More sports academies to help Singaporeans keep fit

SINGAPORE — Singaporeans will get more opportunities to play sports and keep fit, with Sport Singapore (SportSG) launching five new academies and clubs for badminton, frisbee, floorball, hockey and martial arts, Culture, Community and Youth Minister Grace Fu announced in Parliament yesterday.

These will add to the existing ones for football, athletics, basketball, tennis and outdoor adventure.

Youths will now be able to take part in leagues and competitions for frisbee and floorball, two sports that are popular in schools. The martial arts academy aims to cater to growing interest, while the badminton and hockey programmes will complement existing efforts by the fraternity.

“The (new) programmes will cater to different competency levels and provide young adults with both recreational and competitive opportunities to remain active in sports even after leaving the school system,” said Ms Fu.

ActiveSG will also set up Active Masters programmes featuring modified sports and fitness activities to engage adults aged 40 and above who want to be more physically active.

Since they were started last year, ActiveSG’s five academies and clubs have proved popular, reaching out to some 12,000 participants to date.

More spaces in the community will also be opened up for residents to play sports within a 10-minute walk of their homes, with the S$50 million Sports-In-Precinct (SIP) programme — started in 2014 — to be expanded to 20 projects across the island by 2020. A SIP project in Jurong Spring will be completed this year and another, in Boon Lay, will be ready next year. A third project in Taman Jurong will be built.

“We will be expanding the programme to include precincts that are not under HDB’s Neighbourhood Renewal Programme,” said Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) Baey Yam Keng.

The public has also been engaged through community efforts at the Singapore Sports Hub. Last year, around 92,000 people took part in 685 events, compared with 38,000 in 2015.

But usage of the National Stadium for national events has been a trickier issue, with media reports of organisers facing obstacles such as high rental fees and challenging negotiations.

This was highlighted by Aljunied GRC MP Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap, who noted how the old National Stadium helped to forge bonds through football matches and gave rise to the “Kallang Wave”.

In response, Mr Baey said MCCY has broached the issue of event costs with Sports Hub Private Limited (SHPL). “SHPL has indicated that it will seek to keep third-party costs for events at the Sports Hub in check,” he said. He added that the venue has hosted many major events, such as the 2015 SEA Games, the National Day Parade and concerts since its opening in 2014.

Spectatorship has been encouraging, with almost 15,500 showing up for the Great Eastern Community Shield S.League football match. Upcoming events include the HSBC Singapore Rugby Sevens and a pop concert by Coldplay.