Making Sports More Accessible to All

Dr Teo-Koh Sock Miang
President
Singapore Disability Sports Council

Mr Brian Loo
Group General Manager
Haw Par Corporation

SDSC Executive Committee Members,

Distinguished guests,
Athletes, coaches, officials, volunteers,
Families, friends and media representatives,

1. A very good evening to everyone.  

2. I am very happy to be here to join you this evening for the 2022 Singapore Disability Sports Awards after two consecutive virtual editions. I’m delivering the speech on behalf of Minister Edwin Tong.  Minister has been very much looking forward to being at tonight’s awards in person, but unfortunately, he is unable to, due to COVID. He conveys his apologies for not attending. Whilst he is feeling okay, he does not want to put any of the athletes and our friends at the awards today at risk. And he would like me to convey his congratulations and best wishes to all.

   1. Today’s celebration has extra significance for me, having attended and met many of you virtually at the Singapore Disability Sports Awards 2020.

   2. Since then, I have had many opportunities to visit you during training and cheer you on at international competitions.

Honouring the Contributions and Achievements of the Disability Sports Fraternity

3. Tonight, we are all gathered here to celebrate and honour the achievements of our athletes,

   1. and recognise the contributions that you have made to sports in Singapore.

4. The past two years have not been easy, but despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, many of you have achieved new milestones.

   1. All of you are winners and your hard work and commitment have indeed made a big difference.

   2. Congratulations to all 30 nominees of the Singapore Disability Sports Awards 2022!   

   3. Each and every one of you is a trailblazer, an inspiration and a role model to all.

Honourable Mention of Nominees

5. So take for example Jeralyn Tan.

   1. Jeralyn has been playing Boccia for more than 14 years, having been first exposed to the sport in 2009.

   2. Last year was a breakthrough year for Jeralyn, winning gold at the Fazza Dubai 2021 World Boccia Asia-Oceania Regional Championships.

   3. Jeralyn shared that she will continue to train hard, and she hopes that she can motivate other Boccia athletes to do their best.

   4. Kudos to Jeralyn and all the best to our Boccia team at the 2022 ASEAN Para Games.

6. Next our nominee for Sportsboy of the Year, our young and if I may add, shy swimmer Colin Soon.

   1. Now Colin represented Singapore at the recent Bahrain 2021 Asian Youth Para Games, where he achieved a whopping four gold medals in four events,

   2. Becoming Singapore’s most be-medalled athlete ever at the Asian Youth Para Games, even while studying for his O-levels! How is that, can we give him a round of applause.

   3. Through swimming, Colin hopes to promote inclusiveness and advocate for persons with disabilities, particularly for young people with visual impairment.

   4. All the best to you, Colin, and the rest of the swimming team at the 2022 ASEAN Para Games.

An inter-connected ecosystem for a more inclusive Singapore

7. Now sport has the unique ability to bring people together and enhance an individual’s own self-confidence. In so doing, it also has the power to transform community attitudes towards persons with disabilities.

8. Sport participation can empower persons with disabilities in many ways, allowing them to further realise their potential, and raise their visibility and prominence in society.

9. The government is therefore committed to increasing the accessibility of sport to persons with disabilities, giving them more options to participate in sport at all levels, whether as a form of recreation or even, as high-performance athletes representing Singapore at the highest level.

10. Now to do this, it is critical for our partners and stakeholders to continue supporting the disability sports fraternity in this very meaningful journey. Over the years, SDSC has engaged many partners to organise sports outreach programmes for more persons with disabilities to participate in.

11. I would like to extend my heartiest appreciation to Haw Par Corporation for being a strong and supportive partner to SDSC,

    1. in championing programmes and initiatives for persons with disabilities.

12. The awards sponsored by Haw Par Corporation recognise the achievements of our para-athletes and bring the community together to celebrate their achievements.

    1. Corporations like Haw Par Corporation enable SDSC to deliver unique and tailored experiences for persons with disabilities.

    2. Haw Par Corporation’s adoption of the Boccia team has contributed to the team’s achievements at both the regional and world level,

    3. allowing athletes like Jeralyn to train, compete, and perform at the highest level.

    4. Their commitment to supporting the disability sports causes has also allowed SDSC to develop the next generation of athletes,

    5. such as Aloysius Gan and Yan Jia Yi, who joined their efforts to win a BC3 Mixed Pairs silver medal for Singapore at the Bahrain 2021 Asian Youth Para Games. This victory of which, I had been privileged to witness last year.

    6. I am pleased to note that community development is a key focus for Haw Par Corporation,

       1. which worked with SDSC to roll out the Tiger Balm WeHeartBoccia Programme in March last year,

       2. to bring Boccia to the heartlands.

    7. Through the programme, staff of Senior Activity Centres and Early Intervention Centres have been learning about Boccia and how to teach their beneficiaries the sport.

       1. The second season of the programme as I understand will be rolled out later this year.

13. I hope that the strong and generous support of Haw Par Corporation will encourage more private sector organisations to partner the disability sport fraternity in meaningful programmes such as these.

14. For our part, the Government will continue to work with partners like Haw Par and SDSC to build a more inclusive Singapore.

