SINGAPORE - More than 100 entities, including private sports academies and clubs, private league operators and facility operators will be eligible to receive up to $15,000 per month, or about 25 per cent of their total operating expenses, from now till March next year as part of the $50 million Sports Resilience Package (SRP).
Individual coaches registered with National Registry of Coaches (NROC) can receive $10 per hour when they take up courses run by CoachSG (beyond the required Continuing Education hours), while those who participate in the structured mentoring programme can receive a $400-$600 monthly allowance.
Unveiled in Parliament last month by Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong, the SRP is aimed at helping the sports sector cope with the effects of the pandemic, with Sport Singapore (SportSG) announcing details of the grant framework and eligibility criteria for businesses and individuals on Wednesday (Nov 18).
In its media statement, Sport Singapore said: "The new measures under the SRP aim to support critical players in the sports ecosystem, to preserve core capabilities in athlete pathways and pipeline development, as well as to catalyse the industry to provide innovative sports formats for Singaporeans to continue to stay active."
Private sports academies and coaches were heartened by the support from the SRP, which comes in the form of $13.5 million in operating grants to help critical businesses offset operating costs and $11.5 million in capability development for the industry. The package is on top of $25 million in relief measures for the industry that was announced in June.
SwimFast Aquatic Group, which has more than 1,000 registered swimmers across two school venues, was not able to conduct lessons from April to July due to government measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19. They are now operating at about 70 per cent capacity due to safety restrictions.
SwimFast managing director David Lim, who estimated his monthly operating cost to be about $80,000, said: "Every bit helps during these testing period, and the grant will definitely help us defray our cost. We have been looking forward to the details since the SRP was announced last month, and this is good news for us."
Habil Hakim, a 31-year-old football coach with F17 Football Academy, said: "The courses provided by SportSG for NROC coaches have been of quality before the pandemic and as we gain knowledge and absorb knowledge, we were collecting hours as well.
"Now with an allowance, it would be of greater help for individual coaches in tough times like this. At F17, we are operating at 40 per cent capacity due to the restrictions and we would have some time to go for the courses and upgrade ourselves."
Other initiatives under the SRP include the Blended Initiative Grant that supports event management companies, event organisers and private academies and clubs in the development of event and programme innovation that engage participants in "phygital" event formats and/or programmes. "Phygital" events or programmes are those that combine the physical and virtual.
There is also the Enterprise Innovation and Capability Development Grant to support the development and application of technology and/or innovative solutions in the sport industry.
Self-employed professionals, freelance coaches as well as businesses may also apply for the Digital Content Development Grant, which aims to enhance the quality of digital sport productions and expand their reach through hosting content on the ActiveSG Circle virtual platform.
Information on the SRP, application details and registration of interest is available on the ActiveSG Circle website.
