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ActiveSG to partner Australia's Voyager Tennis Academy to develop players in Singapore

SINGAPORE - Years after talk of partnering a top tennis training centre to work with local junior players first surfaced, such a collaboration has now materialised with the Sydney-based Voyager Tennis Academy's new collaboration with the ActiveSG Tennis Academy .

The partnership, a two-year contract worth a six-figure sum, will offer a developmental pathway from beginner to elite levels at an affordable price - 10 weekly sessions cost $130 in total. This works out to between $6.50 to $8.60 per hour.

Hourly group lessons at private tennis academies here can start from more than $20 per hour.

Voyager is a multi-award winning tennis academy that has developed multiple national champions and professional players in Australia. It is also where Ethan Lye, one of Singapore's top junior players, trains at. In 2018, Voyager partnered the McDonald College to win the Australia Tennis School Championships and also took fifth place in the World Tennis School Championships.

Sport Singapore (SportSG), then called the Singapore Sports Council, had in 2011 explored a partnership with Barcelona's Sanchez-Casal Tennis Academy and three years later met Carlos Rodriguez, the former coach of two-time Grand Slam champion Li Na, to discuss the possibility of a collaboration.

SportSG chief executive Lim Teck Yin told The Straits Times on Wednesday (Sept 4) that such a partnership was not feasible at the time "given the state of development of the tennis scene in Singapore then".

But, referring to the popularity of the tennis courts at Heartbeat @ Bedok, he added: "What has changed is there's a growing interest not just in the central district but also further afield, (that) people want to play good quality tennis.

"When we were running our tennis academy there were a lot of people wanting to come and try... we've made tennis more affordable and accessible."

The revamped ActiveSG Tennis Academy programmes start from Sept 16 at seven locations island-wide with a core team at Heartbeat @ Bedok Development Centre. This core team comprises one head coach from Voyager, Allen Belobrajdic, senior head coach Sharin Jamal and six other local coaches.

Voyager managing director Ryan Henry said: "We are really excited to be given the opportunity to bring our expertise to Singapore and to work with the many talented players in this country. We hope, over the next couple of years, to contribute towards producing more Team Singapore athletes that will make the nation proud in international competitions."

Singapore Tennis Association president Clement Leow added: "This partnership will make it more accessible for Singaporeans to take up tennis as well as to progress in the sport. This can only bode well for tennis in Singapore. We will work together with Sport Singapore and Voyager to strengthen our national team."

Interested youth players aged 5-17 can visit myactivesg.com for more information.

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Voyager Tennis Blog The top 7 mistakes that elite tennis players make and how to avoid them

