When four Olympians gathered at the National University of Singapore’s (NUS) sports hall on a Saturday afternoon, it could easily have been mistaken for a weekend training session. But instead of donning their training gear, the quartet of Kiria Tikanah, Amita Berthier, Ryan Lo and Stephenie Chen were fielding questions from an eager, young audience.
Having been put through their paces for close to two hours through mini-games and circuit exercises, participants turned the tables on the Olympians, quizzing them on everything from training routines and nutrition to tactics and fitness.
Hosted by BT Development – an athlete mentoring initiative launched in April by fencers Amita Berthier and Kiria Tikanah – on 23 August with Ryan Lo and Stephenie Chen joining as guest speakers — the event drew about 20 participants aged five to 27, including 24-year-old professional wrestler Kelvin Quah.
The event was the third organised by BT Development, after an online sharing session in April and a fencing clinic in June that had attracted some 50 participants.
“We’ve always wanted to give back to the community. This dialogue first came about after we returned from Paris, when we had some downtime before deciding whether to continue competing. Since we see each other almost every day at the gym, we’d have these small conversations here and there, and it slowly built up from there,” Tikanah explained.
“We also wanted to make it clear that it’s not just about fencing. We want to include other sports as well.”
To do so, Berthier and Tikanah tapped into Lo and Chen’s expertise, as the pair led training sessions and spoke openly about their experiences in sailing and kayaking.
“I think it was great to share that we’ve all been in their shoes before… I got to give them an idea of what it’s like and where we came from. We all started from the same position, and they can do it too. The important part was to really have fun and surround yourself with a good environment,” said two-time Olympian and Asian Games medallist Lo.
For Chen, who admitted that running a workshop for kids was “not really my wheelhouse”, it was gratifying to see the participants enjoy themselves, and she hopes they will take something away from the workshop.
“It was very nice to see the kids run around, having a good time… It’s good for kids to hear from (athletes of) different sports… Every sport is different. So it’s a learning experience for them and hopefully they take something away even though they are young,” said Chen, who made history in Paris last year as the first Singaporean to make an Olympic final in her sport.
Beyond giving back to the community, the initiative is also meant to serve as a “platform for people to reach out if they have any questions.”
For Berthier (foil) and Tikanah (épée), Singapore’s first fencers to qualify for the Olympics in 2020, the need for mentorship and guidance for younger athletes was clear. They wanted to “be somebody that is there for them, that we didn’t have growing up.”
“We created this platform because we felt we didn’t have the kind of resources or seniors to look up to. We didn’t know who to reach out to when we were younger,” Berthier explained.
“(It’s about) creating an environment for anyone to come and seek guidance from and tap into the knowledge that we have,” Tikanah added.
They’ve also enlisted fellow fencer and SEA Games medallist Jet Ng and 3×3 national basketballer Dania Ervianny Nah. Ng helped to run the sessions, while Nah took care of filming content for their Instagram page, which has grown to more than 300 followers.
“I am currently in rehabilitation, so I have time to help them with the training and more. I’m also doing this because I want to help them. I also love sports, but I can’t do it now, so this is like my way of contributing and staying in the scene,” Nah said, referring to an anterior cruciate ligament injury she sustained that has kept her out of the national team.
Sharing, perhaps poignantly, during the dialogue that “Champions take a whole village to support,” Berthier expressed gratitude for the backing the initiative has received in its early stages.
“Kiria and I are just so blessed because it really shows there is a village behind us,” she said, also acknowledging the fencing shoes provided by Azza Fencing for a giveaway during their clinic and NUS for providing a venue for their third event.
Feedback for the event has also been positive among some of the participants’ parents.
Damien Chan, whose seven-year-old son Gabriel plays badminton, heard of the event through word-of-mouth.
“It’s an opportunity for him to meet with the Olympic sportspeople, and maybe my son can learn a thing or two. It can be helpful for him. He can learn what they do, how they train, and have fun as well,” the 42-year-old said.
“I would like to encourage others as well, any other children who just want to get exposed to these things. It’s a nice thing that BT Development is doing,” he added.
Riding on this momentum, BT Development has some plans in the works to invite athletes from overseas to attend their events as well.
“We also plan to have guests from overseas in the future. We hope to bring fencers from other countries to Singapore. And I think that would be one of our largest, like, biggest plans for now,” Tikanah said.
