Singapore Sports Council Announces “Coaches Day”
SINGAPORE : We have Teacher’s Day, Mother’s Day and now, the latest to join that list, is “Coaches Day”.
The Singapore Sports Council announced the initiative on Saturday, saying the day will be celebrated on every second Friday of September.
Coaches are the hidden talent behind the success of athletes.
So for Singapore to continue to excel in sports, this group of stakeholders must be given greater recognition.
One such accolade - the Coach Recognition Award - has been around since 2002.
And come September 14, they will have a day to honour them.
“After six years of Coach Recognition Award, we feel that we don’t just want the athletes to recognise their coaches, but it’s also important to educate the public on the role that coaches play. And we are not talking about just high performance athletes, but amateur athletes, people who take up sports and wanting to learn more, their coaches have an impact on them,” said Teo Ser Luck, Parliamentary Secretary, Community Development, Youth & Sports Ministry.
This year’s Coach Recognition Award received a record 307 nominations for 146 coaches.
Of these, 41 were honoured for their contributions at the ceremony held at Fort Canning.
One of them, 49-year-old hockey coach, Mohammed Ali, has won the award twice.
“It is a fantastic idea - this Coaches Day. I think we can all enjoy the day, and we feel happy at the end of the day, (doing) the work that we have always enjoy doing,” said Mohammed Ali, a winner of the Coach Recognition Award 2007.
Another initiative this year saw 300,000 cards distributed, to get Singaporeans to pen their appreciation for coaches.
A host of activities are also being planned for Coaches Day on September 14, and the public are invited to participate in them as well. - CNA /ls
Channel News Asia