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SportSG, SNOC take action after ‘internal strife’ at Singapore Athletics

SINGAPORE – A week after the athletics fraternity was rocked by a number of disputes and controversies involving the association, its coaches and athletes, national governing sports body Sport Singapore (SportSG) and the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) have stepped in to sort out matters ahead of the SEA Games in August.

Singapore Athletics' management committee, pictured here after winning the election battle against lawyer Edmond Pereira in 2016, has since been caught up in infighting and disputes among the exco. TODAY FILE PHOTO

Singapore Athletics' management committee, pictured here after winning the election battle against lawyer Edmond Pereira in 2016, has since been caught up in infighting and disputes among the exco. TODAY FILE PHOTO

SINGAPORE – National governing sports body Sport Singapore (SportSG) and the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) have stepped in to take over the management of the SEA Games athletics team after a tumultuous week for the sport which saw Singapore Athletics (SA) officials, coaches and athletes embroiled in a series of disputes.

In a strongly worded statement to the media on Friday (June 23), SNOC secretary-general Chris Chan said the “internal strife” in SA had disrupted athletes’ preparations for the regional Games in Kuala Lumpur in August. As a result, the SNOC and SportSG have decided to take matter sinto their own hands.

“We are disappointed to see that despite constantly reminding our national sports associations (NSAs) to prioritise the interests of our athletes, disagreements and infighting have not ceased among the management committee members at Singapore Athletics,” said Mr Chan in the statement.

“Unfortunately, their disputes are disrupting the athletes and officials preparing for the 2017 SEA Games. 

“With less than two months to go for the SEA Games, preparing our athletes must be the foremost priority and any other personal agenda must be put aside and resolved for the sake of the sport and our athletes.

“In order to insulate and safeguard the athletes’ interests from the continuing internal strife in Singapore Athletics, the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) and Sport Singapore (SportSG) have decided to form a major games preparation committee to manage the SEA Games athletics team.”

Former national waterpolo player Yip Ren Kai, who is the chair of the SNOC Athletes Commission, has been appointed the team manager of the SEA Games team. He will be assisted by former national high jumper Hoe Aik Teng, a senior manager of partnership and development at SportSG. 

The duo will report directly to Mr Milan Kwee, Team Singapore’s chef de mission for the SEA Games, and the major games preparation committee, which is co-chaired by Mr Chan and Singapore Sports Institute chief Toh Boon Yi. 

This is not the first time that national sports bodies have had to step to resolve issues at the NSAs. 

In 2001, after the Singapore Amateur Gymnastics Association was delisted by the SNOC, the then-Singapore Sports Council assisted by setting up a SEA Games preparation Committee to help athletes with funding for coaching, training and competitions. 

When contacted by TODAY, SA president Ho Mun Cheong said that he agreed with the move by SNOC and SportSG. 

“This is in the best interests of the athletes and coaches so it will allow them to focus on the SEA Games,” he said. 

“A separate committee will have no ulterior motives and will be impartial so they can just focus on the Games.”

 

ATHLETICS IN TURMOIL

Just last week, TODAY reported that a dispute between coach Margaret Oh and SA technical director Volker Hermann could see national sprinter Shanti Pereira – the defending gold medallist in the 200m – dropped from the women’s 4x100m relay team. 

Both parties had disagreed on a number of issues, in particular, Mr Hermann’s proposal for the centralised training camp to be held in Taiwan in July. 

Leaked Whatsapp group chat messages between SA vice-president (training and selection) Govindasamy Balasekaran and its sports development and performance team delivered another shock to the fraternity a few days later.

In that chat, Mr Balasekaran wrote: “Just get good evidence so we can give it back to P (president Ho Mun Cheong). And force him to get disciplinary action on Margaret n David (Yeo, pole vaulter Rachel Yang’s coach). He will then shut up as they are (his) favourites.”

The dispute over the training camp appeared to be resolved this week after the association’s management committee voted against having it in Taiwan. 

The NSA was also rapped by SportSG chief executive officer Lim Teck Yin who expressed in a stern statement his disappointment at the “distrust and discord” in the association. 

Mr Ho also revealed on Friday (June 23) that a board of inquiry will be set up after their annual general meeting on June 27 to investigate the matter involving Mr Balasekaran and the secretariat staff, as well as other complaints from coaches. 

When contacted by TODAY, Ms Oh said she was relieved to hear about the SNOC and SportSG’s intervention. 

“I’m happy that the SNOC is trying to take care of us. I don’t want to be affected by all this, and now we know that people are taking care of it.

“(But) I hope that nothing will happen along the way (before the Games).”

National runner Soh Rui Yong, who is aiming to defend his men’s marathon gold in Kuala Lumpur, said it was the “right decision” for the authorities to take.  

“It’s like a parent taking over the kid’s pet cat because the kid doesn’t look after the cat properly,” said the 25-year-old, who is currently in Germany to compete in Sunday’s Hamburg Half Marathon.

“What is key now is for Ren Kai, who does not come from an athletics background, to really work with athletes who understand their individual needs to give them what they need.”

But Soh believes that the problems in the sport lie much deeper. 

“Athletics offers the most number of medals at the SEA Games. We barely win any of them and this is largely due to how the sport has been run the last 30 years,” he said plainly. 

“There is no development, no continuity, and no long term plan. It’s always been a power struggle that takes up all the time and resources.”

 

LEADERSHIP WOES

The latest incidents occurred just two months after the association decided to call for a snap election to re-elect its MC. 

Coming just 10 months after Mr Ho’s team notched a decisive election victory over lawyer Edmond Pereira, the call was prompted by internal squabbles among the exco over a number of issues. 

The infighting saw the seven-member exco divided into two camps, with Mr Ho and vice-president (competitions organising) Loh Chan Pew up against the other group, led by Mr Balasekaran. 

The snap polls were eventually called off after intervention by International Olympic Committee member Ng Ser Miang. 

The previous exco led by former president Tang Weng Fei was also plagued with internal strife and disagreements, which led to Tang’s decision not to stand for re-election at the annual general meeting last year. 

The SNOC and SportSG’s latest decision to take over management of the SEA Games team appears to be a damning statement of the state of affairs in SA.

Interestingly, Mr Ho agreed. “They are saying that you had better put your house in order,” he said. 

“The immediate task now is the SEA Games, and after that we have to think of how to solve the problem. All this is personal…it affects the athletes, the coaches, and gives a bad image of the association.”

Soh stressed that Singapore Athletics, and the people leading it, need to change for the sport to progress. 

He added: “The next step would be to take a look at the constitution and see if the voting process can be changed. 

“Because if that remains the same, we will always have the same type of people being voted in, and in another 50 years, Singapore Athletics will still be in the state it is in today – (which is that of) embarrassment.”

 

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