Courtesy of Daniel Tan, Singapore Swimming Association.
LIBERTY INSURANCE REVIVES OPEN WATER SWIM AFTER 10 YEAR HIATUS
Singapore – Open Water Swimming is one of the most grueling forms of swimming. Other than battling the currents and elements of the weather, the swimmer would also need to possess the mental strength and endurance to push on during a tough swim. Despite its demanding nature, more and more people are taking to open water swimming as a form of challenging themselves in recent years. In neighboring countries like Japan and Taiwan, Open Water Swimming have even become yearly events that families train together and look forward to bond over.
Since 2016 Liberty Insurance has been working closely with Singapore Swimming Association (SSA) to inject new energy into the Singapore swimming scene, by bringing Open Water Swimming back on the radar. The last large-scale Open Water Swim event held till date was back in 2007 at East Coast Park (ECP), which had attracted thousands of participants.
When asked about Liberty Insurance’s intention to revive Open Water Swimming, CEO of Liberty Insurance Mr. Chang Sucheng said “As an island, Singapore is surrounded by water, and thanks to the tropical weather, locals hit the beach anytime during the year. Developing swimming in the Open Water is thus more of an essential survival skill now than just a sport. This importance has also been highlighted by the recent drowning cases here.”
With that objective in mind, Liberty Insurance worked closely with SSA to launch Liberty Wave – a 3 day Open Water Event to be held from 29 Sept to 1 Oct 2017 at ECP, promising to provide participants with a holistic Open Water Swim experience through a two-pronged approach – theory and practical.
The theory portion of Liberty Wave is reflected through Wave Class – a full day workshop conducted by world acclaim open water expert, Steven Munatones, who will be flown in from the States. Munatones, who is an International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame inductee and board member of the FINA Technical Open Water Swimming Committee, will share with participants different topics ranging from the history of Open Water Swimming, key steps to swimming well in Open Water Races, and even recovery and sports performance techniques during the workshop on 30th September. The topics will be well-balanced to take into account the diverse audience group comprising veteran and competitive swimmers, parents, coaches, race directors and sports researchers.
“When Liberty Insurance Singapore invited me to be part of Liberty Wave, I was very excited as this would be my first foray into expanding Open Water Swimming in Asia. I greatly respect Liberty’s desire to revive and grow the sport in Singapore with the support of SSA, and it would be my pleasure to set the groundwork here so that others can follow-up and further develop the sport in future years. This is what I have done in places like Mexico, Canada, Brazil, Greece, Cayman Islands and the USA.” When asked why Open Water Swimming appeals so much to him, Munatones said “No line, no lanes, and no limit – It is tough to go back to swimming in a pool after experiencing how exhilarating and freeing swimming in the open is.”
The practical portion of Liberty Wave – Race the Waves offers different distances for participants to choose from depending on their comfort in the open water, namely 1km for beginners, 2km for intermediate and 4km for the veteran athletes. They will be able to apply the skills taught during Wave Class during the actual swim, alongside hundreds of fellow Open Water Enthusiasts. One interesting aspect of Liberty Wave is Wave Kids, a 300m swim targeted at kids 7 – 12 years old in the open water. This swim is meant to allow kids to familiarize themselves with open water conditions, with lifeguards on kayaks and safety boats ensuring their safety.
“We are very happy that Liberty Insurance took the initiative to work with us to revive Open Water Swimming. Although Open Water Swimming only became an Olympic event in 2008 at the Beijing Games, the activity of groups of people having fun swimming in Open Waters has been active for many years now, especially overseas. It will be very inspiring to see this sport grow in Singapore, and for more Singaporeans to be confident and efficient to swim in Open Waters. I would especially encourage all parents to sign their kids up for the challenge.” said Mr. Lee Kok Choy, President of SSA.
Liberty Wave is open to local and international swimmers. Interested participants can register at www.libertywave.sg. Registration ends 7 September.
###
For media enquiries, please contact:
Daniel Tan
Singapore Swimming Association
T +65 9798 1140
daniel.tan@swimming.org.sg
Reayun Tan
Liberty Insurance Pte Ltd
T +65 9437 8998
tan.reayun@libertyinsurance.com.sg
About Liberty Wave
Liberty Wave is a 3-day affair to give you the full Open Water Swim experience. Breaks out of the four walls of a swimming pool and experience the exhilaration of swimming out in the open sea. Work alone or in a team, join Race the Waves with distances of 1km, 2km and 4km to challenge the currents at the debut run of Liberty Wave. Kids may also experience Open Water Swimming in a fun 300m race titled Wave Kids.
Register now at www.libertywave.sg to truly experience the joy of swimming without limits!
About Singapore Swimming Association
The Singapore Swimming Association (SSA) is the National Sports Association governing aquatic sports in Singapore. These include five key disciplines – diving, open water swimming, swimming, synchronised swimming and water polo. As the national governing body, SSA spearheads its vision of developing the Republic to become a leader in aquatic sports – regionally as well as globally. Closer to home, SSA collaborates with various affiliate clubs and stakeholders, to proactively nurture a greater depth of local talent through various outreach efforts and programmes.
About Liberty Insurance Pte Ltd
Liberty Insurance aims to become Singapore’s leading insurer by removing complexity and confusion, enabling customers to concentrate on the things that matter most to them. This is captured by the company’s slogan, ‘Embracing Simple Joys’. By being a strong partner, Liberty Insurance brings satisfaction to the lives of its customers.
Liberty Insurance Singapore is a wholly owned subsidiary of Liberty Mutual Insurance Group. Headquartered in Boston, Liberty Mutual Insurance Group ranks 75th on the Fortune 100 list of largest corporations in the U.S. (based on 2016 revenue). As of 31 December 2016, Liberty Mutual Insurance Group had US $38.3 billion in annual consolidated revenue. Liberty Mutual Insurance Group operates with a global view across five continents and employs more than 50,000 people in approximately 800 offices throughout the world.
Organized by: Sanctioned by:
Copyright © 2008-2017 by World Open Water Swimming Association