YOUTH OLYMPICS 2010!

Title of Article: WILL IT TAKE FREE FOOD TO LURE US TO SPORTS?

Author: DEBBIE YONG

Publisher: THE STRAITS TIMES

Date: 3^rd March 2008

In this article, the author questions whether the 2010 Youth Olympics in Singapore will be successful, considering that there is a lack of mature and active sporting culture here. More specifically, she is unsure whether Singaporeans will turn up for the events after all the excitement and hoorah about being able to host the games. The author personally feels that the only way we Singaporeans will fill up the stands during the games is to bribe them with free food, gifts and ERP rebates. An example of Singaporeans lack of support is the World Cup qualifier against Tajikstan. The game was a crucial one but the Kallang Stadium was barely one quarter full.

Moving on to my response to the article, I feel that the author has made a valid point in saying that we lack a strong sporting culture. Do not take me wrong, we Singaporeans are extremely enthusiastic about sports. We would rather slouch on our sofa to witness football played 8000 kilometers away, in England than to go down to Kallang to support our national team. Many will complain that the quality of football here is poor compared to that in England. However, if we continue brooding about this fact and not being more active in our local sports, the situation will never change. It appears that there is only a crowd when big-name athletes are involved. If this continues, the stands will be empty during the Youth Olympics because there are unlikely to be any big-name athletes at the event.

There is certainly a huge amount of talent in Singapore but the reason Singapore do not produce world-class athletes is due to our lifestyle. The Singaporean lifestyle is totally different from that of the Brazilians. Singapore places a lot of importance to having a good education and parents' first priority is to ensure that their children do well in studies. Children with a passion and talent in sports have little time to train because of their overwhelming schedule. In contrary, some parts in Brazil are poverty-stricken and there is not much emphasis on education. This allows children to do what they love.

This unfortunately cannot be helped because Singapore is a small country without any natural resources. The only way to survive in Singapore is to study hard and secure a job. However, we can further encourage Singaporeans to take up sports. We must establish our unique sporting culture like how the Americans live to play baseball. The benefits of a vibrant sporting culture are never-ending. Besides improving overall fitness and health, sports bring people together and will instill national pride and patriotism.

We have worked hard to get the opportunity to host the Youth Olympics. Let us not undo all the hard work because of our lack of sporting culture but take this as a stepping stone to becoming a country with a vibrant sporting culture.