Suspension from surgery to be spent on squash

While Dr Woffles Wu will travel during his suspension, he is not going on a holiday.

He will spend the next four months focusing his time and effort on giving life to squash, and that includes looking for funds and talent.

One of his top priorities is to "actively look for sponsorships" to prepare the Singapore team for the 2015 SEA Games.

He said: "We have been nominated for next year's SEA Games, but our budget is very small. We are desperately in need of funds so that we can improve our training programmes, motivate the kids and send them to regional tournaments.

"Hopefully, we can build a team that can take us not just to the 2015 SEA Games, but 2017 and 2019 and so forth."

Dr Wu, who plays the sport recreationally, was elected the president of the Singapore Squash Rackets Association (SSRA) in September last year.

He hopes to change the profile of the sport and "bring the game back to the masses".

Squash enjoyed a golden era in the 70s and 80s when the nation's players were considered the kingpins of the region.

Since then, it has lost its lustre and failed to gain a following among younger players.

Dr Wu believes the sport needs to shed its elitist tag to succeed.

He said: "So far, squash has been confined to schools that have squash programmes and squash courts, which means those are the schools that can afford (such facilities). Such schools obviously churn out good players all the time.

"But these players are also academically very gifted, and what happens is that the association spends money to train them to a good level, then at 18, 19, they say 'Bye bye, I am going to university', and off they go."

CAPITALISE ON SQUASH

Dr Wu continued: "We've had eight students who capitalised on squash and they have gone to Harvard, Princeton, Yale, all Ivy League (universities). And they can't come back to play for us."

Dr Wu hopes that by shifting its focus to the masses, he can build up the base of the pyramid and have more players to choose from.

To achieve that, he kick-started the Schools Recruitment and Adoption Programme in January, where neighbourhood schools are adopted by the SSRA under a two-year renewable programme.

Three secondary schools have since been adopted - Xinmin, Junyuan and Fuchun.

With the adoption, the SSRA helps to locate squash courts nearest to the schools, selects coaches who are accredited and pays them to coach the children.

It also sources sponsorship for rackets, eyewear and attire.

Dr Wu, who described himself as a late adult player, has also started the Adult Training Programme for "those who were too shy to play when they were young, but are not too shy to ask for a bit of help now".

He is also planning to compete in the World Masters Squash Championships, billed as one of the most prestigious international tournaments for mature squash players (aged 35 and over).

He will be travelling to Bangkok at the end of this month, and to Hong Kong in May for two other tournaments.

"One of the things I hope to do for Singapore squash is to start a Masters tournament here. Going to Bangkok and Hong Kong will help me observe how the organisations run their shows and see if we can replicate them here.

"I am working for a non-profit organisation. I will be spending my time raising much-needed funds, and that can come too from the tournaments that we can organise here," said Dr Wu.

This article was published on April 15 in The New Paper.

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