New fund under disability sports master plan aims to raise $10m for the disabled

Both sports and disability awareness hold a special place in Vanessa Quek's heart.

The 32-year-old PE teacher at the St Andrew's School for Autism told AsiaOne that she has always wanted to help students with autism or other disabilities benefit from sports.

In 2020, Quek found an avenue to champion disability awareness through Play Inclusive, a sports competition where athletes with intellectual disabilities are teamed up with people without disabilities to ensure equal and quality participation.

Programmes like these allow Quek's students to interact with students from mainstream schools, she said.

"Sports is a platform for them to not only benefit physically, but socially as well," she explained, adding that it is "beautiful" to see friendships blossoming as a result of such activities.

The good news is, more support is heading their way as Play Inclusive plans to triple its participants under the new Disability Sports Master Plan (DSMP) 2024, which was unveiled on Wednesday (Nov 20). 

Under this master plan, Play Inclusive will increase its outreach from 1,200 current participants to 3,000 by 2030, said the Ministry of Community and Youth (MCCY).

The refreshed master plan was unveiled by Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong on the sidelines of the Singapore Disability Sports Awards at the Singapore Marriott Tang Plaza Hotel on Nov 20.

He also outlined strategic directions to further develop disability sports in Singapore.

"DSMP 2024 is not only about increasing opportunities for persons with disabilities to do sports, but also about including the wider community to learn about diversity and...embrace acceptance, fostering closer and deeper partnerships in the disability space," he said. 

Multimillion-dollar boost

As part of DSMP 2024, a new Enabling Sports Fund will be launched in 2025 to encourage innovative and impactful community initiatives while strengthening collaboration across different aspects of disability sports.

Sport Singapore's (SportSG) Enabling Sports Taskforce (ESTF), which is chaired by MCCY Senior Parliamentary Secretary Eric Chua, aims to raise at least $10 million through corporate and private donors by 2030.

Money from this fund could be used to cover the purchase of equipment, coaching fees and transport support for participants of inclusive sports programmes.

All donations made to the fund will be matched dollar for dollar by the government.

When asked how this fund and DSMP 2024 could make an impact, Quek said that it could support ground up initiatives and lower-income families of those who are disabled, adding she was glad at how far disability sports have come.

"I am actually very excited because it will not just affect us (educators) but also caregivers and the families," she said.

Quek explained that from her experience, lower-income parents of disabled children often have to choose between working and furthering their children's interest in sports.

"This [fund] can be an avenue for support they can turn to if they truly see potential in their child," she said.

Refreshed master plan for 2024

In addition to the fund, the ESTF has made nine other strategic moves to refresh the DSMP 2024, said MCCY.

These moves include expanding sporting opportunities for persons with disabilities and increasing regular participation in disability sports programmes to 70 per cent by 2030.

SportSG also plans to set up calm rooms for people with autism at all 27 ActiveSG sport centres by the end of 2030. They are also working to make these facilities more accessible and provide sufficient disability-friendly washrooms for those who are disabled, said MCCY.

Moreover, all mainstream schools will be required to conduct at least one disability sport-related programme through school activities by 2028. Currently, between 30 to 35 per cent of mainstream schools offer such opportunities.

All special education (SPED) schools will also be encouraged to appoint a coordinator to work with SportSG and relevant teachers to recommend sports opportunities to students and their caregivers based on the students’ strengths and interests.

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bhavya.rawat@asiaone.com