Support for Sports Not Affiliated with National Sports Associations

3 Mr Darryl David asked the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth whether more support can be given to those sports that are not affiliated to a National Sports Association (NSA) to encourage a sporting and healthy lifestyle in our community.

The Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (Ms Grace Fu Hai Yien): Mdm Speaker, the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) and Sport Singapore recognise the health and social benefits of sport and encourage individual and community participation in many different types of sports.

Many sports in Singapore are already supported by one of the 63 National Sports Associations (NSAs) recognised by Sport Singapore. However, there are other developing sports which have not fulfilled the criteria to be accorded NSA status. In cases where such sports help to promote an active lifestyle and build a more cohesive society, Sport Singapore will work with the respective groups to grow and develop the sport to provide more sporting opportunities and options for all.

For example, Sport Singapore has been organising introductory programmes and competitions for Ultimate Frisbee through ActiveSG. More than 100 students from about 10 schools took part in the ActiveSG Ultimate Frisbee Competition in November last year. Other programmes offered by ActiveSG include Urban Trekking and Stand Up Paddling, which are also becoming more popular in Singapore.

ActiveSG also champions innovative programmes to lower the barriers of entry to sports participation. For instance, ActiveSG offers Flippa Ball, which is modified Water Polo played in shallow pools, as I was told, so that participants can pick up and enjoy the sport more easily. Those who are keen may then pursue Water Polo as a competitive sport subsequently. ActiveSG has also organised family-friendly Tchoukball programmes – which is a very popular sport these days – during the school holidays to promote parent-child bonding and interaction.

Catering to members of all ages and fitness levels, ActiveSG offers a comprehensive range of exercise programmes at its Sports Centres, including Aqua Aerobics, Piloxing and Zumba. We also partner the Health Promotion Board to offer the Sundays @ the Park programme, where anyone can join in for an hour of fun and energetic group workout.

As new sports emerge and develop, MCCY and Sport Singapore will continue to consider how best to support these sports, so that more Singaporeans can live better through sport.

Mdm Speaker: Mr Darryl David.

Mr Darryl David (Ang Mo Kio): I thank the Minister for the reply. I would like to raise a supplementary question, Madam. Besides the financial support given to NSAs and so on, and the other activities which I am heartened to hear that MCCY is doing, for sports that are not so popular – the Minister mentioned Flippa Ball and Tchoukball – I was approached online recently by someone who organises Dodgeball and I had to google to see what Dodgeball is all about. I understood it is a version of Hantam Bola but played a little bit differently. His point was that he was going to take part in an international competition and he was wondering if he were to do this, would he be able to compete under our flag, with the pride that he is representing Singapore, albeit not in a popular NSA sport, but nevertheless, in a sport that has Singaporeans participating? Could the Minister please share the other forms of support that could be given to these sport activities?

Ms Grace Fu Hai Yien: I thank the Member for the supplementary question. The Member's question originally was to ask if more support could be given to non-NSA sports to encourage a sporting and healthy lifestyle in the community. The answer is one that is very inclusive and we are quite prepared to work with many sports, even though they have not formed NSAs.

But when it comes to representing Singapore in specific competitions, that is where I think there should be a more considered reply. First of all, do you represent the fraternity? Are you the only one who has expertise or has interest in this sport? Is this a recognised competition at the international level? All these considerations will determine the level of support because working with a limited budget, we want to see that our financial support go towards promoting a level of expertise and a pipeline of talent development, so that resources are not too spread out such that they become episodic and do not promote a continuous pursuit of excellence.

This is where a non-NSA sport will probably get a more considered reply from Sport Singapore, but I am sure Members can imagine that with very limited resources to work with and with many, many sports that have strong support from NSAs, we would have to apply our resources carefully.