Firstly from 几度's post, Team Singapore Won 2 medals from the Xiangqi category not 3 medals. One Silver from IM Kang Derong, one bronze from IGM Zhang Xin huan and 4th place for me. Secondly to 碧山's post of volunteers, i believe most of them are volunteers however people like wang xing nan being referee i believe get paid, or perharps tuan seng. Please correct me if i'm wrong as i heard this from someone so this information might not be correct. I'm just saying that if they get paid, they would be more willing to organize competitions although they volunteer. Treating it more like an incentive.
The sport would surely be promoted better if we have the government's support. That is very true i totally agree. However, can u guarantee that we would get silver or bronze in the next competition. Lets be realistic, the competition would be stiffer.(5 players in woman's category)(4players in speed chess category)and lastly(5 players in individual category, All of them are IGM I'm the lowest rank as an IM) the only person that has the highest possibility to get a medal again is IGM Zhang Xin Huan(top 3). In order for the Government to support us currently is a secondary issue in my view. Reason being the results we produce. How long can we sustain this results? Currently i feel our greatest priority would be to promote the sport better internally so that we would be able to attract more youngsters to take up the sport and to spot for more talent thats why i added that events like 团体赛 would help. At the same time from a macro perspective, as China becomes more prominent and chess becomes more popular amongst youngsters than we would have a larger ocean to manipulate with. At this point in time the government wouldn't help much. Well, at least for the next couple of years.
It is also true that less people sponsor the competitions due to politics. Thats why i mentioned earlier on that the chess circle evolves between money and politics. However, how can the chess association promote the sport? From my view would be to have a strong national team to attract new talent, organize more competitions as well as higher prize money(to increase competitiveness between ichess and xiangqi). Without these sponsors, how are they going to make it work?
If we notice, it is usually the few people making the "important decisions" and these people are either people with money that sponsor or they are good friends with these people. (please pardon me for being straightforward :P) Ultimately, steps they make are crucial for the future of the sport.
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