I was formerly a Physical Education teacher and I fully support the idea of the Olympic Games, albeit at a junior level. However I need to voice my concerns about at least how the Web team for the SYOGOC screwed up.
When the Straits Times first mentioned that the relay runners' names were available online, I went to the SYOG website to grab the runners’ lists right away to scan for famous athletes as I was previously a competitive runner.
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I managed to spot Hicham El Guerrouj and Frank Fredericks and Alexander Popov (I know who Popov was, because I was interested in swimming and triathlon). Most of the relay runners from Singapore had photos - be it students, or community or volunteer kind of people. I’m fine with that.
What was appalling on the website was that, there were no photos of especially Hicham El Guerrouj, who I believe is still the current world record holder for men's 1500m and Mile for the past 11 years... and in place of his photo, it was a blank outline (kind of like MSN contacts without a photo)! Same thing happened for other non-Singapore relay runners, even if they were nominated directly or indirectly by the International Olympic Committee!
To confirm some identities, I also tried to look at the photo of a relay runner who has a fairly common name (and I thought might be an long lost acquaintance) – and I had to wait out for the website to go one-by-one from a runner to the next, just so that I can see the photo and ascertain the identity, as I lost the contact of this friend years ago. Good thing was, it was indeed him – but the time spent just waiting for the website to auto-load to his profile, I believe I spent at least 4 to 6 minutes waiting, just to verify the identity by means of a photo. There wasn’t an option to click upon the profile to cut the wait – it was really testing my patience!
The morning before his scheduled run/relay, I was working on my computer up to 3am planning the route of advancement to where I suppose El Guerrouj would be dropped off, do his bit of the relay, and get back onto the bus – all just so that I could take a photo of him (and the other athletes I mentioned).
From the information given, I had to deduce roughly by my own logic where he’d be dropped off, because the website didn’t give further information about what relay runner tag number he was assigned, nor which lamp-post he’d be getting his turn.
I had to deduce by logic, as there were 29 runners for the 2.2km stretch of Serangoon Road, which means each runner would take up only 75 meters – that was quite a challenge because I have no guarantee that was exactly going to be his spot for sure for me to get there ahead of time!
So came Friday morning - the route was baffling, to put it bluntly. I have absolutely no idea why the relay would have to go from Nanyang Girls' to Newton Circus, go past Newton Food Centre, come out by Winstedt Road and go around once more to go onto Bukit Timah Road again.
In fact, I had absolutely no clue that the relay would go "express" and give the long stretch of Bukit Timah Road a miss, only to resume at Serangoon Road! If not for the fact that I was on my mountain bike, I would have missed all opportunity of taking any photos! Because of this and the fact that Serangoon Road was tricky for me with my mountain bike, I did my evaluation and had to give Popov a miss, and had to pray really hard that I could get El Guerrouj and Fredericks.
The AETOS folks controlling the traffic weren't too eager to have me on my mountain bike on the opposite side of the one-way Serangoon Road. I was supposed to cycle only on the pavement - but with curious bystanders stopping to look from it, how on earth could I cycle through this crowd? And no, I don't think I could run all the way with my camera from Newton Circus in the first place!
Fortunately for me, El Guerrouj was dropped off at the junction of Balestier Road and Serangoon Road with relatively lesser traffic, however there was not a single soul lining up to take a photo with him, because I think even if there were any fellow fans, they wouldn't know where is the exact spot he'd be dropped off as I encountered in my preparations.
I managed to get my photos of him, as well as with him. I remember I was feeling my heart beating very fast - not because of the fact that I was able to meet him in person, but because I had to do a strenuous and stressful leap-and-bound style of cycling just to be able to ensure that I got to see him! I also got to take my photos with Fredericks... everything was over so fast!
My greatest joy was my luck to be able to take photos of, as well as with, these two great Olympians. However, I was embarrassed somewhat that their names were not even publicized in the newspapers – be it their arrival, or participation in the relay – hence leading to zero supporters for El Guerrouj, apart from myself. Fredericks had some students from Hong Yi Primary cheering him on, without a clue who he was - I explained to them their great luck of meeting a great man after Fredericks departed.
Some of my running friends were totally shocked when I posted the photos that I took with these two great men on my Facebook account - because they weren't even aware of these athletes' presence in Singapore. Initially I'd thought Guo Jingjing was coming and probably would be a torch relay runner - but nope, she wasn't.
Maybe I missed a fact somewhere along the lines. And no, no photos with Popov, because he was dropped somewhere earlier along Serangoon Road – where I couldn’t possibly get to in advance because I didn’t have a single clue where he’d be dropped as well. The Straits Times had goofed up big time by not even mentioning (unless I really missed seeing it) these two men's participation.
If anyone ought to get shot, I’d volunteer to nominate the SYOG Web Development team. But then again, if they were volunteers, I can’t hold it against them. But for the amount of time that has gone by since the confirmation of the YOG bid, it’s still far below my personal expectations.
I want to comment nothing on politics and YOG apart from that the execution phase of the relay made me really concerned. I sure hope the rest of the event runs without a glitch though!
I had to add in the last bit about politics although i'm frustrated by a long-lost scholar acquaintance of late; to the extent that I got totally repulsed by his behaviour when I mentioned that i'm working in insurance. perhaps I'll leave that for another day, but in all honesty. I don't know who's the blokes volunteering or bring arrowed to do the website. international BIG NAMES can actually get NO MENTIONING at all in both ST and the YOG website. I was practically hunting for the BIG NAMES in FINE PRINT by myself! :-p
If the website were run by volunteers, ok, I will accede some leeway (in fact, lots) for not knowing Who's Who in sports. If it were NSF boys being arrowed for it, I pity them, because i observed how the NDP were run, as I was official photographer from 2004-2007. Sad in a way that high up in the decision-makers' workflow, that saf or ex-saf people have to be roped in to do work they were never supposed to do.
iIm not too sure, but it jolly well could be some high-up-there personnel, but below the chief decision maker, who'd volunteer the raw masses of SAF NSF boys for this event. I do pity the nsf boys, because this wasn't what they asked for, like the photos that I took at NDP, the unearthly hours the 1SIR and 40-something-SAR boys had to be there, to lay down tarpaulin etc...
I wish I could write better and formulate my thoughts clearer when I write. the only thing that my various thoughts about the local system is that the leaders, in an attempt to make singapore a BIG red dot, is to let it achieve world's pioneer status in everything. My goodness, how many guiness world records do we need?
While the authoritarian methods in the 50/60s might have eradicated secret societies by large; this might have rendered most people into weaklings, kind of like raising a fierce dog, overtime, the many generations of offspring will be domesticated.
Yours Sincerely,
Ngoh Seh Suan, AFP
EDITORS’ NOTE:
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