Singapore is doing the right thing to promote badminton

[wl2172]

Singapore is doing a splendid job in generating interest for badminton, even a small tournament like the one being held now has a website (Singapore Pools tournament).

The recently concluded Malaysian Open, a 4* tournament, did not even have a whiff of a website. Instead, worldbadminton.net provided that. RTM1 has a permanent dedicated server and you could watch the match live, however, because I only knew about it in the last minute, the only "live action" I saw was Chong Wei shaking hands with Chen Hong.

I emailed BAM's Ganga Rao and he told me that they were in the process of sorting things out, but the sponsored has pulled out in the last minute. In the end, there was no dedicated website at all.

Perhaps we should look at Singapore and Indonesia and not let this happen again. To me personally, this is a disgrace and I am really ashamed. I won't be surprised if the Dutch open will have live scoring again, well done to them.

[Carbonexer]

Speaking of RTM1, I was watching it until the very last second just before the Mens Final about to start and they stop the broadcast for some stupid news. :confused:

What the h=ll are they doing? Totally stupid :mad: .

M'sia and S'pore is just 1.5km apart but their standards are 15 years apart.

[wl2172]

I would not criticise so much about Malaysia in other areas, there are some aspects that we do very well also. However, lets stick to badminton and in this aspect, we are not doing good at all. RTM1 might have their point of view to have the news as that is already pre-determined, Chong Wei's match just happened to start at the same time. The fact that RTM1 can have live broadcast over the internet 24/7 at high speeds, how come BAM can't even post a simple website with constant result updates? This is BAM's issue, not RTM1, I could have watched the whole match live from UK and that is good enough by anyone's standard, I just did not know until the last minute.

[Bbn]

Well this is the kind of rude uncivilised criticism one would receive

from your neighbours when one is humble and willing to self-criticise

objectively, do you see other people exposing their short-comings?

Note that we as Malaysians never antagonised anyone. Do you also see

such ugly behaviour from Americans, Europeans or Japanese, Chinese?

Shame, shame.

[wl2172]

What are you ON about Bbn?? Isn't this a forum for us to discuss? BAM knows about this website, and hopefully through here, they can gain feedback to improve. Constructive criticisms are always good, negative criticism is bad.
I am a Malaysian as well, and there is nothing bad in admitting our own shortcomings as long as we rectify and improve. That is what it takes to be successful. Come on, I am not doing this to for negative reasons, on the contrary, it is the exact opposite.
I have this feeling that you misunderstood me for a Singaporean, am I right?

[Bbn]

No, I'm refering to the one who amnswered yr post.

[Loh]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by wl2172
[B]Singapore is doing a splendid job in generating interest for badminton, even a small tournament like the one being held now has a website (Singapore Pools tournament).

Thank you for your encouragement. Yes, I think the SBA is doing a great service to badminton fans like us for keeping us updated through their electronic media website even for a lowly-rated event like SPAS 2003. In a way, this will put pressure on some of the other organizers to update their systems as a service to the world badminton public. I only hope that the broadcasting media like the TV will do likewise and at least televize matches from the QF onwards. And I hope our news media can equal the standards and regularity that your Star newspaper has been churning out the news on the Malaysian badminton scene.

Hi Bbn

I'm sorry that you are angered by the remarks of a poster. Yes, sometimes some posters just 'shoot' without thinking much about the consequences until they are told about it. Btw, the poster in question is not a Singaporean. As I recall, he is a Malaysian working in Singapore. But he is a great badminton fan and if you look at the post on "Fanaticism" by Kwun, you will understand what I mean.

Regards
Loh

[Carbonexer]

Thanks to Loh for clarifying the matter and he was right. But I know fanatism alone is not a valid reason for me to be angry. I apologise to everyone who were offended by my remarks.

Perhaps I have forgotten to praise RTM1 for providing the live coverage and perhaps I have forgotten that actually none of the "so many" channels from Singapore was doing that at all.

Coming back to the incident when I was watching the live. I was amuse and frustrated and I am sure I was not alone when RTM1 stopped the coverage for their "too frequent" news break right at the very last moment when the game was about to start between our very own countryman (infact me and him are from the same hometown) and world no. 1.

The news break was really too frequent but can't they give this one an exception? Besides its our very own Malaysian thats playing in the final. I mean the live covered thru all the 3 sets in MD final between Thai and China but cut half of the 1st set when our M'sian is actually playing in the MS final. I am sure there was a whole lot of M'sian watching that game and I am sure we all deserved better then that.

[Carbonexer]

Coming back to the main topic, "Is Singapore doing the right thing to promote badminton"? Well I think that they could have done much better than now.

The good things they have done:
1) Built lots of CC with badminton courts
2) Sacrificed pieces of "expansive" lands to built some sports halls with many badminton courts
3) Organised and hosted local and international tournaments in Singapore

The good things I wish they have done:
1) Provide live telecast on international tournaments (at least on the Finals)
2) Built more sports halls (see my explanations below)
3) Improve some of the sports halls and CC where their conditions are just not suitable for badminton.

To some who may not be aware, booking a court in Singapore for peak hours is really a tough challenge and you need more than good lucks to get them. Courts were snapped up real quick (usually in less than 4 mins from the opening time for sports hall) everywhere in the island for all the days for peak hours slots from 6pm-10pm.

