• About Us
    • Fact Checking Policy
    • Ownership & funding information
    • Volunteer
  • Subscribe
  • Letter submission
    • Submissions Policy
  • Contact Us
The Online Citizen Asia
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Comments
  • Current Affairs
    • Singapore
    • Malaysia
    • Indonesia
    • China
    • ASEAN
    • Asia
    • International
  • Finance
    • Economics
    • Labour
    • Property
    • Business
  • Community
    • Arts & Culture
    • Consumer Watch
    • NGO
    • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Politics
    • Civil Society
    • Parliament
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
  • Law & Order
    • Legislation
    • Court Cases
No Result
View All Result
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Comments
  • Current Affairs
    • Singapore
    • Malaysia
    • Indonesia
    • China
    • ASEAN
    • Asia
    • International
  • Finance
    • Economics
    • Labour
    • Property
    • Business
  • Community
    • Arts & Culture
    • Consumer Watch
    • NGO
    • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Politics
    • Civil Society
    • Parliament
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
  • Law & Order
    • Legislation
    • Court Cases
No Result
View All Result
The Online Citizen Asia
No Result
View All Result

"Funding is not a reward or disincentive programme", says Sports Singapore

by kathleen
24/12/2019
in Sports
Reading Time: 4 mins read
0

The High Performance Sports (HPS) system is designed based on an athlete-centric environment, to nurture athletes to reach their fullest potential, said Sports Singapore (SS) on 23 December.
In a public letter posted on the Straits Times Forum, the Deputy Director of Public Relations of SS, Mr S Parameswaran said that long-term performance is a key factor in consideration of sports funding.
Mr Parameswaran agreed that resources are finite and that deserving athletes should be supported, saying that the Singapore Sports Institute’s (SSI’s) aim is to support athletes and national sports associations (NSAs) in their development and journey. He added that “this is exactly why SSI consistently reviews athletes’ and NSAs’ performances and prioritises resource allocation.”
Explaining the HPS system, Mr Parameswaran said that it operates on a multi-year timeframe which takes into account the needs of athletes as well as individual sports development.
Mr Parameswaran stressed, “Funding is not a reward or disincentive programme, nor is it a zero-sum game.”
“NSAs submit their Multi-Year Sports Plans with mutually agreed key performance indicators that they have to meet,” he said.
“These parameters do not fluctuate based on a single event or major games, but take a long-term view towards sustained performance by the NSA and athletes.”
Mr Parameswaran asserted, “We are mindful to strike a balance in favour of sustained performance over the long term, to make tweaks where necessary and increase the pool from which our next generation of sporting heroes may be cultivated.”
He was responding to a letter by Dennis Ang Bak Hwee published by ST on 18 December (Channel funding to sports that can deliver results). In his letter, Mr Ang urged the government to review the funding on football in order to channel it towards other sports that “can win regional or global recognition for Singapore”. He said this in view of the “limited resources” the government has for sports funding.
Mr Ang argued that Singaporeans today prefer the European and other major international football leagues over local football, compared to the 1970s and 1980s when local and regional football was more popular.
He then pointed out Team Singapore’s performance in the recent Sea Games, arguing that “it is an opportune time for Sport Singapore to review how it allocates funding.”
“Athletes have lost funding for missing qualifying times for international events,” he highlighted.
Mr Ang concluded, “Deserving sports and athletes that can deliver or have delivered results should be supported so they can reach their full potential.”

Gross under-funding of national athletes

The concern over sports funding in Singapore has been debated for years. Back in 2017, Singapore People’s Party member and current Chairman, Jose Raymond highlighted on his Facebook page the HPS funding scheme which categorises athletes into five levels.
L1 are athletes who excel on the world stage while those in L4 and L4P show potential at the regional and national levels.
Mr Raymond noted that those in L4 are only awarded S$600 a year – or S$50 per month on average – as training assistant grants (spexTAG) from SS. The grant is paid in two disbursements of S$300 every six months.
Mr Raymond lamented, “$50 a month on average for our national athletes in training grants is grossly inadequate, insulting and disrespectful.”
He explained, “Our athletes need supplements, proper nutrition, equipment and for some of them, there is a need to rush from school or camp to training in the evenings or vice versa in the mornings. There are also athletes who have to pay part or all of the costs of their overseas stints when they represent the country.”
Mr Raymond then quotes a Singaporean gold medallist at the 2015 SEA Games receiving S$600 a year at the time who said, “It is high time that Sport Singapore change their mentality towards supporting athletes who intend to make sports our career and bring glory to the country.”
The politician goes on to also note that senior coaches have shared their concerns with him of young national athletes thinking of quitting because of gross under-resourcing.
“From a sports funding policy perspective, this is unacceptable. Sport should never be just for people who have the financial means to pursue their passion and desire to represent the country,” said Mr Raymond.
He went on to point out that Minister for Culture, Community, and Youth Grace Fu had at the time announced an additional $10 million a year to support elite sports.
“But unfortunately, it certainly looks like there are athletes who need the support who don’t appear to be getting the necessary help,” said Mr Raymond.
“Don’t keep lamenting about limited resources, but let’s look into effective allocation of limited resources to help make every Singaporean national athlete a winner,” he concluded.

