SgWutan.com

SAY ‘martial arts’, and you’ll think of masked swordsmen fighting each other.

But even the stuff of heroes is not free from controversy.

In the local wushu scene, biased judging has been a common complaint.

This year is an exception, though.

Observers say that the judging in the still on-going National Inter-school Wushu Championships appears fairer than previous years.

Perhaps, the introduction of video recordings has helped.

Said a parent of a former national youth team athlete: ‘(Head judges) used to gather judges just to give their own students more points, and dock points from others.’

This parent, who declined to be named, added that they did it in a conspicuous way.

‘Deductions of points are never explained satisfactorily. Every year it’s the same judges. Sometimes at the same court four out of five judges are related to each other.’

Said Mr Wang, a wushu instructor: ‘The problem is that there’s nothing stopping judges from judging their own students or even their own children.’

As in the badminton controversy (see report on Page 4), parents of wushu athletes are concerned about the values their children are picking up.

Said Mrs Li, 45, a parent: ‘Can you imagine how the students feel? All those hours spent training for nothing.’

She cited her son, who had been in contention for a spot on the national youth squad, as an example. He has lost interest in competing.

Biased?

Are the judges really biased?

Mr Daniel Kaw, 37, a wushu coach and former judge, noted that other factors might have contributed to this impression of unfair judging.

Some judges in last year’s inter-schools, he said, were relatively inexperienced.

The New Paper understands that controversial events include last year’s primary school taijquan and 4-duan straight sword events.

In response, Singapore Wushu Federation’s Secretary, Mr Ng Kim Foo noted that if parents wanted to complain, there are established channels for feedback.

Said Mr Ng: ‘It’s true that last year some judges are relatively new, but they’ll improve with time.’

Mr Ong Chee Wee, wushu adviser for MOE’s Co-Curricular Activities Branch, said that if there are any doubts about deductions, schools can consult the organising committee.

The national conveners declined to comment.

For the first time, the Wushu Federation is filming the competition this year. Schools that wish to appeal can refer to the footage.

Now, the question of bias will always be contentious.

Judging in wushu, as in other aesthetic sports like gymnastics or ice-skating, can be subjective.

But parents and coaches are both sure of one thing. More transparency and better organisation can only benefit everyone.

– Han Yongming, newsroom intern

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