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.

Lessons from AYG

WHERE ARE THE FANS? Empty stadiums were a common sight during the Asian Youth Games. TNP PICTURE: JOYCE LIM

For sport's sake, open up organisers (The New Paper, 20 Jun) AYG ORGANISERS initially closed all training sessions to the media, making them closed-door affairs. This made it impossible for media to drum up public interest in the competition, especially with the football preliminaries starting. The New Paper even had to ask foreign team managers themselves for where and when their teams were training, as AYG organisers weren't providing information a day before the competition started. After that story, organisers opened up. Football fixtures fiasco (TNP, 23 Jun) SWITCHING of football matches at the last minute at Temasek Polytechnic (and not because of the H1N1 cases at that time), caused confusion among fans who turned up for the wrong games. There was no alert to the media or the public regarding the switches, as early as the day before. At Jurong Junior College, fans turning up, weren't even told that the Hong Kong-Saudi Arabia game had been cancelled due to the four H1N1 cases within the Hong Kong team. Drinks were unavailable at school venues, as water bottles were confiscated to prevent missile launching. There has to be better drinks availability for fans next year. Getting better (TNP, 25 Jun) AYG ORGANISERS - including public relattions agency Fulford - took criticism positively from start to end, and genuinely tried not to repeat mistakes. They apologised for the fixture mix-up and took steps for greater transparency, like e-mailing and texting advance notices of rescheduling matches to the media for public announcements. Upset Brunei team left in the lurch (The Straits Times, 27 Jun) FOUR members of the Brunei contingent were stranded for more than three hours before they could check into their hotels and had to change clothes in a public toilet. They were also not given AYG accreditation passes. AYG organisers said it was due to a miscommunication. Goal, but who is the scorer? (TNP, 28 Jun) SINGAPORE'S Under-14 football team - in their first game against Iran - had no names printed on the back of their jerseys, leaving interested local fans clueless as to the future stars they were supposed to look out for. An FAS spokesman said this was not an oversight, but the coach added that it would have been nice to have names on the jerseys, and some players agreed with The New Paper as well. For the next game against Thailand two days later, the Cubs sported jerseys with their names newly printed. Fans later came to mark Jeffrey Adam Lightfoot and Hanafi Akbar as possible stars of Singapore soccer in the next 10 years. Same old story (TNP, 30 Jun) A REPORTER from The New Paper was prevented from speaking to the South Korean players during their training session at Temasek Polytechnic. The team's local liaison officer said that the instructions he had been given, since the start of the tournament, were to direct all media queries to the media centre. The New Paper had to leave the training ground without much of a match preview. This, after the previous policy of barring media from attending training sessions had been scrapped by organisers. Yet another example of miscommunication at the ground level. Where have all the fans gone? (TNP, 30 Jun) FOR THE Singapore-Thailand match at Jalan Besar stadium which can hold up to 6,000 people, there were fewer than 500 going by The New Paper's count. Several schools whose students are participating in AYG, hadn't made arrangements for their students to go down to the game venues to watch. Students had to go down to the game venues on their own accord. Singapore Sports School then turned out in droves over the next few days at various events to show support. Sell out crowd? (TNP, 2 Jul) AYG ORGANISERS claimed that a sell-out crowd of more than 150 spectators watched the first day of the diving finals. But when The New Paper visited the venue later that day, we found only 50 spectators without AYG passes. There was a possibility that those with tickets had failed to turn up. At other events, it took only till the end, over the weekend, when the events saw better crowd turnout. Schools speak out (ST, 3 Jul) SIX OF 10 schools spoken to had not made any special arrangements for their students to catch the action at the various venues. They cited clashes with the schools' curriculum after the return from school holidays, examinations and fears over the Influenza A (H1N1) virus. As such, the majority of youth were missed from the Games. Confusion over attire (ST, 3 Jul) FEMALE athletes from Bahrain and Kuwait, participating in the 3-on-3 basketball event, were told that they were not allowed to take part while wearing a hijab (headscarf). In total, four athletes - three from Bahrain and one from Kuwait - donning the hijab were not allowed to take the court as they were deemed to be not properly attired. Bahrain's chef-de-misson managed to convince OCA officials to allow them to wear the hijab and play. But in yet another case of miscommunication at the ground level - possibly the AYG's biggest bugbear - this change in rules was not communicated to Kuwait. Sand injuring team (TNP, 6 Jul) BAD SAND at the beach volleyball tournaments is unforgiveable if it injures participants. Singapore coach Teo Chiek Shan had to spend three hours at Singapore General Hospital's A&E Department on the night before the Singapore boys' big match against Oman last Friday. He got a nasty cut from a wooden splinter at Court Four. Better sand might have helped Singapore's cause, just as more funding and support would.

WE WILL BE READY BY 2016

THINK table tennis in Singapore, and the names rattled off belong to China-born Singapore citizens like Li Jiawei, Wang Yuegu and Feng Tianwei.

They were Singapore's stalwart silver medal-winning team from last year's Beijing Olympics, coming in second to China.

If China boast the cream of the crop in table tennis talent around the world - even with so many countries importing Chinese players - what hope do Singapore stand if they are to challenge China themselves?

The answer lies in Singapore's very own youth team at the Asian Youth Games.

They are all born and bred here.

The quartet of Clarence Chew, 14, Tay Jit Kiat, 14, Isabelle Li, 15, and Chau Hai Qing, 15, won a bronze in the mixed team event last week.

Table tennis will be played again at next year's Youth Olympic Games (YOG).

