Friendship shines bright for Schooling Sports Academy in sponsorship boost

SINGAPORE – They have known each other for the last 16 years and on Friday night (Aug 4), a new chapter was written in the friendship between the Schooling and Teo families.

The Schooling Sports Academy, established earlier this year by Colin and May, the parents of Olympic champion Joseph Schooling, received a S$25,000 boost from lighting specialist firm Krislite, which became the academy’s first-ever corporate sponsor.

Jimmy Teo, the group managing director of Krislite and close family friend of the Schoolings, pledged the amount during a fund-raising event at the company’s showroom at Loyang Way, which was attended by around 150 guests.

An auction of a glass sculpture designed by renowned artist Jitka Skuhrava and two swim caps worn by Schooling during the recent Fina world championships, as well as money raised through various activities on the night, brought the total amount to around S$100,000.

“Over the years, I’ve seen how Colin and May have supported young athletes, many times out of their own pockets,” said Teo, whose son Zhen Ren is best friends with Joseph.

“As far as I am concerned, they have done a lot and I think if anyone is looking to cut a champion, they have to look for May and Colin.”

Teo, who had to pause for a brief moment as emotions got the better of him, added: “I think it’s important to kick-start (the academy) and I hope to lead the way and light a path, so that other organisations will also follow in helping this fantastic and wonderful cause.”

The Schoolings are still in the process of charting the academy’s goals and structure, but May was steadfast in her belief that it will help young athletes achieve their dreams.

“We know it’s difficult because we’ve been through that difficult journey,” she said.

“Financially, it drains you and because of that, we hope that we can do some social responsibility back.

“To run this properly, we need guidance, to set our criteria on who we should help, we need to have a good board with sports-minded people, to help us decide who is deserving.”

While the academy will hand out scholarships and funding, it will not just serve underprivileged beneficiaries and will not be limited to just swimmers.

Schooling himself plans to play a more “hands-on” role after finishing his University of Texas studies next March and is looking forward to it.

“It’s for kids who show that they have the talent,” he said on the side-lines of the event.

“We could do free swim clinics, for example, and we also can look into clinics for tennis and even football, maybe involving Fandi (Ahmad), involving local sporting heroes in their various sports.

“I don’t want to limit myself to one role… I can coach at the swim clinics (and also) talk to the kids to try and inspire them… (be) more like a mentor kind of thing (as well).”

The 22-year-old also described the Teos’ support as a “fairytale story” and is grateful to them for coming on board.

“The Teos are our best family friends,” he said.

“Since I was six and he was seven, (Zhen Ren and I have been) best friends ever since.

“For them to step up and be the first one to initiate this movement, I think it’s pretty awesome and goes to show how great people the family really is.”

*The Schooling Sports Academy Facebook page can be found at https://www.facebook.com/SchoolingSportsAcademy/.