SINGAPORE — Mr Neoh Yi Hui is preparing his teams for a World Cup event in Manchester on April 14, but his Singapore dodgeball players are dipping into their own savings — around S$3,000 each — to pay for their trip.

As the Dodgeball Association of Singapore is not one of the 63 National Sports Associations (NSAs) recognised by Sport Singapore (Sport SG), it does not receive financial aid, sports science help, or other support from the national sports governing body.

“Even though we fly Singapore’s flag at international competitions, our need for resources is often neglected,” said DAS vice-president Mr Neoh, who told TODAY that there are around 300 dodgeball players here.

But things may be looking up soon.

Speaking in Parliament yesterday, the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY), Grace Fu, assured non-affiliated sporting bodies such as DAS that Sport SG will work with them to “grow and develop” their sport, and to “provide more sporting opportunities and options for all”.

Ms Fu was responding to a question from Ang Mo Kio GRC Member of Parliament Darryl David, who asked whether more support can be given to sports that are not affiliated to an NSA to encourage a sporting and healthy lifestyle in the community.

“As new sports emerge and develop, MCCY and Sport Singapore will continue to consider how best to support these sports, so that more Singaporeans can live better through sports,” added Ms Fu, who pointed out that participation in these non-NSA-affiliated sports is already being encouraged through ActiveSG, the national movement for sports.

Ms Fu cited the example of Sport SG organising introductory programmes and competitions for Ultimate Frisbee through ActiveSG, and family-friendly tchoukball programmes during the school holidays.

However, Ms Fu said MCCY and Sport SG will have to “be careful” in terms of providing financial support for non-affiliated sports.

“When it comes to representing Singapore ... there has to be a more considered reply. First of all, are you (the player) representing the fraternity, are you the only one who has the expertise or has interest in this sport, (and) is this a recognised competition at the international level? So, all these considerations will determine the level of support,” she said.

“Working with a limited budget, we do want to see that ... our resources are not too spread out that it becomes episodic, (and) doesn’t really promote a continuous pursuit of excellence.”

Singapore Sports Institute chief Bob Gambardella said the “more significant a sport is to the community, the greater the need for Sport SG to develop the capabilities to sustain interest”.

“Sport SG supports not just the NSAs, but also other sports stakeholders who can help fulfil the purpose of helping Singaporeans play sport,” he said. “While this is the broad criteria, we also need to recognise that the nature of every sport is different. Some have mass appeal, some have strong cultural significance and others have high-performance potential that rally the nation. For an organisation to be recognised as an NSA (and receive support), Sport SG will need to ascertain that it enjoys the support of its fraternity and demonstrates that it is of robust financial standing.”