The seminar this time round saw greater emphasis by the Singapore Sports Council on the following areas - Games Concept Approach, National Coaching Accreditation Programme (NCAP), Sports Safety/Risk Management and Public Liability Insurance, all of which would broaden the minds of service providers and NSAs alike to deliver higher quality sports programmes for students through the SEP. 

Games Concept Approach
Dr Clara Tan from the National Institute of Education (NIE) gave an interesting insight on the Game Concept Approach; which explained the crucial need for service providers to have a sound developmental framework to deliver the sports programmes to their various groups of students. She shared that as all students have different learning needs and competence, it is important for the providers and coaches to identify these students early and to administer the appropriate strategies to engage them throughout their sports programmes.

National Registry of Coaches (NROC) accreditation
Next up was Ms Chow Mei Peng from SSC's Coaching and Technical Development (CTD) Department to further elaborate on the need for all service providers to undergo the National Coaching Accreditation Programme (NCAP) for them to be eligible to be registered under the SEP. All service providers must therefore either undergo the NCAP (level 1 Theory) course to be eligible, or to submit their relevant existing coaching certificates to SSC for accreditation. With this minimum requirements, all students, parents and teachers can be assured that the programmes to be delivered in the SEP would be carried out by coaches/instructors of a certain standard and competence.

Sports Safety and Risk Management
As with all programmes that involves physical activity or movement, all service providers must now submit a risk management plan for all their programmes. This is to ensure that the safety of the students are taken care of at all times and that the coaches/instructors have a plan in place to manage any emergencies that may arise from conducting their programmes. There is no prescribed template or format for this risk management plan to be submitted, but the plan should adequately address all associated risks that accompany that particular sport or activity. This topic was further elaborated on by Ms Delphine Fong of SSC's Sports Safety Department, with an emphasis on the importance of life-saving skills and the use of AEDs in SSC's Sports and Recreation Centres (SRCs).

Public Liability and Insurance
The seminar ended with a talk on insurance coverage by AVA Insurance Brokers Pte Ltdand and its relevance for all sports programmes. This talk showcased case studies of past incidents where insurance coverage was minimal or not catered for, and again highlighted the fact that insurance is often a taboo subject that everybody knows is important but lack the attention it deserves. It was hope that through this talk, all service providers can plan ahead and to allocate adequate resources in this aspect of safety coverage. 

Conclusion
The seminar ended in the evening and was well-received by service providers, teachers and sports partners. It is hope that through this year’s networking seminar that more and better sports programmes can be provided to our students in schools for them to learn a new sport, develop their sports skills or simply to have fun through sports. 

Written by Mr Eric Quek (YSD)
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More Schools Hire External Sports Service Providers
Summary : Students can participate in multiple sports such as ultimate frisbee, inline skating and trampoline as more schools are hiring external sports service providers to provide coaching in these sports. To ensure the safety of the participating students under the care of external services providers, SSC is quoted that only approved coaching-certified instructors, who are proficient in their respective sports, and who are first-aid certified, are engaged by schools under SEP. Read more

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All students have a chance to enjoy sports

MR MICHAEL Loke Ming-Yen's letter ('Invest more resources in children's sports'; ST, Jan 11) highlighted that Dr Istvan Balyi's Long-Term Athlete Development (LTAD) model recommended that 11-year-olds continue to engage in other sporting activities in addition to their preferred sport.

Indeed, selected athletes who enrol in the Junior Sports Academies will have ample opportunities to play other sports besides the ones they specialise in. Our physical education programme allows students to try different sports and develop physical skills while having fun. Co-curricular activities (CCAs) enable students to pursue their interests and develop other skills. Schools also offer numerous school-based enrichment activities.

Mr Loke also called on the Government to invest more in children's sport. The Ministry of Education (MOE) works closely with national sports associations (NSAs), the Singapore Sports Council (SSC) and Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) to align our programmes to national sporting policies.

Currently, around 40 percent of students participate actively in sports through CCAs. Through the Sports Education Programme (SEP), a collaborative effort between SSC and MOE, every school is also provided with $10,000 to create opportunities for all students to play new recreational sports. To date, the SEP has benefited close to 150,000 students from almost 90 per cent of primary and secondary schools. MOE will also spend $700 million over the next few years to enhance school sports facilities, including building an indoor sports hall in every school.

All students are given opportunities to progress from recreational to competitive sports. Those with potential will represent their school in inter-school games competitions and be groomed by the NSAs. Many of the national athletes were first exposed to sports via CCAs and inter-school games competitions. The system has worked well for schools and we will continue to improve on it.

MOE will continue to support the national sports strategy through the development of relevant education programmes and provision of physical and financial resources.

Sum Chee Wah (Ms)
Director, Education Programmes Division
Ministry of Education

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Floorball in Yio Chu Kang Primary 

The increasingly popular sport of floorball was introduced to 150 10-year-old school kids at Yio Chu Kang Primary last Monday, 13 November 07.

Floorball, an easy game to pick up, is also a logistically easy game to set up within a school's premise.

"It's very easy to play, " said 10-year-old Radiah Maria of Yio Chu Kang Primary who was trying it out for the first time.

Divided into four groups, the students were taken through simple drills to learn the basic techniques of floorball. Said Sonia Teo, 25 years old, one of the instructors with 7 years of experience in the game: "Everybody can play and the game can be played on any grounds. Also, it's a free game. No offside rules, no fixed position."

With it's simple rules, it's easy to see the appeal of the game which requires six players a side, with one goalkeeper and five field players. The other appeal of the sport is the safety aspect - only plastic balls and plastic sticks are used.

Floorball was played at the National School Championship level this year with Meridian Junior College winning the A Division, Bukit Merah Secondary winning the B Division Boys' and Girls' Championships, Victoria School the C Division Boys' title and East View Secondary the C Division Girls' title.

By Leslie from Redsports 



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