pay it forward

I received a pleasant email a few days ago from an international exchange student who was here in Singapore a year ago. Back then he contacted me before coming to Singapore to find out about the rowing scene and hoped to carry on with his rowing while he was in Singapore. He isn’t the first person who did their student exchange program in Singapore to have contacted me. I enjoy learning and sharing experiences with people from around the world and if the experience comes with rowing, all the more better. It certainly made my day when I read about how he has taken his rowing up a level, competing at state and national uni championships with good results. Knowing that I can be part or simply help in any way towards someone’s strive for improvement and excellence brings me much joy. It’s paying it forward. And that’s the wonderful thing about sport. Maybe I can’t speak for other sports. But the wonderful thing about rowing is that it transcends all boundaries.

My rowing and approach to sport is significantly influenced by all the amazing athletes and coaches from around the world, whom I have been fortunate enough to work/train with. One thing I realised about the environment here is, if you’re not a medal winner, you’re pretty much taken for granted. People don’t really want to hear what you have to say. Fair enough, everyone has different standards. For me, if the opportunity arises or if there’s someone who wants to share and learn, I want to be able to help improve someone else’s life