“Singapore needs a sustainable pipeline of youth leaders”: Chin Wan Qing

SINGAPORE – The FIBA Foundation Youth Leadership program continues to inspire, educate, and nurture the next generation of Basketball For Good actions globally. Singapore’s Chin Wan Qing is another shining example.

About the FIBA Foundation Youth Leadership Program

The FIBA Foundation Youth Leadership program is dedicated to spreading the knowledge and motivation for global Basketball For Good initiatives.

By offering creative training sessions both online and offline, the program empowers Youth Leaders to drive progress toward their chosen United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in their communities.

Across five continents, these young leaders are actively promoting positive efforts in areas such as health, gender equality, climate change, and beyond, utilizing basketball as a catalyst for change.

Singapore’s first FIBA Foundation Youth Leader

Wan Qing, also known as ‘Chick’, was Singapore’s first Youth Leader to participate in FIBA Foundation’s Youth Leadership program, back in 2018. She is also in the national women’s squad and is fighting her way back from injury.

Elaborating on how she found out FIBA Foundation’s Program, Chick says:

“I have always been very active in the local youth scene as I play, coach, and also officiate the game. A staff from BAS (Basketball Association of Singapore) asked if I was interested in onboarding this program and I put my name up as I thought this sounded interesting and aligned with my personal aspirations.”

Key Learnings from the FIBA Foundation Program

Chick reflects on her personal development as a direct result of participating in this leadership program, not only learning how to be a better leader but also identifying the same qualities in others.

“Diving into specifics, I recall a lesson in conflict resolution and I think that helped me to understand that basketball is also about managing the expectations of people and how can we use their love for basketball to bring out the best ideas & effort in everyone,” Chick says. “I saw the program facilitator, Mthoko, always pointing out how people contributed in different ways and they are as crucial to the team just like any others.”

Soon enough, she would be applying these same learnings to activate the women’s basketball community in Singapore.

Promoting Women’s Basketball in Singapore

In 2019, she co-founded the Basketball For Good Singapore community through which she is encouraging more girls to take up sports.

Being a small ‘city-state’, Singapore is globally renowned for its clockwork efficiency. When it comes to basketball, Chick feels Singapore needs a “sustainable pipeline of Youth Leaders who are always willing to do more through the sport.”

Here Chick cites the positive example of an individual named Dania, who participated in Chick’s locally organized 3x3 competitions and has now graduated to creating content for the same movement - inspiring the next generation of leaders

Recently, Chick was elected into the board of the Basketball Association of Singapore (BAS), a clear endorsement of her leadership credentials. She hopes to utilize her position to push for more women’s opportunities to play.

Outlining her vision for the future, Chick concludes:
“I believe in creating conversations about the sport first and sharing about my unique experiences basketball has provided for me and hopefully, that might inspire or impact individuals who can go on to do the same.”

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The FIBA Foundation is the social and legacy arm of FIBA that addresses the role of sports and particularly basketball in society, preserving and promoting basketball’s values and its cultural heritage.

The FIBA Foundation believes that basketball has the power to empower, educate and inspire youth and facilitates this by implementing Basketball For Good projects around the world.

FIBA