From the very outset, I must make my intentions clear. My intentions are neither to smear the reputation of any organisation nor to launch into an accusatory finger-pointing tirade. It is fair however, to seek some form of accountability.
The Main Grouse
NSSCC REGISTRATION FORM (CLICK TO ENLARGE)
For NSSCC 10 which happened earlier this April, our national sportclimbing body the Singapore Mountaineering Federation (SMF), put a statement into the registration form. Stated clearly under the prizes section is a line specifying that they would be selecting the division champions to represent Singapore in the Asia Youth Cup, scheduled for July 2010 in Indonesia. In this local sports news website, the same was reported. July has come and past, but there has been no news from the SMF front.
The Boy Who Cried Wolf?
Has the competition happened but for some reason our young athletes were not sent there? Did the competition fail to materialise, and if so, why aren’t our young athletes informed? No formal reason is provided by our governing body, so it would be unwarranted to blame anyone for wildly speculating.
Unless we’re living in a society with some radically different societal norms, promises made are expected to be kept. Broken promises damage the credibility of the people (or in this case, organisation) that made it.
Here, I must emphasize that I’m not accusing SMF of lying. That would be too harsh. No matter how contrived the end result may seem, it must have originated from a well-meaning starting point. Or has it? Once again, without clarification from the relevant party, I can only speculate.
The Climber’s Voice
To provide a more balanced view of this situation, I’ve tracked down the division champions, and also a teacher-in-charge of students who have won, to hear what they have to say. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, they provided me with their perspective on the matter.
NEWSPAPER CLIP ON ST (CLICK TO ENLARGE)
Mr Kong (fake name, any resemblance to person or persons are sorely regretted), a teacher from a school here, says that “Since the competition ended in April, I’ve yet to receive any news from SMF. When approached, some officials appear to be clueless about the competition details. I’ve since told my students not to put in too hope into thinking they can go for the competition.”
Mr Hee (fake name, any resemblance to person or persons are sorely regretted), a student from a junior college here, commented “I thought that since I’ve won the competition, SMF will keep their promise and send me overseas to compete. I waited in anticipation, but the news never came.”
In this newspaper article, a secondary 4 student is described as being jubilant at winning. He says that no doubt the Asian competition will be tough, but he’s going to be prepared for it. He plans to double his current training to 4 times weekly in preparation for the challenge. How will he feel now given such a turn of events, the misgivings compounded by a conspicuous lack of open, readily-available information?
Too Difficult a Moral Choice?
Stand by waiting for someone else to voice out this glaring unfairness, or stand up and demand accountability. It’s your choice. How about a “I would like accountability in our National Sporting Association” in the comments section to show some love?
Is doing nothing as good agreeing with their actions?
No comments:
Post a Comment