Encouraging sporting excellence in NUS
FEATURE by Cheong Wei Ming
Facing the competitiveness of sports in an academic arena already fraught with the adversity of shining in a concentration of the nation’s crème de la crème certainly cannot be easy. Such is the challenging lifestyle that local student athletes must go through. But they no longer have to face it alone.
American author William Arthur Ward famously wrote: “Adversity causes some men to break; others to break records.”
Swimmers Christel Fung and Andrew Lim live their lives in this very manner, exemplifying excellence and passion in both their studies and sports.
They are two of the five recipients of the NUS Sports Scholarship that was recently implemented. A first among Singapore universities, the scholarship is open to incoming freshmen who have excelled both in sports and studies. It covers the scholars’ tuition fees, accommodation fees, and a living allowance.
NUS might have just opened the floodgates to a new era of sporting excellence in schools where the integration of “work” and “play” is encouraged and celebrated, with the NUS Sports Scholarship and other ongoing sports initiatives.
Such integration is often perceived as an elusive dream, especially in Singapore's context and the mindset of our community. This misconception has been the cause of many aspiring athletes’ premature retirement from sporting excellence.
“I was initially contemplating on not continuing to swim so competitively when I entered uni, but with this scholarship, I decided to carry on. The scholarship makes me want to continue swimming, and I love swimming,” Fung said.
For Lim, the scholarship united his passion for both sports and his field of study.
“Before I entered uni, I was very clear that studying dentistry was what I wanted to do. I wanted to focus on swimming as well. So the scholarship is aligned with what I wanted to do,” Lim said.
Strategic timing
The NUS Sports Scholarship has been strategically implemented at a time when the local sporting climate is getting increasingly competitive. In the relentless and ongoing race among universities to net promising sportsmen, this sports scholarship makes NUS more appealing to them.
“Five scholars out of the 1200 athletes representing NUS is a testament to every athlete out there in JC or poly wondering which university to go to. We want them to look at us and think: Ah, NUS is the university for sports,” said Lawrenz Sim, NUS Head of Sports and Recreation.
In addition, Sim explained that the local sports scene has also been picking up recently. NUS has decided to evolve its sporting culture alongside that of the nation.
“In recent years, sports have become more important and significant. The sports industry in Singapore has changed. The focus on sports in schools has gone up. In the national scene as well, with the [Youth Olympic Games] and F1, we are hosting more international competitions. The whole nation is transforming into a sporting nation, so we felt that the time was right,” he explained.
A catalyst to their teammates
The sports scholars are intended to assume the role of NUS sports ambassadors to encourage potential enrolling students to excel in sports. They serve as living examples that one can achieve excellence in both studies and sports. Their good showings at competitions build NUS pride and spirit in the various sports, further attracting promising young athletes to come to NUS.
In addition, Sim believes that their talent would be a “catalyst to their teammates”, boosting the team’s performance in competitions. The sports scholars have already been displaying promising performances in the recent Inter Varsity Polytechnic competitions.
Netballer and sports scholar Jaime Lye played an influential role in the netball IVP competition, beating their strongest competitor NTU and winning her team their first gold medal since 2007.
Fung and Lim broke many long standing records at the recent swimming IVP competition. In an unprecedented record-breaking spree, Fung broke records in all eight events that she competed in, which comprise of her four individual freestyle events (50m, 100m, 200m, 800m) and another four team relays. Lim broke records his 50m and 200m breastroke events.
Their stellar performance garnered positive support for the scholarship from the NUS swim coach, David Tay.
“The current awardees of this pioneering initiative will definitely live up to expectations as exemplary role models for their peers,” said Tay. “Their presence alone can be an inspiration and motivation for their team mates to move towards this balance of excellence in their own ways."
Other initiatives
However, NUS certainly did not put all their eggs in the Sports Scholarship basket. Plans are underway to transform the Sports & Recreation Centre, which was built in 1980, to a modern sports village by 2017. A swimming complex with two Olympic sized pools, indoor basketball courts and a seating gallery upgrade for the stadium are some of the plans in the works.
“New facilities are in the pipeline to encourage people to participate in sports. In the 1980s, our facilities were considered good. But polytechnics and universities like NTU started springing up with new sporting facilities. Thirty years down the road, it’s time for the SRC to get a facelift. We have since completed one round of master planning, and we aim to complete this by 2017,” said Sim.
