Speech by RAdm Teo Chee Hean, Minister for Education and 2nd Minister for Defence at the Singapore Dragon Boat Association's Fund Raising Dinner (20 July 2001)

SPEECH BY RADM TEO CHEE HEAN, MINISTER FOR EDUCATION AND 2ND MINISTER FOR DEFENCE AT THE SINGAPORE DRAGON BOAT ASSOCIATION'S FUND RAISING DINNER ON FRIDAY 20 JULY 2001 AT 8.15 PM AT THE NEPTUNE THEATRE RESTAURANT

Good Evening, RADM (RET) Kwek Siew Jin, President of the Singapore Dragon Boat Association, Mr Henry Ng, Organising Chairman of the SDBA Fund Raising Dinner 2001, sponsors and well wishers, ladies and gentlemen.

1 My association with the Singapore Dragon Boat Association dates back to the early nineteen nineties. I am glad to say that over this period, I have seen very significant changes in the progress of the sport. Participation in SDBA's premier event, the annual Dragon Boat Festival, recorded a total of 176 teams this year, compared to only 90 teams just a few years ago. This figure compares very well with other premier sports, and even some of the Core and Merit team sports. This certainly reflects very well on the growth of the sport and the capable leadership and dedicated supervision that are behind it.

2 I've been told that besides its popularity as a recreational and competitive sport, dragon boating is also being increasingly recognised as a corporate tool for team building and staff development.

3 Recently, there has been a major increase in large corporations, tertiary institutions and schools making use of dragon boating as a means to foster team-building and team-bonding, a concept which is tremendously important to productivity and the success of any organisation. The awareness of the public in accepting dragon boating not only as a competitive sport, but also its recreational and team-building values, speaks exceptionally well for the sport and for the Association.

4 I am glad to hear that many schools have already introduced dragon boating as an activity in their sports programme and that the SDBA has organised the first National Schools Dragon Boat Championships recently. I hope that more schools and junior colleges will take up the sport and that it will gain wider recognition as a co-curricular activity. This will broaden the base of the sport and allow the association to have a wider pool of able paddlers to draw from for international competitions.

5 I must also congratulate the Association for achieving its dream of having its own clubhouse and administrative building and employing a full-time executive manager to coordinate and manage its programmes and activities. This is in line with the Singapore Sports Council's expectations of a dynamic and effective National Sports Association. I am sure this development will enable the Association to organise its activities and manage its affairs more efficiently and productively.

6 I am pleased to be with all of you here this evening to celebrate the success of your fund raising effort and to show our appreciation to all the generous sponsors. I would like to add my personal thanks to all of you for your support. Thank you.