SINGAPORE — After a successful outing at the SEA Games which saw its fencers winning a haul of two gold and three bronze medals last month, Fencing Singapore (FS) is headed to the polls next week as the fraternity votes for the leaders who will take the sport to a historic achievement: Qualifying for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and beyond.

Scheduled for Sept 26, the annual general meeting and elections will see some familiar faces, as former FS president Adrian Lee has thrown his hat into the ring to challenge the incumbent chief, Juliana Seow, for the top job at the national sports association (NSA).

According to documents seen by TODAY, Lee, who served as president from 2005 to 2009, will lead a team of five which includes former president Nicholas Fang (2009 to 2013), who is contesting for three vice-president positions (High Performance, High Participation, and Industry Development).

Fang, a three-time SEA Games bronze medallist and former Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) had lost the presidency to Seow, an entrepreneur, by 2.5 votes during the 2013 election.

Other members of Lee’s team are recently retired national fencer Wang Wenying — who won two gold medals in the women’s individual and team foil at the 2015 SEA Games — national fencer Tan Yuan Zi, and Dmitry Ivanov, who is the director of Modern Fencing Sports Club.

Seow has banded together with the majority of the incumbent executive committee (exco) for the elections, which will see contests for nine of the 10 available exco positions.

A total of 16 FS affiliates — comprising local fencing clubs and academies, as well as tertiary educational institutions — will be eligible to vote in the elections.

Former national fencer Wong Toon King, founder and director of Singapore’s first fencing club Z Fencing, believes it is a good sign that so many qualified professionals are eager to serve the sport.

“It’s going to be a very interesting elections, especially with three people who have served as FS presidents being involved,” said Wong, whose daughter Nicole is also a national fencer.

“It shows that the sport here is making good strides. Looking through the list of candidates for the other posts, many of them have lots of experience and impressive backgrounds.

“It’s good that we have such a strong slate of candidates for FS, because the next goal for the association should be to have our fencers qualify for the Olympics on a regular basis. To reach that level, it’ll require more capable people to support and help the association.”

Wong also highlighted that the winning team should focus on helping local fencers do well at other international competitions like the Asian Games and world championships, as well as continue “growing the pipeline of fencers” through a vibrant club and school scene.

He added: “I believe FS is already engaging Sport Singapore to develop our 2024 Olympics goal and beyond, and that should continue regardless of who comes into the exco.

“There are also lots of young up-and-coming fencers doing well internationally, as you can see from the recent SEA Games. The exco must make sure we get all the support we can to support these elite fencers.”

Uma Berthier, mother of Amita, hopes that the winning exco will continue to be “fencer-centric”.

“It must continue to be a team that will be fencer-centric and be proactive in identifying individuals to help them qualify for the Olympics,” said Uma.

“It has to be a team that has the ‘heart-ware’ ... and be willing to work very hard and tirelessly. It is both an exciting and challenging journey to the Olympics, so whoever comes in must not take it lightly.”