Snap Insight: Kallang precinct plans show sports will truly be front and centre at the hub

SINGAPORE: It was heartening to see sports featuring in a significant way in Prime Minister Lawrence Wong’s first National Day Rally since taking office.
Mr Wong spoke about sports for almost 10 minutes out of his one-and-a-half-hour English rally speech on Sunday night (Aug 18).
At first, I wondered if it might have been down to the post-Olympics afterglow. After all, we did witness 17-year-old first-time Olympian Max Maeder clinch a hard-fought bronze medal in kitefoiling for Singapore on its National Day just over a week ago (he was in attendance at the rally speech, along with a number of other Olympians and Paralympians).
But the plans Mr Wong shared on sports development in the years ahead indicate that this is not a knee-jerk reaction to Team Singapore’s success in Paris, but a signal of how the 4G leaders value sports as a part of our society.
Mr Wong spoke at length about the development plans for Kallang Alive, the masterplan which spells out the future of the precinct around the Sports Hub. As a former board member of the Sports Hub, I had earlier felt some concern that the increasing popularity of lifestyle and entertainment activities such as widely popular concerts by global superstars like Taylor Swift might see the sporting element of the hub eclipsed.
As such, it was heartening to hear Mr Wong announce that the Singapore Sports School would be moved from its current location in Woodlands to the Sports Hub. While details have yet to be announced, this move will provide a strong base and new home for Team Singapore as a whole, and allow young aspiring and student athletes to study and train alongside their senior counterparts in a central location.
This will be further enhanced by more new training and sports science facilities that will ensure that Singaporean athletes are equipped and prepared to take on the best in the world.
Mr Wong also provided more details about the future of the Singapore Indoor Stadium, which will be replaced by a new 18,000-seat facility that will enable it to host major international events and allow more Singaporean athletes to enjoy the advantage of competing on home soil.
Taken together, the different plans for Kallang Alive and the Sports Hub seem set to ensure that sports and athletes will remain a vital and central part of Singaporean society for years to come.
Beyond hardware, it was also encouraging to hear Mr Wong speak about the need to strengthen sporting culture in Singapore, including via the President’s Challenge where the community will be mobilised further to work with the government to nurture and support sporting talents, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
With President Tharman Shanmugaratnam an avid sportsman in his youth and a former combined schools hockey player, I look forward to seeing the President’s Challenge spurring on greater support for athletes across all sports in the near future.
In his speech, Mr Wong made a point to highlight that sports isn’t just about medals, but also about “grit and determination, doing your best and pushing your limits”, and having a “never-say-die” attitude, attributes that are important not just for sports but life in general, and success for a country in an increasingly complex and competitive world.
He also pledged to support “all Singaporeans in realising their sporting dreams”. Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong echoed this in a Facebook post describing the plans for Kallang as an effort to build “a hub for dreams – whether that’s setting a new national record or enjoying quality time with family”.
While the government has indicated it is ready to further support the country’s sporting dreams, the onus now falls on us as citizens to embrace sports as a viable endeavour, and therein potentially lies the biggest challenge to continued national sporting success.
Mr Wong started his speech by signalling the need for major resets in policies and mindsets to achieve success for Singapore’s shared goals in the future, and this applies to sports as well.
Individual athletes will need to start dreaming bigger and preparing for the pressures and strains of going up against the best in the world. Parents will need to be ready to support aspiring champions in the mould of the Schoolings and Maeders. Corporate sponsors will hopefully step up to support sports and sportsmen and women in a major way.
In his first National Day Rally as the leader of the 4G government, Mr Wong has given the sporting community much to cheer about, but also hinted at the change in attitudes, mindsets and dreams that will be required if we are to see more athletes follow Joseph Schooling and Max Maeder on to the Olympic podium. It is time for sporting Singapore to rise to the challenge.
Nicholas Fang is a former Nominated Member of Parliament. He represented Singapore as a national fencer and triathlete, and previously helmed the fencing and modern pentathlon national federations. He was the Chef de Mission for Team Singapore at the 2015 Southeast Asian Games.