The Aim for Hope Fundraiser drew to a close after receiving over 100 individuals at the event, many of whom were children trying their hand at the sport for the first time. A total of $1,750 ($10 for 10 shots) was raised from the event held at Yishun Safra Indoor Air Weapon Range.
Able-bodied and para athletes from the national shooting teams came together to coach the participants and give pointers on how to hit the target. In partnership with the Singapore Shooting Association (SSA), 30 national shooters from the association assisted in the event. Among them are Logaraj Raju who placed fifth in the Asian Para Games 2018 and Martina Lindsey Veloso, Gold medalist at the Commonwealth Games 2018.
Logaraj shared: “It was a good bonding session between able and para shooters, plus it was great opportunity for the public to try out air rifle shooting.” Agreeing with Logaraj, Martina said the event was a good form of exposure for the national youth shooters, as it gave them the skills-set to interact with the public and para shooters. She added that it was also great to see more kids coming in to participate and hopes this will harvest their interest in the sport.
The fundraiser is part of SDSC’s continuous efforts to bring sporting opportunities to persons with disabilities. Proceeds from today’s event help to fund various SDSC programmes including the learn-to-play (LTP) programme that introduces participants to sports at an introductory level.
Having taken part in the programme many years ago, para sailor Ng Xiu Zhen was among the first participants to take part in today’s event. “I started out in the LTP programme for sailing back in 2009, and feel that being part of this fundraiser will help newbies venture into sports. My takeaway from today is that, with focus we can achieve anything,” Xiu Zhen shared.
Happy to see the sport of shooting taking off in Singapore was 45-year-old participant Lim Teck Hian, who said: “The last time I shot was back in secondary school during my National Police Cadet Corp days. The sport has grown a lot since the earlier years like new technology and with that, I am here to introduce the sport to my son and give my son Julian the opportunity to try out the sport and give back to a cause at the same time.”
All proceeds received from the event will enable SDSC to run its progammes at affordable rates or no charge to ensure that participants will face little or no constraints in obtaining necessary opportunities to pursue sports.
