Now, as SportExcel celebrated its silver jubilee at the Royal Selangor Club Sports Annex in Bukit Kiara on Wednesday, it can take pride from the fact that it has helped thousands of young athletes achieve their dreams in the last 25 years.

SportExcel founding chairman Tunku Tan Sri Imran Tuanku Jaafar said that the foundation is today the only organisation in Malaysia that serves as development with emphasis on excellence.

“I feel great satisfaction and pride in knowing that we have actually helped thousands of young Malaysian athletes chase their dream of being stars on the world stage.

“One shining example is eight-time squash world champion Nicol David, who featured in the SportExcel junior circuit,” said Tunku Imran, who is also Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) president.

Other distinguished SportExcel alumni included Esther Cheah (bowling), Jeffrey Ong (swimming), Shalin Zulkifli (bowling), M. Kumaresan (cycling), Nur Herman Majid (athletics), Ben Leong (golf) and Arul Suppiah, who played county cricket in England.

SportExcel organises junior circuits for 12 sports – golf, bowling, cricket, cycling, gymnastics (artistic and rhythmic), sepak takraw, shooting, squash, swimming, taekwondo, tennis and athletics – a year.

Tunku Imran said that SportExcel received sponsorships of about RM700,000 a year from its chartered members to organise the 13 circuits and that to date more than a RM1mil has been given out under its financial aid programme.

“We hope to get more chartered members as we want to raise more money this year to help as many juniors as we can to achieve their dreams,” said Tunku Imran.

“SportExcel also has an international reach in golf, working on junior reciprocal programmes with seven countries – namely India, China, Japan, Thailand, Australia, Hong Kong and Taiwan. We hope to do the same with other sports in the future,” said Tunku Imran.

2016 MSSWP Swimming Championship, 3 - 4 Feb, 2016

IBSC swimmers in schools participating in the MSSWP aquatic championship can download the entry forms for submission to their respective school here.

It is important to note that :

a) for primary students, age group 10 & below will NO longer be competed effective 2016;
b) swimming events are on 3 - 4 Feb, 2016; and
c) please submit completed forms directly to your respective school for selection of swimmers

Order of Events are :

52nd MILO/PRAM Malaysia Invitational Age Group Swimming Championships 2016

Please note that the 52nd MILO/PRAM Malaysia Invitational Age Group Swimming Championships 2016 will be held as follows :-

Date	:  31 March to 3 April, 2016 (Thurs-Sun)
Venue	:  Darul Ehsan Aquatic Centre, Shaha Alam
Organiser	:  Association of Swimming Union Malaysia (ASUM)
Rules	:  FINA Rules Apply
Competition Format	:  Timed Finals basis
Age of Reckoning	:  As of 1 January 2016
Entries	:  No limit to the number of swimmers per event
Closing Date	:  5.00 pm on 3 March, 2016 (Thurs)

As with last year's format, the competition is divided into 2 categories, for which swimmers will be awarded separately :

(i)  Malaysia Invitational Age Group (MAG Open) and

(ii) Malaysia Age Group Closed (MAG Closed) - for Malaysians only

Please note that foreigners residing in Malaysia must compete in MAG Open. Kindly indicate citizenship status should you intend to compete in MAG Closed.

This competition has also been sanctioned by FINA as the qualifying event for the  RIO Olympic Games 2016.

The Order of Events are as follows :

Please download invite and other forms here.

Takwim MSSWP 2016