Tag: runninghour

There’s a blind tennis team in Singapore. 

Yes, blind tennis.

In a sport that relies on one’s visual acuity to chase the ball and hit it back with as much precision, it’s challenging as it is for a sighted person, so how the hell does one play tennis blind?

I was dumbfounded.

It was only when I met the players from Soundball Singapore, our blind tennis team, during one of their weekly trainings that it started to make sense. 

One of them is 39-year-old Marc Chiang, who has almost zero central vision and relies mostly on his peripheral vision for sight. 

After giving me a brief history lesson of Soundball, he explained that certain elements are modified to make the sport feasible for visually handicapped players.

For example, the balls and rackets used are specially manufactured for this game.

Specially made foam balls made with ball bearings at its core are used. The jingles from when the ball is hit help players locate the ball through sound. 
Shorter rackets and a smaller court size are other modifications to suit the abilities of visually handicapped players

Rules are also tweaked, and differs depending on the class of the player—players are assigned the B1 to B4 class <a href=" on their ‘level of sight’, B1 players being those who are completely blind. 

While the other players went on to set up the court and warm up for the training, I sat down with Marc at the side of the main hall at Pathlight School.

Marc Chiang

“I got to know of Soundball through another Runninghour member, Hock Bee. He’s one of the first few Singapore Soundball players.”

Runninghour is an inclusive running club that Marc had been running with after he started to lose his vision. It was also there that he found himself a second family of sorts. It’s where he found the comfort and support that helped him tide through the struggles he had been having with his vision loss. 

“It was quite a setback,” Marc shared when I probed about his fears when he was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa, a degeneration of the retina that causes him to experience a gradual loss of eyesight, eight years ago. 

“I was just lost. I wasn’t clinical diagnosed with depression, but I was [feeling very down] and I just withdrew [from everything]. I cut myself from a lot of social activity. I struggled with meeting my own friends.”

Social situations were a big hurdle as Marc found it hard to handle his own condition, much less explain it to the people around him. As a result, it was very easy to get frustrated. Especially when he tries to do something but realise that he has lost the ability to do so. It was an everyday struggle because he had to come to terms with the fact that he needed help in the simplest of things like scanning a document or going to the toilet. 

He had been working as a facilities engineer for almost four years back then and fortunately, his company was willing to transition him to a more backend role, which he still works full-time at today. 

Sports, however, was a major part of his life that he had to ‘give up’ due to his inability to see properly. 

“I cut down on a lot of sports. I used to run, swim, play tennis, soccer, basketball. I still go trekking, running, and also travelling, but I can’t do any of that independently anymore.”

Finding Ways To Be Abled

After speaking to three of the Soundball players, I came to understand that the biggest joy and fulfillment for the visually handicapped is in knowing that they are still capable of achieving something that they thought they have lost the ability to do. 

For Marc, it is the ability to play tennis again as it is a sport he has been playing since he was 10 years old, and had even represented his school and army unit in competitions. 

It’s evident that he hasn’t lost his competitive streak. In fact, together with a couple of other players, he represented Singapore since the first International Blind Tennis Tournament in 2017. He was even ranked 4th in the B2 class in 2018.

Chris Hortin Tan, chairperson of Soundball Singapore

Chairperson of the group, homemaker Chris Tan, is another player who never lost her aspirations. 

Like Marc, Chris experienced a gradual loss of eyesight. Although, her condition is somewhat the opposite of Marc’s as she has tunnel vision (from Glaucoma).

Now 46, she tells me that her inspiration behind being active and keeping fit is her two boys. 

“I didn’t want to be the mom who sits at home and does nothing, I want to be a role model for them. To demonstrate to my young children that disabilities shouldn’t stop you from doing what you want to do.”

With the support from her husband and friends, she also volunteers her time to Runninghour, assisting the group in events. She also took over the role as the head of Soundball Singapore when the previous chairperson stepped down, as she didn’t want the sport to die out in Singapore. 

Despite the improvements in the group over the years and the encouraging results from the international tournament however, Marc and Chris told me that there’s still a long way to go for Soundball Singapore in terms of recognition and structure.

Growing A New Sport For The Visually Challenged

While they do have support from Singapore Association Of The Visually Handicapped (SAVH) and WITS (Women's International Tennis Singapore) for certain areas, the group is run solely by chairperson Chris Tan, and assisted by Marc. 

