story Xie Yihao, Deputy Sports Editor
Tennis players Lee Koon Min ’18 and Mollie Saltskog ’17 represent Yale-NUS in the Inter-Faculty Games. (YNC Photography)
The Yale-NUS College Student Government is seeking clarification on the role and responsibilities of the Athletics Department in an upcoming report, due to be released in the coming week.
Earlier this semester, the Student Government received feedback regarding the Athletics Department, and convened a meeting on Sept. 14 with all sports captains to consolidate student queries and concerns. These concerns were relayed to President Pericles Lewis, who requested a written report from the Student Government, which was then drafted by Student Organization Committee members Feroz Khan ’18 and Seow Yongzhi ’18.
A key objective of the report is to “get a concrete answer of the administrative roles and student roles in the Athletics Department,” Khan said. During the Student Government’s meeting with sports team leaders, many expressed a desire for clearer information regarding the organizational structure and roles in the Athletics Department.
Tennis team captain Hannah Yeo ’18 said sometimes the communication with the Athletics Department was not efficient as athletes did not know whom to approach. “In terms of setting up a team, how much is our responsibility and how much responsibility we can ask for [is also unclear],” Yeo added.
Sports captains expressed encountering other problems such as having the wrong type of equipment procured and a long waiting time for the proposed equipment to arrive. In response, the report suggests a more formalized equipment procurement process with “a clear application process for [purchasing] equipment, an approving officer and an expected timeline about when the equipment can arrive,” Khan said.
However, some sports captains said they did not experience such issues. Do Ung Yun ’18, captain of the ultimate frisbee team, said that the Athletics Department was responsive in providing frisbees for regular trainings and buying drinks for the team during the Inter-Faculty Games (IFGs).
In terms of securing training spaces, Shelby Ellis Goh ’18, captain of the women’s soccer team, said while she had to source for external training pitches due to limited availability of the National University of Singapore fields, the Athletics Department funded the team’s booking expenses as long as they were reasonably priced.
The report also recommends that the College introduce student associate positions in the Athletics Department. Due to the heavy involvement of students in coordinating IFGs and Inter-College Games, the Student Government recommends the College formalize their roles “outside of the scope of ‘student volunteers’,” Khan said.
Athletics Director Wain Khoo was not available for comment.
The Student Government will present the report to Mr. Lewis in the next few days. The report will also be made public on the Student Government website.