12 more schools open sports halls to public

By Lester Wong, The Straits Times, 9 Jun 2012

RELIEF is in sight for frustrated weekend warriors who have problems finding the space they need for sports.

Twelve more schools have opened up their indoor sports halls to the public under the Dual Use Scheme (DUS), which allows sports enthusiasts to use school facilities on weekends.

This brings the total number of facilities under the DUS to 85 chargeable school fields, 50 free-to-play fields and 57 indoor sports halls.

More schools are also staying open beyond Saturdays and Sundays. When the programme was launched in 2003, only six schools extended their sports facilities for public use on Friday evenings. Now, the number has risen to 22.

The move has met with approval from badminton enthusiasts, some of whom need to book their courts at least a month in advance to get the slots they want.

Said personal banker Ashley Phua, 25: 'I think it's a very good start that more schools are opening up their facilities to the public.

'I prefer the Friday slots, as weekends are usually spent with my family.'

According to the Singapore Sports Council (SSC), chargeable school fields were used 70 per cent of the time on average last year. The figure for indoor sports halls is 56 per cent.

The numbers do not tell the full story, as facilities are typically oversubscribed during the evening peak periods on weekends.

SSC's senior director of sports and recreation centres Patrick Lee said: 'The response from the community has been encouraging, and we are pleased that our partnership with the Ministry of Education for this scheme has translated into a comprehensive network of more accessible sports facilities and spaces islandwide that the public can use to play sports.'

Schools which are part of the scheme are also reaping benefits.

Madam Veronica Ng, principal of Greenridge Secondary School, one of the schools that have just opened their sports halls to the public, said: 'Because of this scheme, the SSC has come in to take over the maintenance of the facilities for us, even building new washing bays and toilet facilities.

'So it's a win-win situation for them and us.'

But sports lovers, who now go online to book these facilities on a first-come-first-served basis, are still clamouring for more.

'It's good to see slots still available when I log on to the system to make my bookings,' said Mr Phua.

'But I still have to book early in order to escape the crowd as more and more people are coming to know about the schools' facilities.'