144 Junior Sports Academies’ (JSAs) student athletes graduated and received their certificates of participation at the 1st MOE-JSA Graduation Ceremony 2009 today.

The students are from four JSAs, which were first set up in January 2008, to supplement the sports programmes in schools and provide more opportunities for student athletes who wish to excel.

With hard work and commitment, these JSA student graduates have completed a 2-year JSA training programme. Some have also represented Singapore at regional and international competitions. MOE will continue to identify and develop young athletes at these centralised sports academies, where resources are collectively harnessed to provide systematic training to realise the athletes’ potential.

The training philosophy of the JSAs emphasises the long-term development of athletes. Hence, MOE has developed the Athletes Profiling and Tracking System (APTS) to track and study the long term physical and sporting development of these students into adult athletes. APTS will capture information such as height, weight, National Physical Fitness Awards (NAPFA) results and sporting achievements till they are 30 years old. The information will help athletes in setting short and long-term goals for training. MOE sports officials can offer sporting advice and guidance when the need arises. The APTS can also provide a platform for continual communication and sharing between the graduates and MOE sports officials on useful information such as nutritional and exercise tips.

Background

The objective of the Ministry of Education’s Talent Development Framework for Sports is to systematically identify and provide development opportunities for talented athletes within the school system.

The Talent Development Framework focuses on three key strategies;

1. Development of talented athletes in primary schools through MOE Junior Sports Academies;
2. Enhancement of the support of the Singapore Schools Sports Teams; and
3. Enhancement of resources for schools’ talent development efforts.

In 2008, MOE piloted four Junior Sports Academies. Another eight new JSAs were set up this year.

I am pleased to be here today to celebrate the 1st MOE Junior Sports Academies Graduation Ceremony 2009.

The Junior Sports Academies (JSAs) for primary school students were set up in 2008 to systematically identify and nurture young sporting talents in our schools. This would ensure that students talented in sports will be given appropriate learning opportunities to realise their potential. This is in line with the Talent Development Framework for Sports developed in 2007, to achieve the vision of “Many Peaks of Excellence” for Singapore’s education. Developing the students’ potential in this non-academic domain allows them to realise their potential.

Pioneer JSAs and athletes

The pioneer batch of four JSAs was set up in 2008 and they were housed in Chung Cheng High School (Main), Henry Park Primary, Singapore Sports School and Singapore Table Tennis Association. MOE worked in collaboration with the relevant National Sports Associations (NSAs) to identify suitable coaches and draw up a robust and engaging 2-year training programme for all JSA athletes.

The JSA training programme is holistic in nature. Besides regular training sessions, the JSA athletes were also exposed to sports carnivals, character building workshops and sports science clinics. The JSA athletes and coaches indicated that these workshops and clinics enhanced team spirit and at the same time raised the awareness of sports science among the athletes.

The JSA athletes also participated in overseas training tours with the objective of learning from other coaches and international peers. For example, in 2008, the student athletes from the JSA at Henry Park Primary went to Longyang Shanghang Junior Sports School in China to hone their badminton skills. Similarly, the Wushu JSA athletes at Chung Cheng High School (Main) participated in an overseas training tour to Beijing, China. These stints not only improved the JSA athletes’ skills and teamwork, but also gave them a taste of the environment under which some champions had to train in order to achieve the highest standards.

The JSA programme is about providing the opportunity for these young talented student athletes to develop. Under the guidance of the coaches, the JSA athletes have progressed remarkably well. Yvonne Tan Hui Juan of Yew Tee Primary School joined the Badminton JSA at Henry Park Primary in February 2008 and within a short space of one year, she was selected to train with the Singapore Badminton Junior Squad. Samantha Yeo, a participant in the Swimming JSA at Singapore Sports School won 3 bronze medals at the 6th Asian Age Group Championships (Japan) in August 2009 and has also been selected to represent Singapore in the SEA Games in Laos at the end of the year.

