Singapore hosts World University Floorball Championship 2014

Mr Eric Saintrond, International University Sports Federation (FISU) Secretary General and CEO,
Mr Stefan Bergh, Vice President of FISU
Chairmen and Members of the Organising Committee,
Excellencies, Distinguished Guests, athletes and officials,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

1. Let me take this opportunity to warmly welcome all of you to the opening of the World University Floorball Championship. In my capacity as the Minister in-charge of sports, I am glad to see so many star players, supporters and officials from across the ten floorball teams represented here, coming here for this competition. I want to wish all of you the very best for the competition again, and also a very pleasant stay in Singapore, particularly for friends who are here for the first time. You are here for the competition, but do take some time to do some sightseeing in Singapore and enjoy Singapore, for the city that it is.
   

2. This evening’s event is special for a few reasons. First, we are proud to be holding our first international event here, at the OCBC Arena, in our brand new state-of-the-art Singapore Sports Hub. I think that deserves a round of applause.
   

3. As you can see around you, the facility is still quite raw because we are finalising everything. So step-by-step, part of this entire Sports Hub is being completed. With the massive facility, the swimming pool is ready, and we are having an event now. This indoor arena is completed, and we are now the host of this event. And the national stadium is going to be ready soon. Overall the Sports Hub project is coming together, so we are very proud and happy to have the opportunity to host this event here.
   

4. In fact, we are very excited about the Sports Hub because we expect it to be a game-changer for the sporting scene in Singapore. We have a full pipeline of major sport events already lined up, like the Rugby World Club 10s next weekend, and the WTA Finals in October. And there will be more to come in the future. I hope you will all come back to catch some of these highlights in our sports calendar.
   

5. That is one reason why today’s event is special. The second reason why today’s event is special, is that Singapore has the honour of being the first non-European venue to host this Floorball Championship. We thank FISU for this opportunity and privilege to host this event for the first time.
   

6. Floorball is a relatively new sport in Singapore. It was introduced in Singapore at a community sporting event back in 1994. Since then, we have observed a very rapid growth in popularity of the sport. And today, we have more than 15,000 floorball players from over 100 schools and clubs in Singapore.
   

7. Of this pool of players, nearly half are below the age of 19. It is a very encouraging sign as it shows that it is a sport very popular among the young; more young people are taking up (the sport), and the potential for growth is tremendous. So, I would like to commend the Singapore Floorball Association (SFA) and Sport Singapore for promoting the awareness and the participation in this sport.
   

8. We are participating at the World University Floorball Championship for the first time, on a platform that showcases our men’s and women’s team on the international stage. The Singapore team comprises representatives from our public universities like NUS, NTU, SMU and SIT, as well as private institutions like SIM, SMF Institute and Edith Cowan University. It’s truly a broad-based representation from our local varsities. Many of the players are also in the National Team. I am sure this Championship will provide them an excellent opportunity to hone their skills, and also to grow the interest in floorball both locally and regionally.
   

9. Next year, Singapore will be host to the Southeast Asian Games – a biennial multi-sport event involving 11 countries of Southeast Asia. For the first time, floorball will be one of the contested sports at the SEA Games.
   

10. In 2016, Singapore will be hosting the ASEAN University Games. This is the university games for ten Southeast Asian countries. The sports for the Games have not been decided yet, but we certainly hope that floorball will also be one of the Sports in the 2016 ASEAN University Games. I hope that these developments will motivate even more young Singaporeans, and also budding athletes across Asia and Southeast Asia to take up floorball, and excel in floorball. So that the sport will continue to grow, not only in Singapore but also across Asia.
    

11. Finally, I would like to conclude by thanking FISU or International University Sports Federation, and of course Singapore University Sports Council for your support to have this event held here in Singapore, at our brand new Sports Hub.
    

12. It is now my pleasure to declare the 6th World University Floorball Championships open!
    

13. Thank you very much.