Singapore wakeboarder Clarence Batchelor gets fund-raiser boost to compete at world c’ships

SINGAPORE – Despite qualifying for the World Cable Wakeboard and Wakeskate Championships, Singaporean Clarence Batchelor thought he would not be able to compete at the Aug 8-15 event in Beijing.

Not for the first time, the 23-year-old wakeboarder found himself unable to go for overseas competitions as he could not afford the travelling expenses.

Since his father died of a heart attack in 2021, Batchelor and his two siblings have had to work to support the family financially.

But thanks to some good Samaritans, Batchelor will be on the flight to China with his seven teammates after all.

With less than a week to the June 30 registration deadline, a teammate’s mother had related his predicament to a friend, Chan Chen Hern.

Chan, 50, a director in the maritime industry, decided to start a fund-raising campaign for the athlete.

After sending texts to his friends, some of whom are former wakeboarders, it took Chan only two days to raise $6,500 for Batchelor’s travel expenses.

“At first I said, ‘don’t need to’, because I didn’t want to disappoint anybody,” said a grateful Batchelor at the Singapore Wake Park on July 2, when some of the donors turned up to wish him good luck for the competition.

“But they explained and I eventually agreed, and they don’t have any expectations of me, they just want me to do my best, and I hope I can make it into the top three and that would be a huge milestone.”

Competing at the world championships will enable Batchelor, who works as a freelancer at events, to build on his SEA Games silver medal showing in the cable wakeboard mixed team category in the 2025 edition in Thailand.

His flights and accommodation then were covered by the Singapore National Olympic Council.

Chan, himself a former wakeboarder, said: “We knew that the registration closes on June 30 and we had a few days to make or break.

“I didn’t know him personally but if Singapore can be represented by eight of our best then why not?

“So I started calling friends and a couple of former wakeboarders and immediately the help came.

“I’m very happy with this help that we have managed to get from everywhere, we just hope for the best and to put him and Singapore on the world stage.”

Nearly 40 per cent of the sum came from Rupert Gan, the former boss of Chan’s wife. Gan, chief strategic officer of Bells Institute of Higher Learning, donated $2,500.

Asked about the four-figure sum, the 47-year-old said: “I find that if I want to do something, let’s make it impactful. Let’s make sure that everybody gets to feel that relief off their shoulder.”

Adding that he was impressed with Batchelor’s story, he said: “This young gentleman is ‘fighting for his life’ and everybody is helping him and he’s not giving up.

“I thought that mentality is very critical.”

Batchelor was introduced to wakeboarding a decade ago by his father, who had supported him mentally and financially for all his competitions.

The athlete said: “When I was already wakeboarding a lot, he opened a wakeboarding shop… And it was his passion to watch me wakeboard.

“After his death, it was pretty hard at the start, but everybody has to do their part to live comfortably, so there wouldn’t be so much pressure on my mum.

“The most difficult thing for me was whenever I came to the wake park, there’d be some memory of him. I don’t think anyone can fully recover from losing one of their parents but he’s always here with me in my heart.”

Yunos Yusop, national coach of the Cable Wakesports Association (Singapore), said that he had known Batchelor’s dad for over 30 years.

The 55-year-old added: “Everywhere he goes for wakeboarding, his dad would follow and wait till he finished.

“That was how much support he was getting and he did that not only for him, but for those in the community as well. Everybody loved him so much because he brought the vibes.

“If his dad is looking at him now, I think he will feel very proud of him, and I’m thankful for the help that these people have given Clarence… If he can get to the semi-final of the world champs, I’ll be very happy for him.”