Life In 19x19

Speaking as a somewhat singaporean (married to one and used to live there and probably will do again in the future) The problem is many fold. Firstly the SNOC has a massive problem on their hands due to big bust up in the athletics community in Singapore which is still having repurcusions. In addition to this, there is a strong push from the PAP to only enter into events they won't embarass themselves in unless they are using imported talent. Its not so much that they care about the money, its the loss of face from entering a sport they had no chance of winning.

NimbyDagda wrote: there is a strong push from the PAP to only enter into events they won't embarass themselves in unless they are using imported talent.

Interesting thought, I mean, I really don't understand their way of thinking. So the only solution is either they win CJK players, or they import CJK players so that even if the team lose, it does not lose their (but imported talents') 'face'?

But I thought Singapore players did quite well in Go.

From what I can gather, those upset with the decision are charging the SNOC with political bias in making that decision. I haven't seen any evidence that SNOC's decision was political in any way. The letter from Chris Chan (SNOC Secretary General) to the Singapore Go Federation President basically states that the players didn't meet their criterion for inclusion. You can doubt that explanation on any number of grounds but to claim that the stated reasons are not the true reasons for rejecting the nomination is a little presumptuous. There needs to be more than just accusations, which is all that I've seen so far. Where's the evidence?

If it's the criteria that are problematic, then efforts to change them for future decisions are really the only recourse at this stage. If there were improprieties in the decision making, someone needs to make that case. Not all decisions will be favorable. That's the nature of the deliberative process. Perhaps everyone who applies should be included?

I also wish that the Singapore National WeiQi team had been given the chance to compete in the 2010 Asian Games. I think there's merit in the claim that the team did meet the SNOC's criterion, but the SNOC who makes those decisions did not.

So, they

• want to use "foreign talent" so that they can blame them when they lose,
• unless they are sure to get a good place with "own talent",
• all for the fear of losing, which they equate with "losing face".

Someone needs to convince them that not playing means they already have lost.

Among the comments is an response from the secretary general of SNOC. I read it with lots of incredibility. Of course, we don't have much of a track record in the past year or so. There aren't that many regional and international events in amateur go, at most a few every year, and these are mostly individual events. Therefore, most of the participants would not have the required track record. Kind of a chicken-and-egg problem, since go is not really an established sport here and possibly around the region.

Anyway, the rejection is quite a big bummer when I thought go is at its best here. It is only in the recent years that we have got a lot of very passionate young players, and a number of these young amateurs are getting really strong. I stress the word young, because a good proportion of the players will gradually drop out as they peruse higher studies and enter the workforce, since go alone cannot be our rice bowl.

Harleqin summed up the sentiment that at least part of the population has very well. This applies not just to sports, but education and jobs as well. A number of locals get squeezed out by foreigners, no thanks to the policies. The present government seems to be pretty much in a world of its own, and not serving the interests of the masses very well.

unkx80 wrote:Among the comments is an response from the secretary general of SNOC. I read it with lots of incredibility. Of course, we don't have much of a track record in the past year or so. There aren't that many regional and international events in amateur go, at most a few every year, and these are mostly individual events. Therefore, most of the participants would not have the required track record. Kind of a chicken-and-egg problem, since go is not really an established sport here and possibly around the region.

Anyway, the rejection is quite a big bummer when I thought go is at its best here. It is only in the recent years that we have got a lot of very passionate young players, and a number of these young amateurs are getting really strong. I stress the word young, because a good proportion of the players will gradually drop out as they peruse higher studies and enter the workforce, since go alone cannot be our rice bowl.

Harleqin summed up the sentiment that at least part of the population has very well. This applies not just to sports, but education and jobs as well. A number of locals get squeezed out by foreigners, no thanks to the policies. The present government seems to be pretty much in a world of its own, and not serving the interests of the masses very well.

Thanks for this, very useful to get an opinion from someone on the inside so to speak. It sounds like the problems run much deeper than the Asian Games then

As a visiting New Zealander to Singapore for a year, I have to say that I am totally shocked by the decision. I was looking forward to seeing some of my new singapore friends participate in one of the first major international sporting events that features go.

My feeling and observation of the situation is that look most people in the sporting arena, the managed of SNOC does not see go as a `sport' and therefore are skeptical about supporting the singapore team in competition. It is likely that the people who make decision in SNOC are much more keen in funding being placed in sports that they care about (i.e., not this mind sport crap) and there wishes to exploit any excuse to bar out the Singapore go association from participation. They probably fear that any comparative success that mind sports gets will have potential to shift funding away from the massive amount currently invested in sports like soccer and table tennis.

I urge everyone to sign the petition. This is not only a matter for Singapore, but for go community as a whole.

The more countries that participate in Go in the Asian Games, the more likely that go will stay within Asian games. This would also increase its chances of eventually being part of the Olympic games.

So go sign it