| James Kon |
THE first-of-its-kind OzSports Festival held at the Taman Haji Sir Muda Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien over the weekend was well received by parents.
The success of the event – organised by Sports Camps Australia (SCA) together with the Australian High Commission in Brunei Darussalam – marks the start of SCA sports programmes in the Sultanate.
SCA Chief Executive Officer Mark Wilton was pleasantly surprised by the turnout as well as the collaboration among SCA partners (local coaches, clubs and associations) who turned up to be a part of the event – at their own cost.
“This is fantastic and clearly the foundation for sports development growth in Brunei,” he said.
SCA Country Manager Ken Han said, “Sports development is, first and foremost, the most important component in sports. It is like the first step for a child when he learns to walk.
“Not many coaches and associations like to spend time or finances in this area. Everyone wants to be associated with the sportsstars, high-profile sportsmen and sportswomen…. but not with development.
“SCA has mastered the art of delivering foundation sports programme through our Phizz Kidz programme,” he said.
The whole Phizz Kidz concept is to expose sports to children under 10 years using modified equipment.
Han said, “In the past, when we wanted to have our children pick up a sport, we would send them to a coach for private lessons. The coach would teach them a specific sport, using standard approved equipment, which the child would find hard to manage and thus not enjoy the session.
Tennis coach Aiman giving pointers to young participants during a tennis workshop. – JAMES KON
“Phizz Kidz’s objective is fun. If the kids have fun, they will want to come back and partake regularly.”
The SCA Phizz Kidz programmes have various stages.
He explained, “The Phizz Kidz long-term programme runs once per week for 12 weeks. We have a systematic approach on what we teach them each week and how the kids progress.
“After 12 weeks, the kids will progress to the next level of the programme. This means that after every 12 weeks, there is a test for the kids to progress to the next level.
“Some coaches also use this test to move kids to a different sport completely – based on the child’s capabilities. The child might be in a basketball programme, but the coach might feel that he/she has the physical built, agility and hand-eye coordination to excel in tennis. You can say that Phizz Kidz is also a TID programme,” Han said.
“As you know, most parents tend to send their children for sports they feel could be right for the child.
“Most importantly, with this programme, parents are not required to invest in equipment for their child. All our participants just show up in their sports attire and we provide them all the necessary equipment,” Han added.
SCA’s long term goal is to establish a platform for kids who are part of the long-term programme to compete. There is no point in them training when there is no friendly competition.
“As such, it is our vision to organise a Phizz Kidz Carnival in 2018,” he said.
“We will begin planning and talking to all our partners about this in the near future. Brunei has some fantastic sporting facilities and we hope with our camps and programmes, all these facilities will be utilised fully and that Bruneians will take this opportunity to expose their children to sports and help them develop a sporty lifestyle from a very young age. SCA is all about kids having ‘serious fun,’” Han added.
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