Yvonne and Samantha are just two examples of how JSA athletes have excelled in their particular field. It is most heartening to know that all participants in the JSA programme have improved since joining the programme in early 2008. We have also noticed that student athletes have become more engaged in school through participation in the JSA programmes. Muhammad Faryz Bin Khazid’s grades in most subjects have seen marked improvement and his teachers in school observed that he is motivated to do well in all areas since joining the Badminton JSA at Henry Park Primary School. Faryz’s father also commented that “My son has become more organized and efficient in juggling school and training.” Mdm Hawa, mother of Adeena Binte Mohamed Nagib, mentioned that her daughter has become more confident and focused since joining the Wushu JSA at Chung Cheng High School (Main). “Adeena is more confident now in dealing with her peers and studies”. This graduation ceremony is an acknowledgement of their efforts in persevering with the programme and a celebration of their unique achievement of being the 1st batch of the MOE JSA athletes.

Athletes Profiling and Tracking System

In our pursuit to render more support for the student athletes, MOE has developed a software to profile and track the athletes in the JSA programme. The Athletes Profiling and Tracking System (APTS) will monitor the physical, sporting and academic development of these athletes until they are 30 years old. The information will be useful for training, improvement and prediction of future performance of the other athletes. APTS will help athletes to be more self-aware of their strengths and weaknesses, and in this way, provide the objective data for them to set both short and long term goals for their training. You will be able to get a glimpse of this system when we launch it later.

Appreciation and Thank you

Besides the commitment of the student athletes, many factors contributed to the success of the JSA programme. I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere appreciation to the following people for their cooperation in making this sporting pursuit a reality.

Firstly, many thanks to the JSA hosts for their kind assistance in allowing the programme to be carried out in their schools or association. As venue host, you not only provided the venue but also at the same time helped shape the programme with your generous inputs and feedback. Secondly, we would like to extend our appreciation to the NSAs. You have helped in identifying the coaches, designing the training programme and assisted in the planning of the overseas training tours. Thirdly, our thanks to the coaches as they played an integral role in the JSA programme. You act as the “lighthouses” in guiding the student athletes towards greater heights.

Lastly, I want to extend my most sincere appreciation to the parents. This programme would not have been successful without your consistent and unyielding efforts. We also thank you for providing us the invaluable feedback to improve the programme. You were our “buddies”, always encouraging us and telling us that we are doing a good job and that your children have benefited much by participating in the programme.

Today, we have more than 140 student athletes from the pioneer batch of JSAs graduating and I want to take this opportunity to congratulate them personally. It gives me great pleasure knowing that you are pursuing this dream and I encourage you to carry on.

Thank you.

ICSC’s First Call for Proposals

In 2008, the Advisory Council on the Impact of New Media on Society (AIMS), based on a study on the implications of the fast developing new media on Singapore’s society, recommended the establishment of a dedicated coordinating agency as well as the provision of an annual budget to better promote cyber wellness.

The decision to form the ICSC was announced in February 2009 to coordinate the Government’s efforts in cyber wellness through working with people-private sector organisations. It aims to develop and implement a national strategy to promote cyber wellness among the youth. The ICSC is co-chaired by MICA and MOE, and includes representatives from the following ministries and government agencies:

• Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports
• Ministry of Defence
• Ministry of Home Affairs
• Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore
• Media Development Authority

Since its formation, the ICSC has been taking stock of existing cyber wellness efforts by various government agencies and partners from the people-private sectors. It recognises that a multi-prong collaborative approach involving the community is necessary to effectively reach out to our youth. Hence, the Committee is launching its first public call for proposals for projects that promote cyber wellness among our youth for the Internet platform as well as emerging technologies. Some of the possible project areas include:

• promoting cyber safety (e.g. care with cyber contacts)
• moderating gaming/Internet use
• handling inappropriate content
• managing cyber-bullying
• encouraging positive netiquette and responsible use of mobile technologies

Please see Annex A for details of these cyber wellness project areas.

The ICSC will co-fund successful projects. Assessment is based on the merit and reach of each project. Applicants must demonstrate how their initiative or activities will raise awareness and promote cyber wellness among youth. Interested organisations can visit MOE’s Call for Project Proposals website or MICA’s Call for Project Proposals website for more details. The closing date for the submission of proposals is Friday, 11 December 2009.