They’ve also managed to get by through the years with support from different groups of people—donations that covers part of their training and competition expenses, training venue sponsorship, and volunteers to coach and assist in training. But they still face a ‘chicken and egg’ problem when it comes to getting a permanent coach and growing the team. 

Marc: “We’ve had players who left because there was no structured training programme, because we don’t have a permanent coach. And when you want to get a coach, you need players.” 

Getting a permanent coach will also make it possible to track players’ progression, which will be very beneficial for the regulars who have been working hard for the international tournament every year.  

However, how does one find a coach to teach blind tennis—a sport that is still so new to society?

A volunteer guiding a B1 class player

Later, I learnt from Marc that there are only about 10 players in the group, out of which only about four are regulars. These numbers surprised me. I assumed that there would be at least twice to three times more players, since the group was established in 2012. My heart sank knowing the struggles that the group faces despite having big dreams of establishing themselves as a formal sports group in Singapore, and in helping to get blind tennis recognised as a paralympic sport. 

One of Chris’ aims is also to turn Soundball Singapore into a platform for visually impaired persons to find joy. More than the sport, she hopes that it can be a space for people to socialise, to share their stories and problems with each other—a support platform of some sort. 

And it is evident from the interactions I observed throughout the two hours training session that the group is more than a gathering of visually impaired individuals who want to play tennis. Among them, it was this feeling of comfort and familiarity when you finally meet your close friends amidst all your busy schedules.

(L-R) Hock Bee, Marc, Chris

Something else that struck me was what 54-year-old uncle Hock Bee, the first Soundball player in Singapore, said: “I have always believed that being visually impaired, we don’t need to do different things, just have to do the things differently.”

Beyond the sport itself, it’s also clear that this is where the players get empowered. Being able to hit a tennis ball is no big deal for most of us, but for them, playing blind tennis cultivates within them resilience and gives them the confidence they need (and deserve). They may have lost their eyesight, but through the empowerment from playing, it reminds them to never lose sight of their dreams. 

Also read: The Struggle Of A Mother With A Special Needs Child – “I Can’t Always Be There”.

Once, she served a case where violence was prevalent at home, and where the child bore the brunt of the violence. Despite the family having already gotten official protections under relevant laws in Singapore, the mother had continued to keep her husband around by choice, and out of fear that things would escalate if otherwise.

As a social worker on the case, she knew that the violence will continue to harm the mother and child under such an arrangement but there was only so much she could do as a third party. She almost had to close the case knowing that the abuse will continue.

This is just one of many cases that has haunted social worker, Gina, emotionally, because it is in her nature (and job) to help and she wasn't able to help them.

“I’d go home and think about it a lot, and it’ll bring me to tears.”

Sadly, this is part of the reality, she tells me. Ultimately, social workers like Gina can only do their best to process situations together with their clients and advise them in the hope that they will find it within themselves to make changes. She is in no position to force or impose anything on her clients, because it is their life to live after all.

“I had to really learn how to let go.”

Social Work Pushes A Person’s Emotional Capacity

Emotional exhaustion is an almost everyday challenge for social workers. For new social workers in the field especially, it is very easy to be overwhelmed, Gina explained.

We don’t really know how to draw the line between work and personal life. But with time and experience you will have to learn self-care.”

Many times, Gina had returned home from a day at work, only to cry to herself thinking about her clients' situation and how heartbroken she is for them. It is worse when she thought that she had done her best and in whatever she could, only to see no progress.

“You feel very helpless. It’ll definitely affect you because these are lives we’re talking about. These are families that are presented in front of you.”

Having to deal with such emotions is twice as hard for Gina, because the self-professed empath takes on whatever the clients feel. In fact, she had to rule out her initial dream of being a nurse for she would find herself unable to function when she sees people in physical pain.

“Literally, when I see people being in pain, I take on that pain myself.”

A Calling In The Helping Profession

Social work came into the picture in Gina’s secondary school years. After gaining insights into what it encompasses from a friend from church who was a social worker, she realised that she, too, could do it. It was a perfect match for what she had been longing for, and it fit her personality well.

Several informal volunteer stints later, her mind (and heart) was set. The desire to do social work stuck with her all the way till when she was applying for university after JC.

“I realised that I really enjoyed the process of being in someone’s life for a moment, or to hear a story of someone and to assist them, or just to support them in some way.”

