Singapore Badminton Association braces for next
step
SINGAPORE - Breaking the piggybank is usually the last
option for any organisation. But with the very real possibility of
ending FY2008/09 on March 31 in the red, the Singapore Badminton
Association (SBA) have a hammer in hand, and they’re ready to dip
into their reserves.
Despite receiving over S$2 million from the Singapore Sports
Council for the current financial year, rising costs have affected
the association’s bottomline.
“We could run into a deficit this financial year; it could be S$0.5
million,” said SBA chief executive officer Edwin Pang.
“The main reason for the shortfall is the loss in rental revenue
when we moved out of the old Singapore Badminton Hall on Guillemard
Road after our lease expired.”
The SBA’s operating budget for this financial year is estimated to
be S$4.5 million, including sponsorship deals and revenues from
organising tournaments. Their total operating cost is currently
estimated to be S$5 million.
TODAY understands the SBA’s loss of rental revenue from Fatty Weng
Restaurant and Health Spa to be around S$900,000, and the
association currently pay rent for their office and training
facility at the Singapore Sports School, where they moved to last
January.
“We also had to send players to many tournaments in the Olympics
qualifying year, and paying the salaries of about 50 full-time
players, coaches, sparring partners and support staff,” Pang
added.
As a result of the decline in revenue, the SBA slashed their
overseas tournament budget for the current financial year to
S$270,000, a 55 per cent drop from S$600,000 for FY2007/08.
“The cut in the overseas tournament budget is a reflection of our
financial prudence,” Pang explained. “Funds are limited. As such,
we are always on the lookout for ways to reduce spending.”
Despite the developments, SBA assured TODAY that the team’s
preparations for the Laos SEA Games in December, and next year’s
Asian Games in Guangzhou and the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi,
are on track. The SBA plan on sending national players to more
regional tournaments.
“We are fortunate as the standard of play in this region is high,”
said Pang. “Our players can still get a high level of competition
if we cut travel and accommodation expenses by sending them to more
tournaments nearby. We are also allowing our players, with the
agreement of the team sponsor, to source for individual sponsors
who can help fund their travel overseas.”
Eye on the future
The national team have also been boosted by the return of Ronald
Susilo and Jiang Yanmei, albeit in different capacities.
Former women’s doubles player Jiang, who retired last month, will
coach the national juniors while Susilo was recently appointed
assistant coach (part-time) to the men’s singles and national
junior (10-12 years old) teams.
Susilo, 29, is now playing badminton part-time in order to pursue
his management diploma at SIM University and plans on retiring from
competitive badminton next year.
The SBA’s 10-strong coaching staff, led by technical director Zheng
Qingjin, are now focused on cultivating the next crop of national
shuttlers with the set-up of a national senior team 2, comprising
graduates from the Singapore Sports School.
A new quarterly internal ranking of national team 1 and 2 squad
members will provide more competition opportunities for the
players, said Pang.
“Efforts to build up the next echelon of top national shuttlers is
ongoing, and we’re also working with the Singapore Sports School,
through our joint National Badminton Youth Academy, to develop our
national youth players,” he added. - TODAY/ar