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Netball Singapore has progressed dramatically since it commenced in 1962 with 23 registered clubs. It has emerged from being an amateur sport run by volunteer management who relied on grants and donations, to becoming a professionally run NSA with six full-time specialist staff and which generates a proportion of its expenditure through revenue generation and sponsorship. The Association is the National body for netball in Singapore. It supports 38 clubs - most of which have multiple teams, 102 Associate members, 11 Life Members and 68 Junior members. In 2002, the Association was named a merit sport by the Singapore Sports Council.
In January 2000, Netball Singapore opened the Netball Life Hub - a 690 square metre disable-friendly building boasting an impressive reception area, six offices, a large conference room, a dance studio, an all-purpose hall, a sports shop, an umpire/coach center, storage rooms, a reception plaza and six plexi-pave courts. Various other activities are carried out at the premises - Dance Sport, Boxercise, Latin-American Dance, Fitball and Jumpstart (educational kinesiology classes for 3-6 year-olds). The air-conditioned all-purpose hall is made available to netballers who are students for study purposes and several reference books are kept at the premises for student use.
Since its inception, netball - as the fastest growing women's sport in Singapore with an estimated 80 000 active social and competitive members - has achieved a number of important milestones that showcase what the sport has achieved in the area of excellence. At international level, in the World Championships held every four years, the Singapore Open Team has moved from a ranking of 3rd in Asia and 20th (out of 28 teams) in 1995, to accomplish a placing of 1st in Asia and 12th in the world (out of 30 teams) in 1999. The Open Team gained a silver medal at the 2000 SEA Games and since 1989 has won either the silver, or the bronze medal at the Asian Games Netball Championships. Singapore did not participate in the World Championships in 2003 and are therefore not currently ranked.
During this period of development, the Singapore Youth Team has also performed at a very high standard having scored gold in the 1st Asian Youth Championship, silver in the second Youth Championship and bronze in the 3rd Asian Youth Championship in Kuala Lumpur in October 2002. Currently at national level, three youth teams - 21 & Under, 19 & Under and 17 & Under - are selected to represent Singapore in the Singapore/Malaysia challenge annually. They are accompanied by an Under 15 Academy Squad, which gains international exposure through arranged matches whenever the national teams travel to Malaysia for the Tournament. Several current National Open Team members have moved through the underage development squads, which shows that elite players maintain their interest in the game. To support elite players who are students, Netball Singapore awards study scholarships each year, as well as interest free study loans so that players can pursue overseas qualifications to enhance their sporting careers.
In order to support this excellence model, Netball Singapore maintains a wide participation base through a calendar of events that cater for short-term school age-group carnivals, tertiary students, older players, clubs, companies, recreational players and, occasionally, the disabled. In addition to the Super League, three other leagues and several carnivals provide for year-round participation for senior players. Although comparative data indicate a decrease in club numbers, several smaller clubs have recently amalgamated with established clubs, which now support more teams within their club structure. Currently, 350+ schools in Singapore play netball.
The year 1999 proved an important milestone when Netball Singapore took its first step towards professionalism by forming the Netball Super League; a five-month long, 15-round tournament developed to cater for elite players in Singapore. The aim now is to expand this competition to include two teams from Malaysia. Sponsorship for the NSL is generous and well represented - with NTUC Fairprice, NTUC Income, Molten, and Nike as constant supporters.
To support the development of coaches and umpires, Netball Singapore holds regular coaching and umpiring accreditation courses that are structured to comply with the Australian model. These are achieved through the goodwill of personnel from Netball Australia who have assisted us during the initial coaching courses to train our own accredited Course Presenters.
To encourage students to view sport as a career path, Netball Singapore provides a study scholarship and four bursaries annually to students studying in the Sports and Wellness Course at the Nanyang Polytechnic. Our current Events Manager and our Events Coordinator are former scholarship recipients. Recently, we were fortunate to have the opportunity to arrange a six-week work experience attachment with the Western Australian Netball Association for our Events Manager.
Sports Industry has not proved a specific target area for netball, although Netball Singapore has contributed to tourism dollars by hosting several international events over a number of years. The island provides an excellent location for netball tourism because it is a convenient transit point for teams traveling from Europe to Australia/New Zealand and vice versa. NS hosted the World Championships in 1983, as well as an international Pre-Commonwealth Games Extravaganza in 1998 and an International Extravaganza in 2001. In addition, Singapore has a well-established infrastructure to support major conferences. The International Federation of Netball Associations (IFNA) held it its 2001 Congress in Singapore. This attracted almost 100 delegates from 30+ nations. The Asian Federation of Netball Associations also attracts several delegates to meetings in Singapore.
Netball Singapore constantly plays host to international club teams and schools who travel here on vacation/educational visits and assists them by arranging games for them during their holiday. International Coaching and Umpiring Clinics have provided another avenue through which we have been able to support tourism.
The game is promoted in various ways. For example, our National and NSL players recently took to the catwalk in a fashion parade at a large shopping mall to introduce the new Nike spring collection. Players and officials join in various charity events and local TV shows. As it is difficult to obtain coverage for female sports in the local newspapers, one of our sponsors pays for a half page netball coverage twice weekly during the NSL season. The finals of the NSL were publicized via a tele-movie that appeared five times per day at peak times on TV screens located in every bus in Singapore. We also conduct NSL road-shows in schools and shopping centres.
Mission
Netball Singapore is a vibrant and successful National Sporting Association run by proficient and qualified officials to provide people of all ages with the opportunity to participate, to excel and to take on leadership roles and a life-long commitment to fitness and health within a safe and enjoyable environment. The association also inspires national pride through achievement and develops social cohesion through the promotion of sportsmanship. Netball Singapore represents the interests of its members to the Singapore Sports Council and other Government bodies and is committed to working with stakeholders to provide quality participation for all members.
Vision
Netball Singapore aims to maintain its position as the most popular female team sport in Singapore and, at the same time, to enhance Singapore's reputation as a premier netball nation in the Asian region by becoming one of the top ten netball nations in the world.
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