Obituary: Prominent sports administrator Annabel Pennefather dies, age 72
SINGAPORE — Annabel Pennefather, one of Singapore’s longest-serving sports administrators, died on Monday (27 April) morning of heart failure. She was 72.
A lawyer by profession, Pennefather held key positions in both local and international sports bodies.
Both her parents and grandparents were of sporting pedigree. Her father Percy was the captain of the Singapore hockey team that took part in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, while her mother Ruth was a national hockey player.
Percy’s parents were also accomplished sportspeople – Lancelot was a noted footballer, cricketer, weightlifter and hockey player, while Alice was the Singapore national badminton champion four times in the 1930s.
Captain of national women’s hockey team
It seemed natural for Pennefather to follow in her family’s footsteps, as she became national hockey player in 1964, and captained the women’s team from 1970 to 1980.
She graduated with a law degree from the University of Singapore in 1977, and specialised in property law and international business transactions. In 1995, she was appointed vice-president of the Law Society of Singapore, one of the few women to have served in the position.
Her legal expertise also made her a prominent sports administrator. In 1999, she became the first woman to be co-opted into the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) executive committee. She was elected SNOC vice-president in 2002, becoming the first woman to hold the post.
Pennefather was also Singapore's first female chef de mission at the Commonwealth Games (2002) and Olympic Games (2004). In 2004, she also became the first female president of the Singapore Hockey Federation, and was the head of Singapore’s first dedicated sports law practice at Harry Elias partnership.
Her World Woman of the Year in 2004
For those achievements, she was honoured as Woman of the Year 2004 by Her World magazine.
In the last decade, she continued to be highly sought-after by international sports bodies for her legal expertise. She was the president of the International Hockey Federation's judicial commission, a member of the Badminton World Federation's external judicial expert group, and was on the International Association of Athletics Federations' disciplinary tribunal.
When she stepped down as SNOC vice-president in 2018 after more than 20 years of service, she still held a position in the Commonwealth Games Federation ethics commission, and was an independent lawyer on the International Cricket Council's Disputes Resolution Committee.
“We are deeply saddened by Annabel’s passing and send our deepest condolences to her family,” said SNOC president Tan Chuan-Jin.
“Annabel was one of the pioneer women sports administrators in Singapore and was very passionate in championing the Olympic Movement and women in sports... We are grateful for all that she has poured in, and will miss her greatly.”
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