SportSG to set aside badminton courts for coaches after fraternity criticise new booking system

SINGAPORE –  From Aug 24, government agency Sport Singapore (SportSG) will set aside courts for registered badminton coaches after the coaching fraternity hit out at ActiveSG’s new booking platform.

Local badminton coaches have voiced their frustration that

the MyActiveSG+ booking platform,

which was launched on June 15 and described by SportSG as being “fairer, more transparent”, has severely affected their livelihood.

Coaches whom The Sunday Times spoke to lamented the unpredictability of the new system, which has limited the number of coaching sessions that they are able to get, while there have been more than 1,500 signatures on a petition for reform.

A key change in the new web-based platform is the ballot feature for peak-hour slots for all sports facilities.

Previously, users had to secure their slots on a first-come, first-served basis when booking opened as early as 7am.

The refreshed platform, which requires Singpass for logging in, was implemented with the aim of levelling the playing field for users, with the focus on eliminating bots that were illegally used to obtain slots for the purpose of reselling.

In a joint response, the National Instructors & Coaches Association (Nica) and SportSG said they engaged badminton coaches in June to listen to their feedback and concerns.

To help coaches, five dual-use scheme facilities have been set aside for coaching.

Under this pilot scheme, courts are provided to Nica at non-subsidised rates for coaches’ bookings from 3pm to 9pm on Saturdays and 9am to 9pm on Sundays. Eligible coaches will be able to secure a block of two-hour booking of two courts for 12 continuous weeks.

Both organisations said in response to queries: “The take-up rate for the first 12 weeks, beginning Aug 24, is close to 20 per cent. SportSG will continue to monitor and work with Nica to enhance this viable option as part of our efforts to serve all stakeholders.”

They added that coaches with further concerns are encouraged to reach out to Nica. They can also consider coaching at commercial facilities.

A petition titled “Reform Singapore’s badminton court booking system to benefit coaches/whole community” on change.org has garnered more than 1,500 signatures.

Badminton coach Joel Tan, founder and head coach of badminton academy More Than A Swing, told ST that the change to a ballot system had “significantly impacted” local coaches.

Tan, 35, created an eight-part video on TikTok titled “Singapore is killing badminton” that went viral. In it, he explained how the new ballot system was damaging the development of sport.

Tan, who has already moved his lessons to private courts at the Singapore Expo, said he fears that if this continues, fewer people in Singapore will want to play badminton.

He added: “The current system is just not optimal and I do fear that badminton will become a rich man’s sport because those who really want to get better will start paying more to practise with coaches at private courts.”

Another badminton coach, Koh Yan Sen, 37, likened the ballot to a lottery, adding that he has suffered a 50 per cent loss in income since the change in booking system.

He said: “Right now, it has become like winning money from Toto or 4D, almost impossible to get... Most of us coaches feel that the fastest fingers first system should be reinstated. If you really want to get a court, then you need to get up early, be quick and book it.”

Asked if he had considered private facilities, Koh said: “If everyone takes up this option to go private, then the private courts are only going to become even more expensive. Not all parents will be willing to pay more.”

Private courts are generally two to three times more expensive than public courts. ActiveSG’s courts cost about $3.50 to $7.40 per hour while private courts charge between $10 and $30 an hour.

SportSG said the public sporting spaces are shared among different user groups to meet varying demands. It added that ActiveSG sport centres offer subsidised rates to Singaporeans and are “not meant to serve the commercial needs of private coaches or other sports service providers, although they can book these courts as members of the public, on an equal footing”.

ST understands that the new system has mostly impacted the badminton fraternity and SportSG has not received similar feedback from coaches of other sports. Badminton has continued to be a hit in Singapore with demand for courts hitting a 10-year high of over 961,000 bookings in 2023, according to data-gathering platform Statista.

SportSG told ST that based on “ground feedback, the new MyActiveSG+ system has benefited users” and that “some individuals have shared that they are now able to secure facility bookings where they were not able to before”.

Sharing its data, SportSG said that as at July 23, the MyActiveSG+ platform has over 200,000 users. The platform has also processed over 180,000 facility and over 12,000 programme bookings.

Also, within the 10 days of the system going live, MyActiveSG+ detected and stopped around 50,000 attempts by bots or scripts to make bookings, due to the introduction of balloting for peak-hour facilities and Singpass verification.

The spokesperson added: “This means more legitimate users could secure facility bookings, without having to compete with users who employ unfair advantage tactics.

“The data has also shown that, for badminton in particular, the number of unique players during peak hours (for which balloting is implemented) has close to doubled, when comparing first week data to the same time period last year.”

One recreational player who has benefited from the change is Chiang Yern Kay.

The 44-year-old said: “I used to play badminton, but found it extremely difficult to book courts in the past with courts being gone in less than a minute upon release...

“With the new system, I feel people now have equal opportunity to book facilities, instead of having to fight against bots and individuals who are unfairly gaming the system.”

However, there are still users who are unable to get slots with this new system.

Liza Yeo, who has been playing recreational badminton on Sundays for the last decade, is one of them.

She added that she has still seen users selling court bookings for profit on platforms such as Carousell, Telegram and Meetup and has also seen empty courts, although the system reflected that the venue had already been booked.

The 51-year-old, who works in business development, said the ballot system “has created more chaos for users”.

He added: “Yes, before that it was not easy but with the current situation, we have got only one slot for the last five weekends. Last time, we had a regular game...

“What will happen is that users will end up joining groups and pay more to get slots from resellers.”

A SportSG spokesperson explained that its facilities are also set aside for use by national sports associations, schools for events, as well as for various community programmes such as those under ActiveSG’s academies and clubs.

Admitting that “every new platform will have teething issues”, the SportSG spokesperson said it is “aware of the feedback shared by members of the public”, adding that it is “continually looking into measures to enhance the booking process and ensure equitable access for all users”.

“For example, we are exploring block ballot solutions to provide users with greater certainty regarding their playing slots. This is currently in the works and will be rolled out in due course,” the spokesperson added.

In response to public feedback, SportSG is also in the process of developing a new Refunds and Cancellations feature in MyActiveSG+.

This will be rolled out in early 2025, and will include features such as late cancellation penalties to minimise hoarding and last-minute booking changes.