Commentary: A stronger sports system is taking shape in Singapore, but the hard work is not over

SINGAPORE: As I listened to Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong spell out the latest sports development plans as part of this year’s national Budget, I felt a twinge of envy.

The vision laid out by the minister - along with earlier announcements by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong in his maiden National Day Rally in 2024 - promises a level of support that is far removed from when I was a national athlete some 30 years ago.

Back in the 1990s, training conditions were far from ideal - they weren’t exactly spartan, but it would be hard to describe them as “world class” or “cutting edge”. Government funding was tight, sponsorships even rarer.

When I joined the national fencing team in the mid-90s, for example, the federation’s annual budget was less than half a million dollars. This was meant to cover expenses across multiple categories for both the men and women teams and junior and senior development, along with events, overseas and local training and competitions, and administration.

We trained in a sports hall without air conditioning, and because we shared the space with badminton and table tennis players, we were discouraged from using fans as the wind would affect their games. This was far from ideal for our sport, which required thick protective suits during sparring.

The anaemic funding also meant that if an athlete wanted to gain competition experience by taking part in events outside of the regional calendar, they would have to share the costs with the federation.

Sports science, strength and conditioning, and sports nutrition were luxuries that few outside the core national team athletes could dream of accessing.

QUANTUM LEAP FORWARD

Fast forward three decades and budgets have grown. The suite of support services from Sport Singapore, the Singapore Sports Institute (SSI) and the National Youth Sports Institute (NYSI) has grown tremendously, providing Team Singapore athletes with world-class resources comparable to that of global sporting powerhouses.

The Singapore Sports School (SSP), now into its 21st year of existence, has also become a pillar of the sports development ecosystem, allowing many young Singaporeans to begin their sporting journey earlier, with much longer horizons leading to, among other things, Olympic glory and professional careers as athletes.

In recent months, we have also heard of new schemes to offer athletes undergraduate scholarships and boost Central Provident Fund contributions to those already being supported by the spexScholarship programme for high-performance sportsmen and women.

The effort has been across-the-board in terms of government policy as well, with the Ministry of Defence among others leaning in to better support athletes balance their National Service obligations without compromising our collective commitment to defence.

Compared to my time, when we had to pay our own way for competitions, equipment, travel and accommodation, these represent quantum leaps in terms of how Singaporean national athletes are supported and encouraged to chase their sporting dreams.

A MAJOR STEP FORWARD

The announcements by Mr Tong reflect the next major step forward when it comes to supporting Team Singapore athletes, particularly the plan to merge SSI, NYSI and SSP into a unified sports institute. This will enable a more integrated and effective youth-to-senior support framework for national athletes.

Geographically, this means a sensible co-locating of the SSI, currently based at the Singapore Sports Hub in Kallang, with the NYSI which has facilities at both SSP’s Woodlands campus and at the Sports Hub. SSP will also be relocating to Kallang.

This will create a one-stop shop for athletes seeking to pursue their sporting objectives, and bring to bear the various resources, including sports science and medicine, strength and conditioning, sports nutrition, and athlete career guidance, in a holistic and focused fashion in one central location.

This optimisation of limited resources is especially critical in a small nation like Singapore, where sports may not be among top national priorities when juxtaposed against other concerns including cost of living, inflation, national development, economic growth and defence and security.

It will also enable us to make the most of a relatively smaller talent pool of athletes, and ensure they are equipped with all the support and resources we can muster to continue punching above our weight on the international playing field.

MORE IS STILL NEEDED

But the focus on high performance pathways and development is just one part of the puzzle when it comes to building a true sporting nation.

I was especially heartened to hear Mr Tong say that there will be "strengthening of partnerships with national sports associations (NSAs) on athlete and pathway development, and closer working relationships with NSAs to professionalise sports administration and technical capabilities”.

Many NSAs are currently run by volunteers who may not possess the full range of professional expertise and capabilities required to operate these federations at a high level of efficiency and effectiveness.

While the government typically refrains from intervening directly in the running of these associations, it will be beneficial if it works with them to enhance the professional capabilities of their boards and secretariats, especially given that taxpayer funds are involved.

At the same time, the building of an ingrained and holistic national sports culture remains a work in progress.

A thriving sports ecosystem requires athletes, parents and families to see sports as a viable career option. Continued education and awareness-building are essential in communicating this.

With broader societal support, public interest in sports entertainment and events would grow. This, in turn, could potentially help to attract more financial and sponsorship interest, and increase the resources and funds available to athletes.

At the same time, the local sports industry must also step up to develop more creative and innovative sporting intellectual property and value propositions that could help put Singapore on the regional and international sporting map.

This would entail moving away from tried-and-tested (but boring) concepts like mass runs to explore ideas that potentially showcase Singapore’s urban environment, unique culture and local iconic landmarks, in formats that are growing in popularity such as urban obstacle races and fitness competitions.

Such initiatives could potentially wean Singapore off a dependency on bringing international events here, often at significant cost.

At the same time, there could be efforts to explore upcoming sports such as padel and pickleball to see if exciting spectator events could be developed to further encourage people to appreciate sports as an entertainment option alongside cable TV, concerts and movies.

If these can be achieved and combined with the multiple government efforts to support current and future sporting heroes, then we may see a true sporting Singapore come to life in the years ahead.

Nicholas Fang is a former national fencer, triathlete and sports administrator, and was Team Singapore’s chef de mission at the 2015 Southeast Asian Games. He is a former Nominated Member of Parliament and currently runs local sports consultancy Novastella.