SELECTION OF ATHLETES TO REPRESENT SINGAPORE

SELECTION OF ATHLETES TO REPRESENT SINGAPORE

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Mr Zaqy Mohamad asked the Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports in light of the recent dispute between triathlete Gino Ng and the Triathlon Association of Singapore (a) if he will provide an assessment of the issue in the selection of athletes to represent Singapore; and (b) what measures will be put in place to prevent similar disputes and ensure the meritocratic selection of sportsmen by national sports associations to represent Singapore in international competitions.

Dr Vivian Balakrishnan: Athlete selection is conducted prior to every Major Games. This includes the SEA Games, Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and Olympics. Athlete selection is coordinated by the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC), which is a non-governmental agency affiliated to the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

SNOC sets the qualifying standards for the various sports to determine which local athletes would represent Singapore at the Major Games, with the exception of the Olympic Games, for which athletes are selected based on qualifying criteria set by the respective International Federations (IFs). For instance, the qualification mark for all sports at the 2007 SEA Games is the third place timing of the previous SEA Games, or a third placing among SEA Games athletes in the current rankings.

The National Sports Associations (NSAs) would in turn conduct selection trials for their athletes and nominate the athletes for SNOC's consideration. The Singapore Sports Council (SSC) regularly reminds the NSAs to ensure that the selection trials are fair and transparent. After the selection trials, the NSAs will submit their nominated athletes to the SNOC. The SNOC Games Selection Committee will then decide on which athletes to send to the Major Games.

The current system has channels for appeals at the NSA and SNOC levels. An athlete who is not nominated by the NSA can appeal to the NSA, which will then convene an Appeals Committee to review the case. As for athletes nominated by the NSAs who are not selected by the SNOC, the NSAs may submit an appeal to the SNOC Appeals Committee, which will then deliberate over the case. The SNOC Appeals Committee's decision is final.

Besides the current system of appeal channels, the appealing party can also take the case to mediation, arbitration or litigation. In Mr Gino Ng's case, the case was brought

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before the Singapore Mediation Centre. Both parties then reached an amicable settlement through mediation.

To prevent similar disputes from taking place, SSC will work with the NSAs to professionalise their athlete selection and management processes. To complement the NSA Code of Governance introduced in recent years, SSC is now working with the NSAs to adopt a Code of Athlete Management (COAM), which spells out how NSAs should manage their athletes. The Code covers the respective roles and responsibilities of the NSAs and athletes. It will help the NSAs to be fair and transparent in the implementation of their programmes, and to practise meritocratic selection of athletes for major competitions.

There are existing channels and arrangements through which athletes can turn to should disputes arise between the athlete and their respective NSAs. Athletes who feel they have not been fairly treated in the selection process can turn to SSC for advice and assistance. The Code of Athlete Management that I have mentioned earlier would also help to safeguard our athletes' interests in selection matters. In addition, there is an Athletes' Commission within the SNOC that looks after athlete-related issues and their welfare.

Mr Zaqy may like to know that SSC has launched the framework for Alternative Dispute Resolution for Sports, also called ADR Sports, earlier this month. This initiative is developed in collaboration with SNOC, the Singapore Mediation Centre (SMC), the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) and the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators (SIArb). The framework will cater to a broad spectrum of issues, such as athlete selection, liability, commercial rights and so on, with the aim to resolve sports-related disputes in a timely and professional manner.

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