Singapore Gymnastics Development Programme

The driver supporting the development of Singapore’s high-performance system is the SGDP. This programme links all the disparate components of the organisation, from competition to club and coach development, to athlete inspiration and retention. This project facilitates our connection to our member clubs, coaches, and athletes. It is the key component of Pathways in SG.

The camps for MAG/WAG/RG scheduled for June were cancelled. However, the November camps, with concurrent coach development, were able to be held, but without the planned contribution of guest coaches live in the gym. However, each camp was linked closely with webinars from international experts.

A table below outlines the invitations and acceptances for SGDP for all three intakes. In 2021 (which is based on National Championships held in March 2021) a number of things stood out:

A huge increase in acceptances for WAG in both athletes and clubs which was very encouraging and likely due to the work done a number of years ago with the implementation of the Singapore Gymnastics National Programme for WAG

Low acceptance for MAG and RG but this was largely based on foreign gymnasts.

Invitations were made prior to knowing the nationality of gymnasts and many in MAG and

RG were not Singaporeans. Further a number of RG athletes were not eligible for SGDP as they had competed in a lower level at National Championships than the standard for

SGDP.

SGDP Invitations

Invited (Accepted) Athletes 2019 Invited (Accepted) Clubs 2019 Invited (Accepted) Athletes 2020 Invited (Accepted) Clubs 2020 Invited (Accepted) Athletes 2021 Invited (Accepted) Clubs 2021

MAG

20 (18) 5 (3) 17 (17) 2 (2) 28 (14) 5 (2)

WAG

50 (28) 11 (8) 64 (28) 14 (6) 64 (48) 12 (10)

RG 62 (40) 10 (7) 53 (27) 9 (6) 64 (26) 8 (5)

Review

Overall, it was, of course, a very challenging year. The momentum for the SGDP ceased. Without the SGDP environment to engage with coaches and clubs, it was difficult to strengthen and build new relationships with Clubs. However, online coach development had a higher engagement than previously.

Moving Forward

For the next year, plans for SGDP have already been modified due to the restrictions in June 2021. As such, the camps in June have been cancelled, and the likelihood of being able to attract international expertise for the November/December2021 camps and High-Performance Seminars is now greatly reduced.

NTC Coach development will continue to be regular and ongoing. It is still essential to focus on coach engagement and development in order for gymnastics in Singapore to thrive. A clear Coach Education framework is important, but research tells us that future High-Performance coaches are constantly developing through avenues outside courses, so the challenge is to engage and inspire those coaches, so they can become the next generation of Singapore High Performance coaches.

The ATRAX system is expected to be greatly enhanced and move from a desktop system to a cloud system. All existing data will be transferred, and the online system will form the hub of ongoing athlete tracking and athlete monitoring.

SPORT PATHWAY DEVELOPMENT

Promoting gymnastics as the fundamental movement programmes that forms the basis for all sports