Qatar sport COVERMG.indd - Qatar Olympic Committee

SCHOOL SPORT
UNITED KINGDOM
KidSport’s activity in Canada is
echoed by that of the Youth Sport
Trust (YST) charity in the UK, whose
goal is to help young people “achieve their full
potential in life by delivering high quality physical
education and sport opportunities.”
Like KidSport, the YST relies on support from
both the public and private sectors.
A classic example of the latter is its work with
supermarket chain Sainsbury’s, a programme
which has raised £100m worth of equipment and
experiences for nurseries, schools and sport clubs
since its formation in 2005.
With the London 2012 Olympics coming up later
this year, this kind of public-private partnership is
very visible right now. YST and Sainsbury’s are both
involved in the forthcoming 2012 School Games
finals, which will see 1,600 of Britain’s top young
sports stars compete at the new Olympic Park just
two months before the start of London 2012.
A multi-sport event, the Sainsbury’s 2012 School
Games will mirror the Olympic and Paralympic
Games, complete with opening and closing
ceremonies, and is expected to see 35,000 spectators
cheering on the athletes. Most importantly the
project has funding committed until 2015 thanks to
sponsors Sainsbury’s and adidas and backing from
the UK government’s Department of Health.
Speaking of the programme, Secretary of
State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport,
Jeremy Hunt said: “We are determined to leave
a real and lasting legacy for young people from
London’s Olympic and Paralympic Games, and the
Sainsbury’s School Games will help do just that.
“The fantastic funding package shows the
commitment to completely transform competitive
sport in schools.”
SINGAPORE
As host to the first ever Youth Olympic
Games in August 2010, it only seems
right that our next port of call is
Singapore. The decision to give Singapore such a
prestigious job reflects its ongoing commitment to
both youth participation and elite development.
At the start of 2011, for example, the Singapore
Sports Council (SSC) sanctioned a significant
increase in funding for National Sports Association
development programmes.
“Singapore needs holistic youth development
programmes to identify and groom our young
sporting talent into the world champions of
tomorrow,” explained Mr Teo Ser Luck, Senior
Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Community
Development, Youth and Sports.
In parallel with this investment, the SSC also
unveiled an increase in funding for team sports.
Supporting this initiative, SSC chairman Richard
Seow, said, “These young athletes have the potential
to become our leaders of tomorrow. Team sports
teach youth about sharing responsibility in victory
and defeat, pursuing a group strategy and problemsolving
in real time.”
Singapore’s model is probably closest to Qatar’s in
terms of its centrally planned sports strategy. Like
Qatar, the Singapore government has a vision for
the nation’s sporting life by the year 2030 – with the
opportunity for Singaporeans to play more sports in
school number one on its to do list.
The medals ceremony for
the boy’s soccer competition
(elementary school age group) at
the Aspire Indoor Hall this April.
34 | Issue 17 | Qatar Sport