SINGAPORE : A recent Sports Council survey has debunked popular
belief that Singapore students were getting soft because fewer of
them were taking part in rugged activities.
The survey on Sports Participation among Children shows that
Singapore children love sports and make time for it.
It also showed that parents here encourage kids to take part in
sports.
According to the Sports Council survey, sports participation among
children is high.
Children here are giving sports the thumbs up with 97 percent
playing sports at least once a week either in school or when they
are free.
Three in 10 children choose sports over computer games as their
favourite pastime although watching TV is still the most popular
pastime.
But more interestingly, 7 in 10 parents surveyed are in favour of
their children taking up sports.
Mdm Kawaljit Kaur, Parent, said: "I encourage to take part in what
they are interested in. I'm not forcing them, they do anything. So
they enjoy it's fun.
Mdm Catherine Quah, Parent, said: "Take a bit of time to play
sports kick a ball around or playing some racquet sports or even
swim. To me those are very good way of relaxing to me it's a stress
reliever."
The Sports Participation survey is the first of its kind and was
conducted in March involving 1,003 households.
Face to face interviews were conducted at each household that
comprised a parent and a child aged 7 to 14 years old.
The Sports Council is serious about making sports fun for kids and
so it is setting aside 2 million dollars to fund activities for
them.
One million dollars will go to National Sports Associations and the
rest to the private sector.
Oon Jin Teik, CEO, Singapore Sports Council, said: "There are areas
where our friends from the private sector could step up and fill
the needs. The Singapore Sports Council's role is mainly to provide
our professional knowledge and our expertise. We can act as
catalyst. At the end of the day we cannot be serving the entire
market."
And so, the money will be used to retrain coaches and adapt
equipment to help the children develop the necessary skills to
excel in sports. - CNA
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how much time do you spend on sports when you are free (leisure
time)? in school?
and what are your favourite sports?
