We have a long way to go in sports

Those are not my words but rather, the words of a person named Peter Loon who wrote a letter to the Straits Times Forum page. I have been pretty critical about the Singapore Sports Council, or SSC for short, and their rather lacklustre support of BMX, especially since the Youth Olympics is not that far away. We still do NOT have a proper BMX track! This guy Peter Loon says it exactly the same way I do, but about sports in general in Singapore. Way to go Peter! This is the letter, courtesy of The Straits Times.

THE recent Volvo Ocean Race, which had a leg in Singapore, has left our shores. By all accounts, the response from Singaporeans was lukewarm at best.

The location of the race village, among other things, has been blamed, which may indeed be a cause.

But there is a more fundamental reason: It is the psyche of Singaporeans when it comes to sports.

Whenever there is a new sport, and few Singaporeans are involved, or it is not well followed on TV, attendance is dismal. This bodes poorly for future repeat visits by the Volvo organisers and, even more important, for the Youth Olympic Games.

We fought hard to win the bid, and it is meant to showcase Singapore not only as an efficient nation of organisers, but also as a nation committed to the heart of sport: athletic participation.

We still hear people speak of the Olympic medallists as 'bought foreign talent', and we are reluctant to enrol our children on sports programmes which may take them away from promising academic careers which will land them good jobs.

The man in the street knows little about the forthcoming Youth Olympics (quick, what are the dates?).

The average Singaporean knows even less about the Volvo Race.

Looking from the other side, things are not bright either. We have lost our coach who brought us the first Olympic medals in more than 40 years.

Sport is a means to build character and fitness and it is a revenue spur for the tourism industry.

It may be decades before we approach sports with the energy and enthusiasm the Australians have for any kind of sport (almost all sports at Sydney Olympics 2000 played to full houses), but we need to begin now.

The Youth Olympics is not that far away and changing the whole attitude towards sports and sporting events must be a priority, starting now.

Peter Loon