For just US$7.50 a month, sign up as a subscriber on The Online Citizen Asia (and enjoy ads-free experience on our site) to support our mission to transform TOC into an alternative mainstream press.

Related Posts

Commemorative coin, exhibitions and various activities to mark 100th anniversary of Lee Kuan Yew’s birth
Singapore

Commemorative coin, exhibitions and various activities to mark 100th anniversary of Lee Kuan Yew’s birth

07/02/2023
国会内庆妇女节 女议员获赠鲜花
Labour

15 companies barred from hiring new foreign employees after serious safety lapse found at worksite

07/02/2023
Why is Gautam Adani’s Indian empire in turmoil?
AFP

India’s Adani Enterprises shares rocket 20%, trading suspended

07/02/2023
China’s Baidu says developing AI chatbot
AFP

China’s Baidu says developing AI chatbot

07/02/2023
Thai rescuers dig to free baby trapped down well
AFP

Thai rescuers dig to free baby trapped down well

07/02/2023
Desmond Lee says 70% of BTO flats affordable for median household with income of S$8,400 but what about the 10th to 40th percentile?
Housing

Desmond Lee says 70% of BTO flats affordable for median household with income of S$8,400 but what about the 10th to 40th percentile?

07/02/2023
Subscribe
Connect withD
Login
I allow to create an account
When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
DisagreeAgree
Notify of
Connect withD
I allow to create an account
When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
DisagreeAgree
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Latest posts

Commemorative coin, exhibitions and various activities to mark 100th anniversary of Lee Kuan Yew’s birth

Commemorative coin, exhibitions and various activities to mark 100th anniversary of Lee Kuan Yew’s birth

07/02/2023
国会内庆妇女节 女议员获赠鲜花

15 companies barred from hiring new foreign employees after serious safety lapse found at worksite

07/02/2023
Why is Gautam Adani’s Indian empire in turmoil?

India’s Adani Enterprises shares rocket 20%, trading suspended

07/02/2023
China’s Baidu says developing AI chatbot

China’s Baidu says developing AI chatbot

07/02/2023
Thai rescuers dig to free baby trapped down well

Thai rescuers dig to free baby trapped down well

07/02/2023
Desmond Lee says 70% of BTO flats affordable for median household with income of S$8,400 but what about the 10th to 40th percentile?

Desmond Lee says 70% of BTO flats affordable for median household with income of S$8,400 but what about the 10th to 40th percentile?

07/02/2023
Returning Officer to issue corrective directions, overseas Singaporeans allowed to vote by post, among changes to laws tabled to Parliament

Returning Officer to issue corrective directions, overseas Singaporeans allowed to vote by post, among changes to laws tabled to Parliament

07/02/2023
Can Malaysia review its current practices on foreign worker management?

Can Malaysia review its current practices on foreign worker management?

07/02/2023

Trending posts

Cognizant India transfers staff to work in Singapore as recently as this year

Local IT grads can’t find jobs while engineers constantly transferred from India to work in SG under CECA

by Correspondent
05/02/2023
105

...

They have done a fine job of confusing us about the jobs situation

They have done a fine job of confusing us about the jobs situation

by Augustine Low
01/02/2023
47

...

Adani’s brother runs SG company and registers as director with local ID

Adani’s brother runs SG company and registers as director with local ID

by Correspondent
03/02/2023
26

...

No response from Josephine Teo on whether Mediacorp has been instructed to stop coverage of SMT circulation scandal

No response from Josephine Teo over alleged blackout of coverage by Mediacorp over SMT circulation scandal

by Terry Xu
06/02/2023
12

...

Former Singaporean shares change of life in Australia with annual pay of S$80,000 as a plumber

Former Singaporean shares change of life in Australia with annual pay of S$80,000 as a plumber

by Yee Loon
30/01/2023
25

...

Japanese-Canadian junior high school girl breaks national record with 3km in 9:02 mins

“I want my normal life back,” Sherry Drury withdraws from National Junior High School Tournament due to overheated public attention

by Yee Loon
06/02/2023
3

...

December 2019
M T W T F S S
 1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
3031  
« Nov   Jan »

The Online Citizen is a regional online publication based in Taiwan and formerly Singapore’s longest-running independent online media platform.

Navigation

  • Editorial
  • Commentaries
  • Opinion
  • Politics
  • Community

Support

  • Contact Us
  • Letter submission
  • Membership subscription

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • Fact Checking Policy
  • Privacy Policy

© 2022 - 2023 The Online Citizen Asia

No Result
View All Result
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Commentaries
    • Comments
  • Current Affairs
    • Malaysia
    • Indonesia
    • China
    • ASEAN
    • Asia
    • International
  • Finance
    • Economics
    • Labour
    • Property
    • Business
  • Community
    • Civil Society
    • Arts & Culture
    • Consumer Watch
    • NGO
  • Politics
    • Parliament
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
  • Law & Order
    • Legislation
    • Court Cases
  • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Subscribers login

© 2022 - 2023 The Online Citizen Asia

wpDiscuz