HELP KONG GET TO IVF VA’A WORLD CHAMPS!

GETTING TO IVF VA'A WORLD SPRINT LONDON 2022

Thank you for being part of my World Sprints journey! With your support, I hope to arrive at the starting blocks in the best shape possible.

I am thrilled to be representing Singapore at the upcoming International Va'a Federation World Sprint Championships held in London, Great Britain this August! The IVF World Championships is widely regarded as the "Olympics of Va'a" and the biggest stage for Va'a athletes around the world vying for honour for their nations. Having qualified as the top paddler over two time trials in Singapore, I will be representing Singapore in both the Elite V1 (single craft va'a) and Elite V6 (6-man team boat) categories. You can visit the the event website (https://www.2022worldsprints.com) for details on the World Championships and the World-class field of paddlers competing this Aug on Dorney Lake, the 2012 London Olympics race site for Canoeing.

My journey began as I transitioned from flatwater canoeing (C1) into ocean paddling (OC1 and V1) a little over 2 years ago and have consistently worked to better my performance in the craft. More information on my paddling journey and bio can be found on the Puakea Team Rider page here: puakeadesigns.com/teamriders

Work ethics, discipline and tenacity form the basis of how I approach every training session, and these values are what I am hoping will eventually help me deliver the best results for Singapore!

WHY YOUR HELP MATTERS

Given that this sport is currently not competed at Major Games (Olympic, Commonwealth, Asian, and SEA Games), the sport is fully self-funded, both training and racing. I am currently training with the Singapore Paddle Club under the accomplished and dedicated Coach Denes Szaszak, and it is our collective aspiration to grow the sport in Singapore and achieve success at the highest level internationally.

On a personal level, it has taken me a weekly schedule of more than 7 water sessions and 5 strength and conditioning sessions over the last 8 months to get to where I am now. This continues to entail 6am mornings, 12pm lunch paddles, and after-work strength and conditioning (or more paddling). The next month will be crucial leading up to the start of the competition on 8 Aug, and I hope to count on your support to help me focus and prepare wholeheartedly for my international debut in London.

Your donations and contributions will go a long way in offsetting the costs of preparation and the race. The projected cost of at least $5,000 includes race fees, airfares, accommodations and transport, racing kit and uniforms, recovery sessions, nutrition, strength and conditioning, travel insurance etc. With your support and kind donations, I will be able to dedicate 100% of my time and energy on trainings and preparing for the race both physically and mentally.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

Any donation amount will be greatly appreciated and you can trust it to be put to the best use possible to support my campaign in London. I will also be grateful for you to help spread the word about the sport of Va'a and Outrigger Canoeing, and of course, my story! For those in Singapore, an offline donation via PayNow or PayLah (HP: 96286267) is much preferred and I will update the offline donation amount here on this fundraiser page. Please do indicate your name if you are comfortable as I would love to know where the kind donations are coming from!

To give back to the community supporting me, I would love to hold group paddle clinic sessions for paddler-donors in Singapore regardless of your donation amount. Given the crazy training schedule in the next month, these sessions will be held in September and November after the race. Do drop me a line on my social media (IG: tecklee.kong, FB: Kong Tecklee) or HP and we will work out a date post-race!

And of course, follow me on my social media for updates on my training progress in the lead up to London 2022! I will also be providing regular updates on trainings and milestones here on this page so do keep at watch out for them. A big mahalo to everyone out there supporting the sport and dreams of paddlers around the world!