1996

Joan Huang Shiqi started sailing in1993 at the age of eleven and in a short span of three years progressed to the top of the National Optimist ranking.

In 1996, she won the SYA Optimist Open title, the Singapore Optimist Fleet Championships and topped the National Optimist selection trials. In addition, she won a silver medal at the 9th ASEAN Optimist Championships in Myanmar.

But her most creditable performance was against the World's best young sailors at the Nesquick Optimist World Championships when she finished fifth out of a field of seventeen.

The fourteen year-old student of Raffles Girls School also excels in her studies and has received numerous other awards from her school and the Singapore Schools Sports Council.


1997

Joan Huang has been sailing competitively since 1993 and has made a mark in local and regional sailing competitions. As an Optimist sailor she carved a niche for herself, achieving a string of successes from the Singapore Open Championships, to the Asian Boat Regattas and finally the World Optimist Championships.

In 1997, Joan competed in the European Optimist Championships in Piran, Slovenia and was placed 12th out of 105 competitors. At the 1997 World Optimist Championships in Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland , she again finished among the top ten. Her phenomenal progress in the last two years culminated in a Gold medal at the 19th SEA Games at Jakarta.

For her fine performances last year, the Singapore Schools Sports Council awarded her the Outstanding Performance award. Joan is an excellent role model to all young sailors through her dedication and discipline.