Kayley, Vivienne Snag MVP Crowns

Kayley Goh Shi En and Vivienne Chew En were named Most Valuable Player in the Under 14 and Under 13 age-groups respectively at the 2021 Liberty Insurance Virtual SNAG Club Championships.

Taking into account swimming meets held between 1 December 2020 and 30 April 2021 that are sanctioned by Singapore Swimming Association, the Virtual SNAG Leaderboard gave swimmers platform to compete against each other on FINA points, similar to a league format. Swimmers who took part in meets such as the 2020 Singapore National Olympic Qualifier, SSA Comeback Meet 1 and 2, January and February Swim Series, January Singapore Swimming Proficiency Awards February Time Trials, Liberty Insurance 51st Singapore National Age Group (SNAG) Junior Invitational could earn FINA points based on their performance in each event contested.

Kayley (Secondary 2) and Vivienne (Secondary 1) from Singapore Sports School’s Swimming Academy ranked highest in the Virtual SNAG MVP Chart which took the total of swimmers’ three best performances during the five-month qualifying period.

“The journey has definitely been an arduous yet rewarding one. It has definitely been stressful trying to stay focused on training plans and pushing through muscle aches, while having to prepare for exams at the same time. But with the support from my coaches, Academy mentor, General Manager, batchmates and teammates, I have managed to come out stronger,” said MVP Under 14 winner Kayley who chalked up a total of 1,851 FINA points from 50m, 100m and 200m Freestyle events. The next best swimmer was Charlotte Chiang with 1,799 points.

Kayley shared that the pandemic has affected athletes’ morale due to fewer competitions and competitive exposure which could have affect their performance and rate of improvement.

“Therefore, receiving this title amidst this pandemic has motivated me greatly and I am very humbled by it. I will work harder and strive to excel in future swim meets, both local and international if the opportunity arises. This MVP title is truly an honour and something I will treasure.”

During this pandemic where competition opportunities are volatile, U13 MVP Vivienne is also treasuring every chance she has to race and the award is motivation for her to remain focused on training. She showed skill across the four strokes during the various meets, performing best in the U13 400m Individual Medley, 100m Butterfly and 50m Breaststroke which earned her 1,674 points, ahead of rival Emily Ong with 1,621 points.

“I feel very honoured and happy to receive this award as it is the culmination of many years of hard work. This prize is not without the support of my coaches, family and friends. They guided me and shown me how I should improve and also encouraged me to achieve my goals,” said Vivienne.

Five other Sports School student-athletes also ranked among the top three on the MVP charts in their respective age-groups: Secondary 3s Leroy Lock, Brandon Yap Yan Xi; Secondary 4s Sage Tan, Dora Kwok Sin Yu; and IBDP Year 5’s Clydi Chan.