However, doubts naturally started to arise when she started getting comments that discouraged her from taking on what is seemingly a vocation with ‘no future’. And one of the biggest obstacles for her was getting approval from her parents to study social work in university.

“Initially, my dad was not very for it. I think he felt that, and a lot of people have this misconception that social work is like volunteering, and you don't get paid for this. So he thinks there’s no career progression [as well].”

There were also demoralising remarks from friends:

“Do you even need to study social work? Can't everyone do it?”

Thankfully, Gina managed to secure a scholarship, which paved the way for acceptance from her parents, as it symbolised to them the recognition of social work in the industry today.

In her course of study, she explained that students were taught about human development, and in short, the sciences behind human behaviour and how that knowledge helps them in knowing how to work with different groups of people. As part of the course, Gina has also had to complete 800 hours of internship.

A workshop Gina conducted for a group of youths to help them improve their relationship with their parents
Image Credit: Gina

However, even with all the counseling and coursework training, being out in the real world is another ball game altogether.

In an overseas social work opportunity, she has had to work with sex workers, of which many of them were tricked into working at the brothel. Not exactly trained in trauma work, she shared that while she managed to impart certain developmental skills to the ladies there, it was more an experience that humbled her greatly.

“It made me realise how fortunate I am. It made me realise how the world is so much bigger than myself.”

Many of us think it’s the end of the world when we face certain setbacks in our life, but comparing it to the ladies, Gina explains that it makes “you realise [that] it’s not such a great deal.”

We could be worrying about messing up a deadline at work, but many of the sex workers there come from poor or broken families who have been lured into the trade, and find themselves trapped.

Being A Social Worker Also Means Having 'Fight' Conventions

Besides her stint overseas, Gina have also, at times, had to go against society’s conventions.

Once, she had to convince a school (and herself) that it is the right thing to pull a student out before he completed his secondary school education.

The student was sent to the youth centre that she worked at, as part of a mandated six months programme for a crime he had committed. Gina later realised, and with most of the youth, that this youth was just misunderstood.

It’s common for teenagers to talk about wanting to quit school and although it was the same for the youth, he had also expressed interest in a vocation: making coffee.

“So it wasn't just because he just want to be lazy and not do anything. He just felt that academics really wasn't a fit for him.”

After processing his case and getting support from the parents to allow his son to drop out of school in return that he be sent for the barista training course, Gina sought support from the school. However, that was the biggest obstacle, and the principal even emailed her to question her intentions. It was, to any layman, a ridiculous request to allow a student to drop out of secondary school.

“For a while I questioned everything I did. Whether I’m ruining this child’s life. But my supervisor was very encouraging and after looking through my assessments again we decided it was for the best of the child.”

There was very bad blood between the school and the agency she worked at after the case but eventually, the youth went on to graduate from the barista training program, worked at a cafe, and was promoted to manager.

The first cup of coffee that the youth made for her when she visited him at the café
Image Credit: Gina

Gina added that when she went back to visit him one day, the youth had told her that “all his life, he felt that he couldn't do anything right, or that people kept telling him that he wasn't good enough, and now he finally feels like he’s actually good at something and is recognised for it.”

Besides her official work delegations, Gina has also continued to volunteer with various groups like Runninghour, an inclusive running club that promotes the integration of Persons With Special Needs (PWSN) through running

As somebody who loves sports and the outdoors, Runninghour offered a unique opportunity for her to combine her two passions – fitness and working with people in need. Running guides like herself take time off their busy schedules to run with PWSN who might be mildly-intellectually challenged, physically challenged, hearing challenged or visually challenged.

And for Gina, who has been actively volunteering with Runninghour for six years, it brings her back to why she even went into social work in the first place: To make an impact in some way.

“It doesn’t need to be significant. It can be as simple as assuring someone that they are special, valued, or loved. I guess my ultimate goal is to at least show a bit of love to people through my actions or words.”

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As part of Runninghour, Gina will also be assisting in their upcoming Run for Inclusion 2019, Singapore's only mass running event where participants run alongside hearing, intellectually, physically and visually-challenged runners. If you're keen to contribute or be part of the community, head over here for more information.

This is not a sponsored post.

Also read: Dealing With Cancer By Running, And Being Called ‘Chao Keng’ For It.

(Header Image Credit: Gina)