As for the off peak period slots, they were widely available everywhere. This shows that many working adults are playing badminton after their office hours but the students or teenagers are not really actively playing badminton. Perhaps they could be playing in their own school halls or they may prefere to play tennis.

[Loh]

I'm glad that Carbonex has cleared the air and averted further misunderstanding between the two neighbours. Remember we are part of the BF family and at times we could have made remarks without any ill intentions especially when the subject in question hits us hard as a badminton fan, as in the case of the RTM1 transmission.

I feel that constructive criticism has a place in any discussion as it can help improve matters. Actually, in the SPAS 2003 tournament, I have emailed the S'pore Badminton Fan Club about some of the shortcomings of the renovated SBA Hall and hope they can do something about it. But of course, we do have to take into account the feelings of those who are being criticized to avoid any misunderstanding and unpleasantness by putting the message across in the best way possible.

We must continue to see good suggestions and ideas to keep on improving!

[Loh]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Carbonexer
[B]Coming back to the main topic, "Is Singapore doing the right thing to promote badminton"? Well I think that they could have done much better than now.

The good things they have done:
1) Built lots of CC with badminton courts
2) Sacrificed pieces of "expansive" lands to built some sports halls with many badminton courts
3) Organised and hosted local and international tournaments in Singapore

The good things I wish they have done:
1) Provide live telecast on international tournaments (at least on the Finals)
2) Built more sports halls (see my explanations below)
3) Improve some of the sports halls and CC where their conditions are just not suitable for badminton.

Thanks Carbonexer for your kind words. Yes, I think the Sports Council and the SBA, with the full support of the S'pore Government, are on the right path to promoting the game of badminton in the country.

As I have posted previously, the Sports Council will be building a new national sports complex at Kallang to replace the present National Stadium and they have an on-going 'Sports For All' programme to attract more people to participate in sports. Badminton is one of the selected games in the Sports School and there is a very limited number of pupils admitted for the first year. The SBA, under the leadership of a Minister, has recently drafted a master-plan for Singapore badminton, the details of which I have posted as well.

Most of the educational institutions, particularly the schools, have badminton courts. If only they could let out to the public in the evenings, then the court-booking situation will be much improved. But for security reasons and the lack of manpower to supervise after-school hours as many schools now do not employ security guards, very few schools rent their courts to the public. The luckier ones may have friends who are teachers of the school and they themselves play the game. Yes, the popularity of the game has grown in S'pore and it is indeed difficult to book a court in the evenings and during week-ends.

As the schools and the CCs are upgraded, new and better facilities become available. In this sense, our government has been quite generous in its budget for meeting the ever increasing social and sporting needs with its upgrading programme. But the economy must do well if on-going programmes are to continue and tax revenues must rise for the government to do better.

I agree that the TV and the news media can play a more prominent part. The SBA should seriously consider setting up a marketing department to sell its programmes to the sponsors so that we can enjoy international badminton matches on TV on a more regular basis. I believe this may not be easy, especially if there are existing contracts with the big players like ESPN and Star Sports which cannot be dismantled that easily without a price.

The SBA, in particular, has set the standards and is now concentrating on improving the game at the National level. Programmes are in place to raise overall standards in coaching, officiating, organizing, providing information, interacting with other national badminton bodies and the IBF, etc. All with a view to putting Singapore on the World Badminton Map.

[Carbonexer]

Thanks Loh. Thats very informative indeed. Well we just have to rest our hope on the government to improve the public facilities. Meanwhile there is 2 things we have to be fast in badminton. We have to move faster in the court when playing and we have to type faster when booking online. :D

[Bbn]

thanks Loh and Carbonexer for clarifying things.

A certain segment of Malaysians get very annoyed by

shortcomings of their country but find it difficult to explain to people outside.

We are a minority people being manipulated by the majority and their politicians

and have little say and how things ought to be run. The only mistake we made was

choosing to remain when we had a choice to leave in 1967.

Anyway most of us are secretly proud of Singapore's achievements and hope they

can be a role model for the rest of SEA if that's possible, given the situation

in other countries.

[Cheung]

Ahem, I think we start to run to the borders of political discussion. Can we go no futher with poilitical issues?

[Loh]

Thanks Bbn, Carbonexer and all for your understanding.

Regarding S'pore's role, I think the more senior people will know that S'pore has no choice but to make the best use of what it has and that is its people. So much has been invested in their education and much more will be spent in developing and upgrading the schools, polytechnics and universities not only in physically facilities but in content and methods without forsaking standards. That's why we have had so many changes to our education scene since the independence of S'pore in 1965.

Naturally, with a well-educated population, billigual in English and the mother-tongue at least, this will help us grow our economy especially when the other countries in the region are catching up on us fast. Without other natural resources like rubber, oil, especially crude oil and gas, etc and land, S'pore is hard pressed to find suitable niches to specialize to earn and maintain a certain standard of living. And our leaders do not fight shy of difficult decisions like welcoming foreign talent to work and invest in our country.

Hopefully, this long years of learning to survive in a hostile environment and the recent financial crisis caused by a multitude of factors will instill in the citizens the need to continue to search for quality solutions in all fields, including sports and especially badminton which you and I love. Success does not come by that easily for most Singaporeans. We have to continue to work hard for it lest we perish as a people.