Sharing stories of our para athletes at the Disability Network

Ms Tina Hung, Deputy CEO of National Council of Social Service

Assoc. Prof. Teo-Koh Sock Miang, President of Singapore Disability Sports Council and Special Olympics Singapore

Team Singapore para athletes,

Social Service Organisation Partners,

Ladies and gentlemen,

1. Good morning. I am very happy to join you here today.
   

2. We really are here to learn from all of you, and you are big champions in the disability sector. As soon as I joined MCCY in May last year, I sat down with the team and said I always believe that value is created at the intersection of different disciplines. So if you take a very multi-disciplinary approach, you will create a lot of interesting opportunities that we typically would not be able to create simply because it is human nature to really focus on what we are doing. So we have to really try very hard to step out of our comfort zones and we felt there's so much synergistic opportunities that can be created in disability sports. And I am so happy that it somewhat came to fruition today in the form of a Disability Network symposium. So thank you to the team for making this happen. Thank you NCSS for bringing the symposium here to Sports Hub.

3. Like I mentioned, it is very timely to choose “disability sports” as the theme for the Disability Network discussion today. Sports really can be a powerful enabler for persons with disabilities to live full and independent lives. And I saw that at work in Incheon.

4. Our sporting heroes, some of them are here with us today, so I am very happy that our Team Singapore para athletes, though they are very hard at work training, they took time out of their hectic schedule to be with us here this morning, to share with us insights. Like I mentioned, I was in Incheon with Minister of State Sam Tan and also our Sport Singapore and MCCY colleagues just three months back to watch our Team Singapore para athletes compete at the Asian Para Games and I tell you, you have to be there and get that first hand experience, to see a different type of atmosphere vis-à-vis the usual ASEAN games. The resilience of the human spirit is so palpable and the performance of each and every one of our Team Singapore para athletes is truly inspiring.

5. So we really hope, you being a champion in the social service sector, in the disability sector, will also walk along with us in this journey to also make sure that the ASEAN Para Games will leave a lasting legacy for people in Singapore, not just Singaporeans with disabilities, but the wider community, and it is happening in December this year.

6. I have fond memories of that few days in Incheon and I remembered how I was, after that three, four days, labelled as the cheerleader, and I can tell from my hoarse voice that it took a long time to recover. We were really cheering away and we didn't have big contingent but we had a very good one. We brought a lot of very important apparatus, whistles, whatever, and then we decided to empower people even though they were not Singaporeans. So we saw a whole contingent of very excited South Korean school girls and we passed them our Singapore flags, and they were so happy. We just expanded our Singapore family. But my point is this: sports transcends nations, and I think sports is truly a connector that brings people together and I think we can really see that at work not just through SEA Games but also our ASEAN Para Games.

7. So we were really cheering our hearts out for our athletes – the hall was so big and you really had to scream and shout. And all of us really cheered our hearts out for Theresa when she won Singapore's first ever silver medal at the Games. And also the very historic moment when “Majulah Singapura” was played for the very first time at the Games after our para sailors Jovin Tan and Yap Qian Yin sailed home to a gold medal. And I tell you we were all waiting for the national anthem to be played. That temperature was 10 degrees and we were eagerly waiting for the moment, and imagine our para sailors going out in the sea for about nine races. Their hard work and resilience is really very inspiring for us as a nation and I think we really hope that we will be able to galvanise the whole community and the nation.

8. Sports can certainly uplift people and also the community around us. And I sincerely believe that through sports, we can work together and realise a truly inclusive society where everyone can reach their full potential and appreciate the abilities of each individual.

9. We feel that the ASEAN Para Games can be a catalyst to take us closer to that goal. That is why we are setting up the inter-agency committee to see how we can truly build a lasting legacy for disability sports beyond the Games.

10. To us, the Games is a means to a bigger end, and this Committee for Disability Sports – we hope to identify more opportunities for persons with disabilities, for Singaporeans with disabilities, to participate in sports. It doesn't have to be elite performance.

11. Today's end, like I mentioned, you are the forerunners in this space, you are a leader in your own facility and we have much to learn and today we really hope to collectively draw on your wisdom and experience to provide critical inputs to this committee. In fact, some of the VWOs are already using sports to support your clients' needs. For example, I understand Asian Women's Welfare Association (AWWA) recently partnered the Singapore Canoe Federation and SportCares, and you launched the Paracanoeing Developing Programme to provide additional sporting avenues for persons with disabilities. I think way to go – we need much more of such partnerships. And I really believe that we have a lot more space in community sports, not just elite sports.

12. So we really like to hear from you. We hope that in the next hour or so you will candidly share your thoughts about how we can truly rally support for our para athletes for the ASEAN Para Games, and also rally the community to journey along and grow as a person. And I think that is really the Singapore that we want to build.

13. So really, we look forward to your ideas and suggestions at the breakout sessions on a beautiful Friday, at a beautiful facility, Sports Hub. So, together we can work towards our goal where every Singaporean, regardless of ability, can have the opportunity to Live Better through Sports. And on this note, I want to wish everyone good health, because health is wealth, fulfillment and happiness and Happy New Year. Thank you so much.