Sporting events with up to 3,000 participants to return under 'Bring Sport Back' plan

SINGAPORE —  Mass sports participation events are set to return, through more community events and sports festivals, as part of a "Bring Sport Back" plan, Mr Edwin Tong said on Thursday (March 10). 

The Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, who was speaking during a debate on the budget of the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY), said: "2021 was a thoroughly exciting year for sports, despite the many uncertainties and challenges.

"We progressively resumed sporting activities and hosted several international events. In 2022, we want to step it up."

Mr Tong explained that like arts, sports is a "social glue that brings us together" as Singaporeans cheer on the country's athletes and develop friendships on the playing field. 

MCCY also plans to launch a Para Sport Academy, which will train athletes with disabilities in sports such as cerebral palsy football and wheelchair basketball.

Mr Eric Chua, Parliamentary Secretary for the MCCY, said that the hope is for the academy "to be an enabling platform through which more persons with disabilities can build their self-confidence and reach their fullest potential". 

The academy will provide aspiring para-athletes a pathway from recreational participation to high-performance sport and help integrate disability and mainstream sports in ActiveSG academies and clubs. 

"It is also our ambition to grow a new generation of para-athletes who will go on to represent Singapore," Mr Chua added.

Mr Tong noted that sports is "one arena where we can, and indeed we should, level everyone up".

"For many para-athletes, their stories attest to the value of sports in Singapore, playing a pivotal part in building an inclusive society.

"The Para Sport Academy brings us one step further along this journey, ensuring that our para-athletes will have an equal platform and as much opportunity as any other, to scale the pinnacle of sporting excellence," Mr Tong added. 

A Sport Green Plan will also be launched this year, which involves working with event organisations to ensure that events supported by national sports governing body Sport Singapore (SportSG) are green and sustainable. 

BRING SPORT BACK 

• S$20 million will be committed to the Bring Sport Back programme, which will facilitate the reintroduction of mass participation events, ramp up programmes and optimise facilities for sports
• Under this programme, SportSG will jumpstart mass participation events and sports festivals, including events for individual sports such as cycling, triathlon, swimming and running, as well as team sports such as football, badminton and tennis
• The target physical participation in each event will be between 1,000 and 3,000 people, subject to the prevailing safe management measures. There will also be more spaces for virtual participation
• To provide support for event organisers, SportSG will be opening a grant call to fund mass participation events and festivals at up to S$50,000 for each award
• Applications for the grant call will open from March onwards for four weeks. It is intended to support about 40 hybrid events or festivals over the year

PARA SPORT ACADEMY

• Sometime this year, ActiveSG will introduce the Para Sport Academy, which expects to involve 500 participants from different disability groups across 10 sports 
• It will be rolled out in phases, with the first phase including sports such as cerebral palsy football, para canoe, para athletics, wheelchair basketball, wheelchair tennis and para swimming 
• The programmes will be held at selected ActiveSG facilities, which have been identified to be accessible, safe and conducive for para sports
• These include Queenstown Stadium, Yio Chu Kang Stadium, Heartbeat@Bedok and Clementi Sports Hall 
• SportSG will also establish an advisory panel for the academy, chaired by MCCY Parliamentary Secretary Eric Chua and consisting of athletes, coaches, volunteers, technical officials, sports medicine personnel and corporates

SPORT GREEN PLAN

• The Sport Green Plan, in support of the Singapore Green Plan 2030, will involve the development of greener sports infrastructure and sports precincts in the coming years
• SportSG will also work with event organisers to ensure that all SportSG-supported events attain green certification by 2023
• Following the success of the current shoe waste collection programme, SportSG aims to expand the programme to include other sports equipment by 2025
• It also plans to recondition sports equipment in a bid to extend their lifespan and reduce demand on resources for new ones
• SportSG will also encourage national sports associations to incorporate green practices in their training programmes, take part in equipment recycling drives, use sustainable sportswear, as well as work with national volunteerism movement Team Nila and ActiveSG Sport Centres to advocate for sustainability practices