Changes to the Junior Division National School Games (NSG) Moving towards more developmentally appropriate and athlete-centric sporting competitions A PRESENTATION BY MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, SINGAPORE
Outline • Background of the National School Games (NSG) and Junior Division Review (JDR) • Guiding Principles and Desired Outcomes • Overview of Changes • Conclusion
Background of the National School Games (NSG) and Junior Division Review (JDR)
MOE’s PE & Sports Development Framework
Goal of the National School Games (NSG) • Developmentally appropriate • Challenging yet enjoyable for participants • Safe & conducive for learning • Focus on contest of sporting abilities “ To provide quality competition experiences for our school athletes to support character development through the pursuit of sporting excellence 1. ” • Respect • Responsibility • Emphasises the pursuit, not the outcome • Resilience (Ruggedness) • Continuous & constant drive to improve • Integrity • Challenges oneself • Care • Gives one’s best in training & competition • Harmony • Wins humbly, loses graciously • Sportsmanship • Excellence mindset • Fair play • Teamwork 1 Mission Statement of the Singapore Primary Schools Sports Council (SPSSC) & Singapore Schools Sports Council (SSSC)
Background • In 2015, a review of the NSG competitions for the Junior Division noted that current NSG competitions are structured similarly to the adult form with only slight variations for some sports across the primary, secondary and JCs/CI levels. • However, as most students in the Junior Division are beginning athletes experiencing their first formal NSG competition, the current competition might not be the most appropriate form of competition for our budding athletes if we want to help them realise their full potential in sports and to lead an active lifestyle. • MOE, together with the Singapore Primary School Sports Council, worked with the National Youth Sports Institute and the various National Sports Associations (NSAs), to revise the competitions for the Junior Division, and will be implementing them over the next few years, starting from 2018.
Changes Announced at the 2018 NSG Opening Ceremony
Alignment with School Mission, Vision, Values • Our Vision: Leaders of Character, Learners for Life • Our Mission: To nurture people of character, healthy patriotic citizens and creative independent thinkers, equipped with 21 st century skills • Our Values: • Integrity our foundation • Compassion our key • Ardent for Singapore, our home • Respect, Responsibility and Resilience our strengths
Guiding Principles in Designing Changes
Guiding Principles The changes are based on the following guiding principles: • Developmentally appropriate competition, game and event formats that cater to the physical, cognitive and affective development of young athletes • Opportunities for balanced and all rounded development • Exposing athletes to different skill-sets • Balance between increasing opportunities for success and nurturing an excellence mindset • Competition opportunities for most, if not all, members of a team
Example: Floorball Overview of Changes • Current format: 5v5 + goal keeper with 2 goalposts • New format: 3v3 + no goalkeeper + 4 goalposts (2 per team) Rationale • Less players per team – more touches on the ball thus helping focus on the fundamental technique of handling the stick and the ball • Having 2 goals per side – Trains the peripheral vision and helps them to improve their spatial and court awareness • No goalkeepers • Avoids early specialisation and exposes players to different skill-sets • Position in which the goal keeper stays throughout the game is damaging to a young athletes’ joint development.
Overview of Changes
What are the changes? • There will be changes to the Junior Division in the following areas: I. Structural Changes: I. Award & recognition structures II. Age group divisions III. Competition formats II. Technical Rule Changes I. Sport-specific game rules & play • With these changes, competition will be different from how they are currently. However, these are differences that are desirable & will benefit our student athletes in the long run.
I. Changes to Award & Recognition Structures Rationale • In the NSG today, only a small number of athletes are recognised & awarded with medals based on the positions they attained (generally only the top 4 positions). • The limited recognition makes ‘success’ seems unattainable for the vast majority of the young and beginning athletes, and could reduce their drive to do their best; some may even adopt a defeatist mindset, and even withdraw from participation. • The purely position-based recognition makes it easy for young and beginning athletes to focus solely on comparing themselves with others rather than focusing on mastering their skills and developing their own abilities and striving for self-improvement.
I. Changes to Award & Recognition Structures Key Changes • Increase recognition opportunities from the current 1 st to 4 th position to recognising 1 st to 8 th positions. The number of awardees will be calibrated based on the number of participants, especially for sports and events with fewer participants. • Introduce criterion-based recognition over and above position-based recognition where feasible, such as for swimming and tenpin bowling, where specific timing and pin-falls allow objective criteria to be set.
II. Changes to Age Group Divisions Rationale • Currently, students compete in age-group divisions based on their chronological age (calendar year). • However, chronological age is only a crude indicator of sport readiness due to differences in the onset and rates of pre-pubertal growth spurt. • Example: 2 athletes aged 10 born on the same date in the same year can vary drastically in size, physical abilities, and skills in the same sport, as they are at a different stages of development. However, given similar developmental opportunities, it is possible for both to reach similar levels of performance after they have reached a steady state of maturation.
II. Changes to Age Group Divisions Key Changes • Students who are 11-year-old based on the year of birth, will be allowed to compete in either the Junior OR Senior Division for non-contact sports, depending on their level of competency, as assessed by the participating school.
III. Changes to Competition Formats Rationale • Current competition formats are based on “single - pyramid” model where teams are eliminated along the way until the top 4 positions are determined. • While this is common, especially in adult competitions, where the top performing athlete or team is recognised, it is less helpful for young and beginning athletes for the following reasons: • Early exit from the competition reduces competitive play opportunities for athletes to gain experience that is important for athlete’s development. • Athletes and teams are less likely to have opportunities to play with others of comparable abilities until the semi- finals and finals for the ‘stronger’ athletes/teams, which is not conducive for their development.
III. Changes to Competition Formats Key Changes • Use of tiered and group-level competition format to: • Provide for more even distribution of competition opportunities & experience • Facilitate athletes / teams of comparable abilities competing together.
IV. Technical Rule Changes for Sport-Specific Game Rules & Play • Current game & event formats are modelled on adult formats, where the physical, cognitive & socio-emotional demands are designed for adults. • As such, they are not optimised for younger & beginning athletes who still have a long way to go in sports.
IV. Technical Rule Changes for Sport-Specific Game Rules & Play Key Changes Details of changes to specific sports will be given in the sport specific rules & regulations & briefings on the changes held for participating schools, and could include all or some of the following areas: • Playing format • Equipment changes • Substitution rules Example – Junior Division Floorball would now be changed from a 5v5 format, to 3v3 without goalkeeper and with 2 sets of goalposts.
Conclusion
Conclusion • We are changing the Junior Division because: • The Junior Division is the first formal competition experience for most student-athletes. • There is no one ‘perfect’ competition or game format; competitions must serve the purpose desired by the organiser. • We want to develop our student athletes with a long-term perspective. • We want our student-athletes competing in the Junior Division to: • Be able to participate in a competition that is developmentally appropriate for them. • Develop performance and moral character, focusing on sportsmanship, teamwork and the pursuit of excellence. • Enjoy the journey towards the competition (training). • Sustain participation in sports for the long term.
Conclusion Through these changes, we hope that in the long term, our young student athletes are able to: • Have more meaningful learning and competition experiences • Develop their fundamental skills • Cultivate the joy and passion of playing sports in school and beyond
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