Commitment

Singapore Table Tennis Association (STTA) president Lee Bee Wah told the media earlier this year, that if this all-Singaporean YOG team continue to show the same amount of commitment and determination - together with support from their parents - they may be ready to represent Singapore at the 2016 Olympic Games.

Overall, three of Singapore's four young paddlers were shown the exit before the singles quarter-finals at the Asian Youth Games (AYG) last week. Isabelle was the only one to reach the singles' quarter-finals.

But our born-and-bred in Singapore players managed to give their stronger Chinese opponents a run for their money.

When Clarence, was up against China's top world junior - Yin Hang - in Round 16 of the boys' singles, he managed to force the latter to commit a number of unforced errors to take the second set.

Clarence fought hard and managed to catch Hang off-guard with a series of fast smashes. But Hang ultimately nicked the win.

'I won one set. I will try to win more in future,' Clarence told The New Paper.

Singapore's youth team's coach Xu Xiangdong said these young made-in-Singapore players will be ready to represent the country by the 2016 Olympics.

Opportunities

He noted: 'By 2016, our local-born players will have a lot more opportunities.

'With the current system and normal progress and with no major accidents, we will see good results by then. We'll have one or two good players who will be ready to take on the Chinese players.

'We still have time to groom our players and we will catch up with China.'

She risks life & limb to get fruit for free

IT'S the rambutan season, and they're going cheap. You can get 3kg of the fruit for as low as $5.

CHEAPER: Mr Ng sells rambutans for $2 per kg at Toa Payoh Central.

But some people are still risking life and limb for free rambutans - by climbing roadside trees in the heartlands.

On 28 Jun, a young woman and two children were seen getting rambutans from a tree in Bishan.

The tree is near the junction of Bishan Street 14 and Bishan Road.

The young woman, who was barefoot and wearing a red T-shirt and black shorts, climbed to a height of about 6m, which is more than two storeys of an HDB block.

She did not appear to be too concerned for her own safety, as she had no harness or security rope.

DANGEROUS: A maid (in red, high up in the tree), is shaking the branches so that rambutans would fall and be picked up by two waiting children. TNP PICTURES: BENSON ANG

One of the children said she was their maid.

She shook the branches so the rambutans would fall from the tree.

The children, a boy and a girl who seemed to be under 10 years old, waited at the bottom of the tree with empty bags.

They collected the rambutans which fell to ground, filling the bags. They did this for 10-15 minutes.

When The New Paper asked what they were doing, the girl said: 'Taking lor.'

She said she lived in Bishan.

But when asked for her name and age, and how often she did this, the girl said 'I don't know' repeatedly.

She and the children declined to answer any more questions, and walked away with the fruit soon after.

Not legal

The maid climbing down to safety.

A young man who passed by saw them and said: 'I didn't know in Singapore you can do that.'

And no, it isn't legal.

Lawyer Edmond Pereira, 59, said: 'The fruits belong to the land on which the tree is grown. Fruits from trees by the road are owned by the state.'

In March 1998, a 45-year-old man was jailed three months for plucking 19 mangoes from a tree in Race Course Road.

The man said then that he thought anyone could pluck mangoes from a tree in an open area near a public road.

The odd-job worker, who had previous convictions for armed robbery, housebreaking, theft, drug consumption and disorderly behaviour, could have been jailed for up to three years and fined.

Mr Pritam Singh, another lawyer, said the law can get vague if people only pick up fruit found lying on the ground.

The New Paper spent three days tracking down the owner of the tree in Bishan - the Singapore Sports Council (SSC). The town council, National Parks Board and HDB said they don't own it.

The tree is on a slope near the Bishan Swimming Complex, which is managed by the SSC, a statutory board under the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports.

Trees along the roads are managed by NParks, which is under the Ministry of National Development. HDB, another statutory board under the same ministry, is in charge of trees grown on some plots of state land.

Some trees in Bishan, Toa Payoh and Thomson are also under the purview of the Bishan-Toa Payoh town council.

An SSC spokesman said: 'We would advise the public not to do anything such as climbing up a tree that may endanger their own safety.'

New High of H1N1 Cases May Signal Community Spread

Steps taken to protect AYG athletes

THE inaugural Asian Youth Games (AYG) will go on as planned, despite concerns over the worldwide spread of the Influenza A (H1N1) virus.

Games organisers have set up a series of measures to educate and protect the over 1,000 youth athletes that will take part in the Games from June 29 to July 7.

Not only will all participating athletes be required to take their temperatures twice daily during the Games period, but each of them will also be given a health kit.

The kit will contain a thermometer, surgical mask, hand sanitiser and a health advisory to tell them how to maintain daily personal hygiene.

Besides these measures, the Games Organising Committee has also set aside a big portion of its temporary medical centre at the Games Village at Swiss-otel The Stamford to effectively isolate and test any suspected H1N1 case for confirmation.

There are 13 isolation rooms set up for suspected flu patients, as well as throat-swab testing equipment to collect samples to test for confirmation of the virus at Singapore General Hospital.

Organisers also advise sports fans who are not feeling well to avoid attending AYG events, especially those held in stadiums.

After touring the medical centre yesterday, the Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, said: "We are acutely aware that we have over 1,000 athletes, aged 14 to 17, with us for about two weeks. It is paramount that their health and safety are taken care of.

"At the same time, we want to show that, if everyone plays his part in maintaining good personal hygiene and seeing a doctor immediately if he has flu-like symptoms, then life can go on normally here."

There are 66 confirmed cases of the H1N1 virus here. Seventeen new patients were confirmed on Wednesday, the highest number of cases in a day so far.