Source: Channel News Asia/Darelle Ng
SINGAPORE: The associations of emerging sports including tchoukball and pickleball have welcomed the government’s plans to give greater financial help to support national athletes.
Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Friday (Feb 16) announced in his Budget speech that the One Team Singapore Fund (OTSF) will get a S$20 million (US$15 million) boost.
The fund, which provides dollar-for-dollar matching for donations towards Team Singapore athletes, will also be extended to the end of the financial year 2027.
In addition, the scope of donations will be broadened to cover those in emerging sports like tchoukball, pickleball, and powerlifting.
BOOST COACHING STAFF
Pickleball’s national body in Singapore hopes that with the extra funding, it can hire more experienced coaches from overseas to boost local talent.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of pickleball players locally has grown more than threefold to about 5,000.
“As with many other sports, having the right level of coaches is usually the most difficult to obtain. With additional funding, we can build a team of coaches,” said Mr Chong Siew Tan, president of the Singapore Pickleball Association.
“We can also start looking at building an academy where we get a lot more youngsters to come and join the programme. When we need to send people for competitions, we can select among those people in the academy.”
The association is also looking at how it can raise funds more actively in the coming months as it aspires to a permanent training facility and to host international tournaments.
Mr. Wong said on Friday that the fund will include SportCares, which provides opportunities for vulnerable children and youth, those with disabilities, and seniors to participate in sporting programmes.
There are also plans to bring more major sporting events here so that national athletes can compete on an international level on home ground and allow Singaporeans more avenues to show their support.