    1. We want to build a country where we can all achieve our aspirations, and realise our full potential, including in the area of sports.

    2. We will do this by giving every Singaporean the opportunity to engage in sports, 

    3. and devoting significant resources to quality broad-based programmes and infrastructure 

    4. such as stadiums, sports halls and running tracks. 

    5. We also strongly encourage our para-athletes in their post-retirement to continue contributing to, and serving the sports fraternity, in as many ways as possible.

    6. In the second half of this year, we will be unveiling our next Enabling Masterplan, EMP2030. It is my personal desire for the People, Private and Public sectors in Singapore will come together, even closer than before, to really make Singapore a more caring and inclusive society.

15. Built upon this strong foundation of inclusivity, I hope we can also foster a strong sporting culture in Singapore,

    1. provide more opportunities for young talents to develop their skills,

    2. and potentially represent our country as national athletes.

Network of Support for TeamSG para-athletes

16. As we celebrate our athletes’ achievements today, I would like to acknowledge the contributions of our coaches, officials, staff, volunteers, caregivers, family and friends.

    1. We acknowledge and thank you for putting in the hours and effort to support the dreams of our athletes.

    2. We applaud, for example, the two swim coaches in the Coach (Development) category - Roland Tan and Lionel Leong.

    3. The dedication of stellar coaches like Roland and Lionel has helped the SDSC develop its swimming programme so successfully,

       1. from one swim club training athletes with disabilities to five swim clubs today.

    4. This has really enabled para swimmers to have a greater choice of coaches, programmes and locations,

       1. and conversely, enabled more coaches from the non-disabled community to extend their coaching practices to para swimmers.

    5. This has also given SDSC the confidence to move forward with its strategic plan, to increase and solidify partnerships with swim clubs and coaches,

       1. to enable more para swimmers to be discovered and developed.

    6. The results are evident and speaks for itself - Darren Chan, coached by Lionel, and Colin Soon, coached by Roland, have both been nominated in the Sportsboy category.

    7. So it is my hope that the coaches will continue to guide our young athletes to greater sporting achievements, moulding them into world champions such as Yip Pin Xiu, this year’s nominee of the Sportswoman award and truly an inspiration to Singaporeans.

    8. Pin Xiu has often praised the efforts and dedication of her coach Mark Chay, who is being recognised as High Performance Coach of the year. Pin Xiu has spoken about Mark’s relentlessness in setting new standards for her to meet in the pool, but also of the encouragement and support he gives her, including in the nerve-filled moments just before a competition.

    9. I believe the praise goes both ways. Mark himself has spoken about the many lessons he has learnt through coaching Pin Xiu both in and out of the pool. Among them, that persons with disabilities can also become amazing athletes, and that we should not place any limitations on them.

17. We are also deeply appreciative of members of the public and passionate corporates who have been relentless in their support for disability sports. In particular, I would like to extend my appreciation to Bedok Green Secondary School and its team of physical education teachers.

    1. Since 2018, Bedok Green Secondary School has organised the Adaptive Sports Fiesta to expose its students to different para sports activities,

    2. such as wheelchair basketball and goalball, conducted by their PE teachers.

    3. Over the years, batches of students have supported SDSC as volunteers.

    4. Such partnerships demonstrate the important role that our community can play to foster greater inclusivity in Singapore.

18. Together with SDSC, we will continue to work closely with partners

    1. to raise greater awareness about inclusive physical education and disability sports.

Supporting the Disability Sports Fraternity and making sports more accessible to para-athletes

19. The Disability Sports Master Plan, which was launched in 2016 by MCCY and SportSG,

    1. will continue to expand the access and opportunities for sport participation among persons with disabilities,

    2. as well as to promote disability sports and strengthen the public’s affinity to Team Singapore para-athletes.

20. One major effort embarked on by ActiveSG is the establishment of the Para Sport Academy in March this year. The Academy aims to:

    1. Drive the integration of disability and mainstream sports in our ActiveSG Academies and Clubs,

    2. Provide aspiring para-athletes a clear pathway from recreational participation to high-performance sport,

    3. To serve as an enabling platform for inclusivity by allowing more persons with disabilities to take part in sports,

       1. building their self-confidence and empowering them to reach their fullest potential,

       2. and raising their visibility and prominence in society

    4. The first phase of the academy's work features programmes for i) cerebral palsy football, ii) para canoe, iii) para athletics, iv) wheelchair basketball, v) wheelchair tennis and vi) para swimming.

    5. Four other sports – i) para badminton, ii) para table tennis, iii) wheelchair rugby and iv) blind football - will be introduced this month.

    6. So far, more than 130 participants have enrolled in these programmes.

21. We are indeed very grateful to have a strong partner in SDSC to complement our efforts in championing disability sports, and providing more opportunities for sport participation.

Conclusion

22. In closing, allow me to send my best wishes to our Team Singapore athletes selected to represent us at the 2022 ASEAN Para Games in Solo, Indonesia later this month.

23. I know all of you will do us very proud. All of us in Singapore look forward to cheering each of you on.

24. So together with SDSC, SNPC, Sport Singapore and many other partners, and many of you are at the hall today, let’s work to build a more inclusive society, where we can all play and enjoy sports together. Thank you.