YOG mobilisation needed

PETITE, fair-skinned girls from CHIJ St Theresa's Convent were 'volunteered' as ball girls for the beach volleyball tournament last week, and on the first day, the poor girls sure didn't look like they were having fun.

TNP ILLUSTRATION: JONATHAN ROBERTS

Under the midday sun, the Secondary Three girls lugged around sand rakes as tall as them and chased after stray balls in the sand, their school shoes slowly turning brown.

But one week later, on the final day of the competition, they were a different sight.

Now sporting a tan as dark as the athletes themselves, they stood alert at courtside, rakes at the ready.

In their eyes, you saw a sparkle, the kind one sees when young people come to realise they are part of a larger mission.

Off court, the girls wielded digicams like paparazzi, asking autographs from players barely two years their senior.

The players obliged, more than gladly.

For many of these teenage athletes, the CHIJ girls were their first fans.

As the curtains came down on the Asian Youth Games (AYG) last night and Team Singapore set their sights on the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in August next year, this is the image that sticks in my mind.

It hadn't been the 'Perfect Games', not by a long shot. Notwithstanding the H1N1 threat, there were many hiccups, some understandable, others not. (See next report)

But by and large, these are organisational matters that were sorted out as and when the media - like The New Paper - highlighted them in the past two weeks.

Crowds

Other niggling leftover details can be sorted out in due time. What will remain the trickiest problem for the YOG, as it was for the AYG, is the question of how to draw the crowds.

To be sure, the YOG is a different level of competition altogether, one that will certainly attract more interest because of the variety from around the world, not just Asia.

But, just like the AYG, the YOG (from 14 to 26 Aug) will be held during the school term and office hours. There is no other way to reschedule it.

Will schools sacrifice class time to support the YOG?

Will adults take leave and pay to watch young unknowns - albeit possibly future sporting greats - in action?

One can hope that they will be imbued with the spirit of the Olympics, and turn up in force.

But the empty stands at the AYG also point to something else.

Sports can be cruel. For many people, sports is about stars, not spirit.

So while we can hope, YOG's organisers must plan to fill empty stadiums.

At the YOG, media from all over the world, not just Asia, will be here.

First impressions will matter more than ever. Expectations will be high. Singapore beat Moscow to the bid because the International Olympic Committee was impressed with its world-class facilities and the strong support from ordinary citizens.

The sight of empty world-class facilities next August will turn everything into a mockery.

So let's do away with the purism and the romance. Let's get back to the good old Socialist way of doing things.

No spectators? Just bus 'em all in.

It's not like we don't do it already.

As a student, I have been 'volunteered' many times - to support my school team at various competitions, to take part in Racial Harmony Day skits and to participate in the National Day Parade.

Volunteer service

In the army, I have been 'volunteered' for more parades and ceremonies than I care to remember.

In the newsroom, I've been 'volunteered' for talks and dialogues. I even know people who are 'volunteered' to attend election rallies.

The fact is, in Singapore, 'being volunteered' for something that is supposed to be voluntary, has become an accepted part of life.

We'll sigh and shrug, but in the end, like a good citizen, we'll go forth and 'volunteer' our services.

It's not all that bad.

Just like the CHIJ girls, I've often found myself looking back and thinking to myself: I'm glad I went.

When YOG comes around, things shouldn't be left to chance.

The YOG organisers and the Ministry of Education should designate schools, with Government bodies coming forward to fill the stands.

Send in the army boys too. Send in the kindergarten children. Send in the retirees from around Singapore, a number of whom The New Paper already saw in the crowd at the AYG.

The magic, from what I've seen from the CHIJ girls, is that any reluctance goes once you're caught up in the action.

Once you're there, you will cheer, you will become a fan.

I didn't become a football fan because one fine day, I bought tickets to a football match because I had nothing better to do.

It was my dad who took me to my first football match at the National Stadium when I was in Primary Four. Singapore lost 0-1 to Sabah, but I became a Lions fan from then on.

The love of sports spreads this way.

In sports, there is no love at first sight. The fans need to take the non-fans along, teach them the rules, show them what's to scream about.

So to the purists and the romantics, I'll say: Get real.

Go down to Siloso Beach this weekend.

I bet you'll find a few CHIJ girls, hiding in a corner, trying to emulate their new heroes, tentatively smacking a volleyball around.