Mark Lee’s wife Catherine Ng is hosting what is believed to be Singapore’s first open-water polo competition on June 26.
The 52-year-old homemaker told AsiaOne in an interview today (June 4) that the event, titled EagleWings Cup, has been a work-in-progress for the past six months with local water polo coach Kuah Kar Huat and their committee of parents.
She said: “Some parents and I have been speaking to coach Kar Huat after we saw videos of water polo played at sea overseas. He said it’s possible to conduct it here if we can find sponsors.”
They had discussed the possibility of holding this event since last year but only began putting plans into place in January and scheduling the competition in June to coincide with the school holidays.
Sea water polo was played at the 6th Asian Beach Games held in Sanya, China, in April and in an article by Xinhua, coaches said challenges include dealing with the waves and currents, while the high salinity of sea water makes it uncomfortable for athletes to open their eyes.
Catherine, who married local actor Mark in 1999, told us she approached her good friend, local ophthalmologist Dr Julian Theng, also the founder of the multi-enterprise EagleWings Group, and he is supportive of the competition.
“This is our first time organising this competition and since we are using his yacht, we decided to name the competition after his brand name,” she explained.
Catherine and Mark’s son Maksonn, who turns 15 this year, has been a water polo player since 2019, after being introduced by a friend to try out the sport when he was in primary 3.
“It was before Covid-19; we let him try it out to see if he liked the sport and he did, so he continued with it till now,” she said, adding that he trains three times a week now.
Response to the upcoming competition has been overwhelming so far, she said, with 40 local athletes confirmed to participate.
They will be sailing together with their parents, Kuah and two divers to Singapore’s Southern Islands where the competition will be held.
Catherine shared: “All the children are looking forward to it. I do feel quite bad because there are a number of people who wish to participate in this, but we can’t accept more of them.
“We’re just starting out as a small-scale event, and if it’s successful, we hope to organise a bigger event next year.”
After the competition, they intend to review the event and see how they could improve and accommodate more people in the future.
As of press time, they have four or five confirmed sponsors who will be contributing to the goodie bags which Catherine and her team plan to give out to the competitors.
As most of the plans are coming into place, Catherine said their biggest concern now is the weather and sea condition on the actual day.
We also asked how Mark, 57, has supported the competition and she said: “He mentally supported us and asked for sponsorships from his friends.
“He is also very supportive of his son playing water polo. Although he is too busy to help with the planning, he will be helping us to promote the event.”
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yeo.shuhui@asiaone.com
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