SINGAPORE – There will be more playing opportunities for student-athletes at 2024’s National School Games (NSG), as part of an expansion of the new competition format introduced in 2023.

While table tennis, tennis and water polo were introduced in 2023 under the new classification and league system, the number of sports offered in 2024 will be increased to 10 (badminton, basketball, floorball, football, hockey, netball, rugby, softball, table tennis and volleyball) for the senior division in primary schools.

The Secondary School C Division, meanwhile, will have nine sports (basketball, floorball, football, hockey, sepak takraw, softball, table tennis, tennis and water polo) under the new scheme.

Student-athletes in these sports are now guaranteed at least six games in the NSG season, up from the previous minimum of three.

Jason Chua, teacher-coach of volleyball at Xingnan Primary School, said: “For some schools who are placed in the same group with the powerhouse ones, the students’ confidence will be affected.

“They get demoralised as they know that they’re likely to lose and will have a short NSG experience.”

Before 2023, the NSG format featured geographical-based zonal competitions, with schools seeded accordingly in groups of four to five teams. Those who did not qualify for the next round were eliminated, marking the end of their season.

The new pool-and-league system pits schools of comparable skill level against each other in a classification round, with their seedings determined by results from the previous NSG.

Teams that do well in the pool stage will then compete in a higher-standard league, while those that fare poorly will move into a lower-level league.

Medals will be awarded across all various league levels.

Punggol Primary School pupil Alisha Ram, 10, was thrilled at the idea of more time on the pitch with her hockey teammates.

She said: “My friends and I are just excited to be playing more games and making new friends from other schools.

“From the start to the end, there’ll be around seven to eight games. Even if we don’t win in the middle, like if we lost a few, it wouldn’t matter because we can still play.”

Enrico Marican, a teacher-coach for floorball in Northoaks Primary School, welcomes the new format as he believes it will place less pressure on results and encourage greater participation.

He said: “From a coaching point of view, there will definitely be more confidence to (allow) maximum participation – instead of just putting in three, or four, or five better players, playing for a very long period of time.

“With this format, it gives coaches the confidence to allow the other (reserve players) to expose themselves towards this kind of competition as well.”

Punggol Green Primary School’s Nicholas Koh, 11, has been playing badminton since Primary 3 and says the new format will be fairer.

The Primary 6 pupil added: “With last year’s format, if you encountered very strong opponents at the start, you would be knocked out immediately, then you’d end up feeling very bad.”

The annual NSG features 60,000 student-athletes competing across 29 sports.

Education Minister Chan Chun Sing, who officially opened the NSG on Jan 30 at the OCBC Arena, said in his speech: “At the NSG, we have made modifications to the competition format in the spirit of providing more equitable competition opportunities for our student-athletes...

“Competitions are only one part of an athlete’s journey. What sets an athlete apart from others is the set of values cultivated from many hours and years of hard work in training. Determination, resilience, respect and teamwork.”

• Additional reporting by Kimberly Kwek and Tan Wei Xuan