Facing the competitiveness of sports in an academic arena already fraught with the adversity of shining in a concentration of the nation’s crème de la crème certainly cannot be easy. Such is the challenging lifestyle that local student athletes must go through. But they no longer have to face it alone.
American author William Arthur Ward famously wrote: “Adversity causes some men to break; others to break records.”
Swimmers Christel Fung and Andrew Lim live their lives in this very manner, exemplifying excellence and passion in both their studies and sports.
They are two of the five recipients of the NUS Sports Scholarship that was recently implemented. A first among Singapore universities, the scholarship is open to incoming freshmen who have excelled both in sports and studies. It covers the scholars’ tuition fees, accommodation fees, and a living allowance.
NUS might have just opened the floodgates to a new era of sporting excellence in schools where the integration of “work” and “play” is encouraged and celebrated, with the NUS Sports Scholarship and other ongoing sports initiatives.
Such integration is often perceived as an elusive dream, especially in Singapore's context and the mindset of our community. This misconception has been the cause of many aspiring athletes’ premature retirement from sporting excellence.
“I was initially contemplating on not continuing to swim so competitively when I entered uni, but with this scholarship, I decided to carry on. The scholarship makes me want to continue swimming, and I love swimming,” Fung said.
For Lim, the scholarship united his passion for both sports and his field of study.
“Before I entered uni, I was very clear that studying dentistry was what I wanted to do. I wanted to focus on swimming as well. So the scholarship is aligned with what I wanted to do,” Lim said.
Strategic timing
The NUS Sports Scholarship has been strategically implemented at a time when the local sporting climate is getting increasingly competitive. In the relentless and ongoing race among universities to net promising sportsmen, this sports scholarship makes NUS more appealing to them.
“Five scholars out of the 1200 athletes representing NUS is a testament to every athlete out there in JC or poly wondering which university to go to. We want them to look at us and think: Ah, NUS is the university for sports,” said Lawrenz Sim, NUS Head of Sports and Recreation.
In addition, Sim explained that the local sports scene has also been picking up recently. NUS has decided to evolve its sporting culture alongside that of the nation.
“In recent years, sports have become more important and significant. The sports industry in Singapore has changed. The focus on sports in schools has gone up. In the national scene as well, with the [Youth Olympic Games] and F1, we are hosting more international competitions. The whole nation is transforming into a sporting nation, so we felt that the time was right,” he explained.
A catalyst to their teammates
The sports scholars are intended to assume the role of NUS sports ambassadors to encourage potential enrolling students to excel in sports. They serve as living examples that one can achieve excellence in both studies and sports. Their good showings at competitions build NUS pride and spirit in the various sports, further attracting promising young athletes to come to NUS.
In addition, Sim believes that their talent would be a “catalyst to their teammates”, boosting the team’s performance in competitions. The sports scholars have already been displaying promising performances in the recent Inter Varsity Polytechnic competitions.
Netballer and sports scholar Jaime Lye played an influential role in the netball IVP competition, beating their strongest competitor NTU and winning her team their first gold medal since 2007.
Fung and Lim broke many long standing records at the recent swimming IVP competition. In an unprecedented record-breaking spree, Fung broke records in all eight events that she competed in, which comprise of her four individual freestyle events (50m, 100m, 200m, 800m) and another four team relays. Lim broke records his 50m and 200m breastroke events.
Their stellar performance garnered positive support for the scholarship from the NUS swim coach, David Tay.
“The current awardees of this pioneering initiative will definitely live up to expectations as exemplary role models for their peers,” said Tay. “Their presence alone can be an inspiration and motivation for their team mates to move towards this balance of excellence in their own ways."
Other initiatives
However, NUS certainly did not put all their eggs in the Sports Scholarship basket. Plans are underway to transform the Sports & Recreation Centre, which was built in 1980, to a modern sports village by 2017. A swimming complex with two Olympic sized pools, indoor basketball courts and a seating gallery upgrade for the stadium are some of the plans in the works.
“New facilities are in the pipeline to encourage people to participate in sports. In the 1980s, our facilities were considered good. But polytechnics and universities like NTU started springing up with new sporting facilities. Thirty years down the road, it’s time for the SRC to get a facelift. We have since completed one round of master planning, and we aim to complete this by 2017,” said Sim.