Disability Sports Master Plan

Disability Sports Master Plan

Notice:

  • For the latest advisories on resumption of sport activities, please refer here
  • We have prepared some stay at home activities so the community can continue to stay active. You may visit the Stay at Home Activities Page here!

Sport for Persons with Disabilities

Since 2016, SportCares, under the umbrella of ActiveSG and Sport Singapore, executes the recommendations of the Disability Sports Master Plan (DSMP) under the guidance of the Ministry of Culture, Community, and Youth MCCY.

Target Audience

The DSMP aims to benefit people who have been medically certified to have one of the following:

  • Physical Disability
  • Intellectual Disability
  • Visual Impairment
  • Hearing Impairment
  • Autism Spectrum Disorder

Progress

This video, which describes the progress made from 2016 to 2018, contains subtitles and audio.

Timeline and Key Milestones

  • January 2015: MCCY convened an inter-agency Committee for Disability Sports to recommend ways to raise awareness of and participation in disability sports, as well as engender greater inclusiveness and understanding of persons with disabilities (PwDs) through disability sports. The committee was chaired by then Minister of State (Prime Minister’s Office & MCCY) Mr Sam Tan, and comprised partner agencies from the people, private and public sector.
  • The committee also engaged in public consultation with PwDs, caregivers, teachers, administrators, and Singapore Disability Sports Council, Special Olympics Singapore and the Deaf Sports Association – the three main national disability sports associations providing sports programmes for PwDs.
  • December 2015: Singapore hosted the ASEAN Para Games for the first time, generating public awareness about disability sports at an unprecedented scale. The event demonstrated how sport can be a means to foster inclusive and accessible communities.
  • May 2016: The committee completed its review and developed a series of recommendations under 3 broad outcomes:
    1. Expand Access & Opportunities for Participation: To reduce the infrastructural and transport barriers to sports participation by PwDs and provide a range of sporting opportunities for PwDs to sustain participation in sports across the life stages.
    2. Develop Organisational & Professional Capabilities: To improve the processes and synergies between different players in the ecosystem and grow the pool of sports professionals and educators with the necessary expertise in disability sport.
    3. Build Awareness & Strengthen Affinity: To increase public mindshare on the benefits of disability sports, raise awareness of the opportunities for participation, and build a stronger support network for Team Singapore athletes.
  • May 2016: The first Centre of Expertise (COE) for Disability Sports - Sengkang Sports Centre - was officially opened in conjunction with the launch of Yes! I Can, a beginner level disability sports programme.
  • November 2016: The first ActiveSG gym with a complete set of inclusive gym machines was officially opened at Enabling Village.
  • November 2016: Sport Singapore and International Paralympic Committee formalised a partnership to boost capabilities and professionalism of para sports in Singapore and the region.
  • July 2017: The inaugural Inclusive Sports Festival (ISF) was introduced at Our Tampines Hub featuring 15 para and adaptive sports tryouts. The event was intended to spark interest in sports participation among the PwD community.
  • March 2018: Play-Ability, initiated by Temasek Foundation Cares and SportCares, was introduced to encourage regular participation in recreational sports.
  • July 2018: Special Olympics Singapore and SportCares, supported by Ministry of Education’s Special Education Branch, organised the first Play Inclusive competition, where persons with intellectual disabilities team up with students from mainstream schools to compete as unified teams. This initiative was designed to facilitate shared sporting experiences between youths with and without disabilities.
  • March 2019: Intro to Sport was introduced to match knowledge and skills of disability centre and school staff and sports coaches to encourage sustainable sports programmes in schools and centres.

NEXT

Overview