Jan 22, 2006 ACSians Controlling Sports By Alvin Foo
RI boys may run the country, but ACS boys own it.
Anglo-Chinese School students have been saying this for years.
Now, ACS old boys are helping the country run - as key sports officials.
From the very top, no less: Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, the Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports.
The day-to-day running of Singapore sports is also in the hands of two former ACSians - Singapore Sports Council chairman Alex Chan and chief executive Oon Jin Teik.
Both represented Singapore in swimming and were South-east Asia Games gold medallists.
There is no lack of ACS representation in the National Sports Associations (NSAs) too; three major sports bodies are run by them.
Football Association of Singapore president Ho Peng Kee is also of ACS pedigree, as is S-League CEO How Seen Yong, FAS head of administration, finance and corporate affairs Samuel Panthradil and national teams committee chief P. Sivakumar.
The biggest group of ACSians are in the Singapore Athletic Association - Tang Weng Fei (president), Loh Lin Kok (senior adviser), Maurice Nicholas (international relations adviser), Chan Chee Wei (vice-president, training and selection), Tang Ngai Kin (committee member), Eric Song (director-general) and Lim Jit Kee (events director).
The ACS flag is kept flying in the Singapore Swimming Association by vice-presidents Oon Jin Gee (swimming, brother of Jin Teik), Desmond Koh (finance) and Tay Chin Joo (special projects). All three, incidentally, were Olympians.
The ACS presence can even be found in a women's sport: Netball Singapore president Tan Wee Khim and executive director Cyrus Medora.
What is it about ACS boys and sport?
'It's driven by individuals who have a passion for sports and are willing to volunteer their time,' said SSC chairman Chan.
'But we don't want to monopolise the sports scene. We want all schools to be passionate about it.' SAA president Tang, a former national 110 metres hurdler, agrees, saying: 'We've always had a holistic education, with strong emphasis on academics, sports and leadership.'
How do sports officials who were educated in other schools feel about the ACS presence?
Quipped SingaporeSailing president Low Teo Ping, a Raffles Institution alumni: 'Do they even receive an education over there?'
On a serious note, Low, whose brother Wee Ping was from ACS, said: 'But let's give credit where credit is due. Other schools should emulate the fine balance they strike between sports and academics.'
Tampines Rovers chairman and former St Joseph's Institution student Teo Hock Seng said: 'When it comes to supporting sports, the more the merrier.
'It doesn't matter which school they come from - whether it's ACS, RI, SJI, Victoria, St Andrews or St Patrick's.'
Most believe ACSians are involved in sports because of the school's strong sports culture and service mission.
Retired ACS principal Lee Hah Ing noted in the 1968-69 school magazine that the S in ACS 'stands for Sports, Sportsmanship and Service'.
He wrote: 'Through our multifarious extra-curricular activities, we hope to produce a new generation of youths, rugged and robust, who are imbued with the spirit of true sportsmanship and service to the community.'
Former students echo those sentiments.
Assoc Prof Ho said that many ACSians were sportsmen and active in clubs, societies or the prefectorial board as students, and that sports forms a key component in the school's overall philosophy to shape character.
'These two attributes coalesce in ACS boys who take up leadership and management positions in NSAs - they express their leadership through the medium of sports,' said Assoc Prof Ho, who represented ACS in soccer and was second to SAA president Tang in the 110m hurdles in 1969.
Added Medora: 'Even students who were not fit or athletic were made to play sports.
'We were taught to do different things, be adventurous, and do things with a big passion.'
Medora certainly practises what he was taught. He went from ACS rugby captain to president of the Boardsailing Association of Singapore to Netball Singapore executive director.
Some suggested that the ACS trend is a natural progression. For example, their presence in the SAA could be due to the many top runners that the school produced from the 1950s to 1970s: M. Jegathesan, Ong Beng Seng, Loh Lin Kok, Tang Weng Fei and Tang Ngai Kin, among others. Some others put it down to the old-boy network.
Former netball chief Ivy Singh-Lim, who was from St Anthony's Convent, said: 'It's probably easier for them, as they have the same background, values and speak the same lingo.'
What about the ACS connection in netball?
Singh-Lim, who holds the view that NSAs are made up of exclusive old-boys' networks, said: 'I'm okay with that, as long as they are motivated by the right values in life.'
The ACS involvement in sports looks set to continue.
The school still produces impressive sports results. ACS (Independent) has claimed the overall boys' title in secondary school sports nine times in the last 10 years.
And principal Ong Teck Chin is hopeful that the school will continue to produce both top athletes and officials.
He said: 'Our current students have these examples as role models they can emulate.'
To many, the acronym ACS stands for All Can Swim - a reference to its historic prowess in the pool.
Maybe it should be changed to ACSians Controlling Sports?
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