Today April 7, 2009 Another step, for a sporting S'pore Singapore Sports Council (SSC) roll out programmes to boost youth development and skills of coaches and technical officials By Shamir Osman "The whole purpose is to give comprehensive developmental opportunities and also bring real professionalism to the profession ... We have to start learning from the best and be exposed to the best. SSC CEO Oon wants to improve the quality of coaches in order to raise the standard of sports here." THE aim is to turn the country into a sporting nation, and in a move to realise the target, the Singapore Sports Council announced yesterday they were investing in a broad range of programmes to further boost the growth of athletes, technical officials and coaches. There are six programmes (see box) in various stages of implementation, from the development of motor skills in children between the ages of 18 months and six years, to helping budding young sports journalists gain experience, as the SSC aim to develop the long-term sporting capabilities of Singapore. “We must use (the Asian Youth Games and Youth Olympic Games) as a platform to grow our software and capabilities across the whole sports sector in order to build the next generation of athletes, coaches, officials and sports journalists,” said SSC chairman Alex Chan. “We are not letting up in our efforts to transform Singapore into a world-class sports hub.” Singapore will host the first Asian Youth Games from June 29-July 7 this year, and the inaugural Youth Olympics from Aug 14-26 in 2010. While the SSC are keen to emphasise youth development, they have also included a programme to improve the quality of local coaches. Two initiatives — the High Performance Coaching Programme and Elite Coaching Programme — are being implemented to equip local coaches with the necessary skills to enable them to help raise the standard of sports in Singapore. The high performance programmeis open to all coaches funded by National Sports Associations (NSA) and allows them to upgrade their skills and technical knowledge to train athletes more effectively. SSC will fund up to $6,000 per coach annually, for up to 15 coaches, to pursue professional upgrading opportunities in the international arena, and it may include mentorship opportunities with established coaches. Said SSC’s chief executive officer Oon jin Teik: “The whole purpose is to give comprehensive developmental opportunities and also bring real professionalism to the profession. Foreign exposure is needed, but we have to be selective.” Coaches will only be sent to countries with systems and experts they can learn from. The elite programme is designed for local coaches with the potential to take on top leadership positions such as head coach or technical director in their respective NSAs. The SSC will fund up to $15,000 per coach annually for up to five coaches, for a two-year programme drawn up by the respective NSAs and the coaches themselves. “We may not know everything ... our main purpose is to push these coaches beyond our boundaries, to learn from the best,” said Oon. “We have to start learning from the best and be exposed to the best. There will be foreign engagement and we will pair them up with the right international experts.” The Singapore Bowling Federation’s Mervyn Foo and Loy Soo Han from the Singapore Table Tennis Association have been approved for the elite programme this year. Foo’s programme is already in full swing. He is currently in Malmo, Sweden at the European Youth Championship, along with world-renowned bowling guru Sid Allen and the Latvian team. Loy will attend the International Table Tennis Federation’s Sports Science Congress in Japan from April 25-27. He will also attend the Chinese Table Tennis Association’s elite coaching programme in September. THE SIX PROGRAMMES Fundamental Skills • To develop motor skills of children between the age of 18 months to 6 years • SSC to work with kindergartens and service providers for a viable curriculum Sports Education (SEP) • Launched in 2007 to provide more opportunities for kids to play sports in school • In FY2008, $2.3 million disbursed to 313 schools in Singapore. More than 380 schools have applied for the SEP this year, and SSC will continue to commit more funds High Performance Coaching • SSC will fund up to $6,000 per coach annually for up to 15 coaches under National Sports Associations (NSA) • Funds must be utilised to upgrade coaches’ technical skills and knowledge Elite Coaching • To prepare local coaches to take on top leadership roles. Will include leadership, programme management and coaching • In FY2009, SSC will fund up to $15,000 per coach (for up to five coaches) annually for up to two years Junior Technical Officiating • Will involve those between the age of 15 and 18 and will start with seven sports, and eventually cover all 26 sports administered by the Co-Curricular Activities Branch • Pilot project will cover fundamentals of technical officiating to help expand the supply of young officials * Aim is to set interested youngsters on an alternate development pathway in sport Sports Journalists and Photographers • SSC aim to accelerate growth in the sports culture • SSC have been running sports journalism workshops over the last two years with some 130 students participating • Through the Asian Youth Games and Youth Olympics, budding journalists will be put to the test in contributing to websites.
More Funds For Local Sports The Straits Times April 8, 2009 By Terrence Voon SINGAPORE'S national sports associations (NSAs) are getting more money this year, but more checks are in place to make sure they use it well. A total of $34.1 million will be disbursed to the 64 NSAs by the Singapore Sports Council (SSC), up from $32.39 million last year. The increase is aimed at helping the NSAs cope with the upcoming Asian Youth Games and Youth Olympic Games, both of which will be staged in Singapore. Badminton, bowling, football, netball, sailing, swimming, shooting and table tennis were the big winners - these eight NSAs were grouped in the top band with annual funding exceeding $1.5 million each. Out of the 64 sports, 20 saw increases in funding, while 37 received cuts. Seven NSAs received the same amount as they did the year before. Ten NSAs had a portion of their funding withheld. Silat and athletics were singled out as the worst offenders, whose funding will only resume when they provide SSC with details on how they will be improving their internal administrative processes and plans. The SSC will also be offering all NSAs with a shared auditing service, to help them improve their financial governance.
