Since 2001, every regetta, a part of me dies at the farce which is called the Singapore River Regatta.

Its not a race to see which team is stronger. Its a competition to see if your collective karma as a team is good enough to get you a good lane in the finals. Its an innocent game of tag where coxswains must be alert and able to ditch their race course in a second to avert an oncoming 20 man dragon boat.

In such choppy waters, there should only be 3-4 lanes max to make room for error and current diversion. But no, a certain organization just wants to make as much money as possible, squeezing in as many boats as possible per race so they can invite more teams, ccs, csc, etc, finish asap and make as much money as possible.

They don't give a damn about fairness or equality. Not in those conditions. And why should they? At the end of the day it doesn't matter who wins or loses, because they make the most money and win.

But convention in this community says to take part in this race every year, despite the travesty it is to the sport. Singaporeans are well trained to accept the shittiest conditions without questioning if things could be better or how they could be better. No one will really boycott such a stupid race.

Nevertheless some of the guys finally found out what it means to take action for something that they believe in. Though last minute action can only make up for about 40% of the optimal end result, perhaps one of them may realize just how to plan for the rest of the 60%. Still, the courage to speak up for what you believe in will take you places already.

Seeing guys like long and cj give so much to the team, it pains me a little. Because I know that I'm not unselfishly giving as much as them anymore. The sacrifices they made in positioning and line up, in bringing equipment for the whole team, sad to say I would probably never see it from some of our guys. But it something you only get from a few years in the sport, after you are tired of fighting for your own place, and when you see someone fighting for others, then you realize just how small a person you really are. If you can even see it in the first place. If they were in my team some time back, I know things would have gone a lot smoother.

It sucks when you know what must be done and you could do it so easily, but you have to force yourself to be a watcher in hopes that the conditions will inspire change.

Thats probably the final but most important thing I would want them to learn before they bid their final farewell to this sport.

And perhaps, one day, when they look back, and realize just how much fun this sport really can be, without all the shit attached, they will go back.










For me, I guess a part of me already knew where I should go, but I wanted to see things through to the end with these guys.

In life, its really a blessing to find something that you love to do and to be able to do it. But to find people to do it with, to share the same goal with, the same pain and joy, happiness and frustration, can never be replaced by anything else in the world.