Enabling our coaches and a safe sporting environment

Your Excellency, Dr Istvan Szerdahelvi, Ambassador of Hungary to Singapore, 
Mr Kon Yin Tong, Chairman, Sport Singapore, 
Ms Chan Yen San, Chair of the Safe Sport Commission, 
Distinguished guests, 
Ladies and gentlemen.

1. Good morning! I am very happy to join you for the fourth edition of the CoachSG conference. Before I begin, I would like to give a warm welcome to our overseas speakers and guests. Thank you very much for taking the time to join us today, whether you are here at SportSG, or online.
   
   

Enabling coaches to be future ready

2. The past few months have been a particularly difficult time for our sports and fitness industry. Amid the evolving COVID situation, you have had to adapt to new ways of reaching out to those under your care. You also needed to develop best practices to regain the confidence of your stakeholders and customers.

3. Since taking on this new portfolio at the MCCY in July, I have, together with Minister Edwin Tong, met up with many from the sports industry - athletes, coaches, instructors, venue operators, freelancers. Each group has a unique set of challenges they are confronting due to the pandemic; and most, if not all, are impacted, one way or another.

4. The theme of today's conference is an opportune one: “Think Global, ACT Local – Adapt. Create. Transform.” Topics curated in this conference will not only challenge you to reimagine your role as a coach, but will also provide you with the resources to help mould current and future generations of Singaporeans.

5. As coaches, you need to be able to make sense of the evolving landscape of sports, learn from global best practices in coaching, and translate this into lessons that will shape the character, values and attitudes of those under your care.

6. To facilitate this, SportSG, together with the Republic Polytechnic have developed a SportSG-Education and Development portal (SportSG-ED).

7. To be launched by the end of this year, you will be able to access content by renowned coaching consultants and experts, including Dr Wade Gilbert and Dr Jean Cote, using your phone or laptop. You can also learn about sports science, and pick up digital skills anytime, anywhere. I hope all of you will make use of this portal when it is launched. 

Everyone plays a part in ensuring a safe sporting environment

8. Beyond raising your capabilities as coaches, we also want to create a safe sporting culture for everyone. We recognise that this is a collective effort. MCCY and SportSG will work with all stakeholders – including NSAs, coaches, athletes and volunteers to enhance policies and promote awareness about acceptable behaviours in sport.

9. To safeguard the welfare of our athletes, a Safe Sport Commission was formed in 2019. The Commission serves as an advisory panel for policies that are focused on stamping out harassment in sport in Singapore. It also provides advice on independent inquiries and matters relating to safe sport, while building on other initiatives, such as training Safeguarding Officers, and strengthening the Coach's Code of Ethics.

10. Since the Commission was formed, SportSG has trained about 100 Safeguarding Officers. These officers are advocates of safe sport, and will lead efforts across the NSAs and other key organisations to enforce safe sport practices, and provide first-line support to victims.

11. Edwin Ker, Executive Director of the Singapore Swimming Association is one of three such Safeguarding Officers at the Association. As part of his training programme, Edwin was taught how to identify the signs, practise responding to complaints of abuse, and gained insights into how to handle both parents and children. As a sports administrator and a parent of children involved in sports, the training has heightened Edwin's awareness of the additional precautions required in ensuring safe sport, and how to communicate with his own children should they be unable to communicate clearly.

12. Plans are underway to increase the number of Safeguarding Officers. SportSG aims to have at least one trained Safeguarding Officer in each NSA by end of this year, and double this number by the end of next year.

13. For coaches, athletes and sports administrators, SportSG will be launching Safe Sport online modules as part of Coach Education Courses by the end of the year. All registered coaches will be encouraged to complete the modules by the first quarter of 2021.

14. Beyond reaching out to coaches, SportSG is also promoting the message of safe sport to the wider community. For example, SportSG worked with international partners to organise the inaugural Safe Sport Webinar in August this year. Close to 250 participants from over 15 countries attended the webinar, which saw an exchange of international best practices to promote safe sport. SportSG also launched a Safe Sport Campaign, reaching out to more than 40 parents of children enrolled in the ActiveSG Athletics Club. This campaign sought to raise awareness on how to respond if there are concerns raised by a child. SportSG plans to have more of such initiatives in the coming months.

Empowering the next generation of coaches

15. At the same time, we must also not forget our youths, who are the future of our country. There will be a segment at this conference that is open to all youth sport leaders from the various Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) to learn from well-known sports personalities such as Mr C Kunalan, Ms Melanie Martens and Mr Steven Quek.

16. SportSG will also be working with the different IHLs to promote coaching as a career. I have spoken at various platforms, including in Parliament, about the need for us in Singapore as a society to widen our view of success. It should not be the case that you are considered successful only if you put on a tie, and take on a white-collared job. Success can take many other forms, including being a coach. I hope to see many youths stepping forward to consider coaching as a profession and to inspire our next generation of children and youth athletes.

Conclusion

17. In closing, I would like to leave you with a quote by former basketball player and coach, John Wooden. He says, “A good coach can change a game. A great coach can change a life.”

18. I wish you all the best as you continue to adapt, create and transform the lives of those under your care.  Thank you.