A visiting instructor for the upcoming Singapore Ski and Snow Open 2017 event has asked that Singapore start focusing on winter sports if they are serious about winning another Olympic medal.

And David Wynn Currie even went on to say that snow sports will get Singapore an Olympic medal ahead of Singapore football.

Said the senior snow sports instructor and trainer of coaches, who also spent some time as an employee at the Singapore Sports School: “Singapore has a good base of young talents who can be groomed to represent the country at the Alpine slopes for the Winter Olympics. There is a higher chance of Singapore winning an Olympic medal in snow sports than in football, and we all know what is the state of football in Singapore. It is more worth investing in Singapore snow sports.”

Currie was speaking at the launch of the inaugural Singapore Ski and Snow Open at the Snow City on 28 July.

The event will be held from 4 to 6 August at Snow City in Jurong East.

Organised by Sportquest, which have been involved in the snow sports industry in Singapore since 2005, the event will bring together more than 1,000 young athletes and enthusiasts who are serious about competing in snow sports.

Said Emeline Tan, Event Director of the Singapore Ski and Snow Open 2017, and managing director of Sportquest: “Singapore has made its intent very clear that it intends to see our country’s representatives at the Winter Olympics. There is a huge demand for skiing and winter holidays and over the years, we have seen more and more families and their children take up winter sports for leisure. This competition will help them gauge if they are able to take their skills further and perhaps go on to represent Singapore.”

The SSSO 2017 comes at the back of the Singapore Snowboarding and Skiing Association’s (SSSA) quest to increase its database of athletes, to try and have a Singaporean at the Winter Olympics within the next two winter Olympiad events.