Nick Aplin
Nick Aplin (born 7 March 1952) has been a permanent resident in Singapore since 1994.
He is an Associate Professor at the Physical Education and Sports Science Academic Group (PESS) at the National Institute of Education (NIE).
Aplin is the Head of Olympic Studies at the Singapore Olympic Academy. He has a research interest in the history of sport and the Olympic Movement in Singapore.
He has published books locally and internationally.[1] As co-author he won The Guardian (UK) Chess Book of the Year in 2007 with Tibor Karolyi.[2] The book, Endgame Virtuoso Anatoly Karpov, examines the brilliant endgame play of Anatoly Karpov, former World Champion. The book has recently been translated into Spanish.
He has provided television commentary and analysis of sporting events including the SEA Games, the S. League, the J.League, and the Olympic Games.
He has been a member of the Board of Management of the Singapore Sports School, which opened in 2004 and has been a member of the Sporting Culture Committee in Singapore examining Public Education and Awareness.
Nick Aplin was educated at Poole Grammar School in Dorset, England (1963-1970). In 1970 he embarked on a period of Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) being posted to Papine Secondary School in Kingston Jamaica. Returning to England in 1971 he then applied for a place at Loughborough Colleges to study for his degree in physical education (PE). He graduated in 1976 and secured a teaching position at Marlborough College in Wiltshire. His eight year stint included three years on an exchange programme in Melbourne, Australia.
In 1984 Aplin envisaged a change in career path. Leaving the boarding school environment he decided to study for a Master's degree. This plan took him back to Loughborough for a year. One of his tutors, the late Alan Guy, encouraged him to consider employment at the newly established College of Physical Education in Singapore. In late 1985 he became the first full-time expatriate lecturer to be employed on a local contract.
In 1990 he married local teacher, Tan Siok Choo. They have three sons.
Nick Aplin's first book was published in 2002. It was a set of biographical impressions of the first three Singaporean women Olympians: Tang Pui Wah, Mary Klass and Janet Jesudason. The book entitled "To The Finishing Line" prompted a further study of all the Singaporeans who had became Olympians from the year 1936, when Chua Boon Lay was selected to represent China in the Berlin Games, until 2004, when China-born athletes, notably badminton players and table tennis players were the leading representatives.
A project to publish a multi-disciplinary book was initiated by Nick Aplin in 2007. The book features a wide range of topics that reflect the research interests of members of the PESS academic group. The book entitled "Perspectives on Physical Education and Sports Science in Singapore" was designed to have wide appeal to educators and students of sport. The book was published in 2009.
Bibliography
- Aplin, Nick (2002). To The Finishing Line. Singapore National Printers. ISBN 9812480005.
- Aplin, Nick (2005). Singapore Olympians: The Complete Who's Who 1936-2004. Singapore National Olympic Council. ISBN 9789812480729.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - Karolyi, Tibor (2007). Kasparov's Fighting Chess 1993-1998. Batsford. ISBN 978-0-7134-8994-1.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - Karolyi, Tibor (2007). Kasparov's Fighting Chess 1999-2005. Batsford. ISBN 978-0-7134-8984-2.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - Karolyi, Tibor (2007). Endgame Virtuoso Anatoly Karpov. New In Chess. ISBN 978-90-5691-202-4.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - Karolyi, Tibor (2009). Kasparov: How His Predecessors Misled Him About Chess. Batsford. ISBN 9781906388263.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - Aplin, Nick (2009). Values and the Pursuit of Sports Excellence: Swimmers from Singapore and Australia. VDM Saarbrucken. ISBN 978-3-639-16239-4.
- Aplin, Nick, ed. (2009). Perspectives on Physical Education and Sports Science in Singapore: an Eye on the Youth Olympics 2010. McGraw-Hill Education. ISBN 978-007-128164-5.
- {{cite book
|author=Karolyi, Tibor |coauthor=Aplin, Nick |title=Genius in the Background |year=2009 |publisher=Quality Chess |id=ISBN 978-1-906552-37-4