Debated in Parliament on 10 Sep 2012.
Mr Nicholas Fang asked the Acting Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports whether there are specific measures in place to encourage National Sports Associations which use the Foreign Sporting Talent Scheme to (i) have a long-term plan to develop local sporting talent while leveraging on the foreign athletes who have come to Singapore under the scheme; and (ii) ensure that local athletes are not disadvantaged when it comes to allocation of resources and funds relative to foreign athletes.
The development of local sports talent is a key tenet of our sport policy. We have invested significant resources and put in place various measures to further this goal. Let me cite some examples.
One key initiative is the Singapore Sports School, which was started in 2004. Local-born students make up over 95% of the school's population and their fees are heavily subsidised. Many of the Sports School students and alumni go on to become national athletes, representing our country and making us proud through their performances.
The Singapore Sports Council (SSC) also works with the National Sports Associations (NSA) in identifying and developing sports talent. NSAs that employ the Foreign Sports Talent (FST) Scheme are required to show long-term plans for the identification and development of local-born athletes. Many NSAs also leverage on the presence of FSTs to raise the standards of emerging sports talents, the vast majority of whom are local-born. The SSC puts significant weightage to these areas when evaluating NSAs' funding requests. In addition, SSC also provides additional funding for all Olympic sports to employ a dedicated youth coach.
At the highest level, support to national athletes is merit-based. Whether they are local-born or new citizens, they are all treated fairly. They receive funding and other forms of support based on their potential and actual achievements in international competition. Today, over 95% of our national athletes today are local-born.
We will continue to invest resources and efforts in developing local sports talent.
PAPERCUTS