The pursuit of playing elite tennis can be a highly rewarding journey for both the player and their families if done in the right way.tennis can also be an incredible vehicle for developing character, getting a free college education and travelling the world.but there are a few pitfalls to be aware of and if you are not careful, the journey can become difficult and unrewarding.here are 7 common mistakes that we see families of elite players make and how to avoid them.1. lack of a structured training and competition plandesigning an effective training and competition plan is crucial for a player to maximise their potential. there are a lot of elements that need to come together and many families without professional tennis backgrounds often aren't sure exactly how to best approach this.a well-constructed player development plan will involve consideration of the following:quantity and quality of on-court practice hoursvolume of competitive matches playedtechnical developmenta physical training and injury prevention programspending time in an environment where players are pushed and encouraged to develop key personal qualities such as a strong work ethic, discipline and resiliencemost tournament level players are missing a least 1 or 2 of the above areas in their regular schedule which will not enable the student to reach their full potential in the long run.ask your coach if they can help you put together a structured training and competition plan that takes your tennis goals into consideration. even if you have to pay your coach for an hour or two of their time, it will be more than worth it. 2. chasing tournaments to inflate rankinga high volume of match play is a vital part of a player's development. research does show that the more matches a player competes in, the better they become.however, the mistake that we often see is players chasing tournaments all over the country to inflate their ranking. families who take this path usually make considerable lifestyle sacrifices to do so and the player often feels high levels of pressure to perform. this can make it difficult for the player to enjoy the game.one suggestion is for players is to seek a variety of match play opportunities including leagues, matches for your club/region, utr events, ranking tournaments and practice matches.for those who are pursuing a u.s. college tennis scholarship, the colleges are now using the universal tennis rating (utr) to recruit players into their teams so a focus on developing a good utr is also vitally important. you can check out your universal tennis rating at myutr.com 3. over-emphasising private lessonsin order for a player to reach their highest potential, they will need a high-performance coach to mentor them through the many facets of the game and keep the student focused on what's important for their development.one of the main goals of the private coach is for the players to become independent thinkers and problem solvers on court and be accountable for their own progress.the mistake we often see in this area is players getting multiple private lessons per week or having multiple coaches. this is often expensive, unnecessary and the overload of information and time spent with the coach will often slow their progress and their ability to become independent thinkers and problem solvers.private lessons are most impactful when conducted on a frequency anywhere from weekly to monthly and should provide the player with enough opportunities in between lessons to work on the high impact areas decided with their coach. 4. wrong choice of high school for pursuing elite tennisif your child has aspirations of achieving a u.s. college tennis scholarship or playing professional tennis, it's important to understand that training and competition requirements increase significantly as the student goes into high school.to achieve big goals in tennis, players in high school will need to be on court for a minimum of 12 hours per week in a high-quality environment and play 80 + matches per year. please read the tennis australia guidelines here for training and match play requirements across all ages of development.there are many schools in australia that facilitate this process and the vast majority can make it difficult.before choosing a high school, ensure that it will provide the opportunity to easily access a high volume of quality training and match play opportunities either within or outside the school environment. 5. doing too many different after school activitiesmost current professional players participated in a number of other sports in their pre-teenage years. being exposed to a wide variety of sports creates well-rounded athletes with highly developed fundamental motor skills needed to play elite tennis.provided the student is clocking up a decent number of hours on the court in primary school, diversifying is a good idea, but if continued after the age of 12 there is a high risk of falling behind and being overtaken by the peer group.if the student has big aspirations in tennis it's time to reduce non-tennis related activities and start specialising in high school. 6. trying to go pro after high schoolprofessional tennis is now more competitive than ever and most players are now peaking in their late 20's and early 30's. the average age of players in the top 100 for women is 25yrs and for men is 26yrs. of those who do make the top 100, it takes an average of 4 years to do so.most players who try and go pro after high school are not physically or mentally mature enough and rarely progress past the lower levels of the professional tour. as such, we encourage players who are looking to play professional tennis to use college in the u.s. as a stepping stone.unless you are top 200 in the world on the atp/wta tour by the age of 18yrs, you are far better off developing your game for a further 4 years at a college in the united states which is where most of the world's best 18-22 year olds are now training and competing. 7. trying to pursue a u.s. college scholarship on your ownone of the hardest aspects of going to a u.s. college is finding one that is the right fit for the individual. with over 4,500 colleges to choose from, it's no wonder we see many families run into trouble.players and parents who try and navigate this on their own usually do so with a lot of difficulty and some miss the boat altogether through not understanding eligibility or choose a college that is not appropriate for their child which can lead to a negative experience.we strongly recommend using a college placement such as study and play usa that can help guide you through the complex application process and help find the right college for the student athlete.we hope this article has been helpful. feel free to leave questions or comments below and we'll get back to you., followers on owler.

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Engineers attempt to fix a computer glitch on Voyager 1

Voyager 1's system that sends data home is malfunctioning, preventing the computer from operating as it should.

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Last November, the Voyager 1 spacecraft began sending gibberish radio signals back to Earth. Engineers have now identified the problem, but trying to repair a 46-year-old device on a craft 24 billion kilometres from Earth is not easy.

Voyager 1 and its twin Voyager 2 were both launched in 1977 on a reconnaissance mission to Jupiter and Saturn. They were designed to fly past the giant planets to obtain closeup images of those distant worlds and their myriad of moons.

Both spacecraft performed beyond expectations, discovering many new moons — some covered in ice , one with active volcanoes , another with a thick atmosphere and closeup details of Saturn's rings .  

Following the Saturn encounter, Voyager 1 was flung upwards by Saturn's gravity on a trajectory northward, above the orbital plane in which most of the planets orbit the Sun, out of our solar system. NASA extended its mission and from there it went on to become the first human-made object to venture into interstellar space in 2012. 

Voyager 2, however, was aimed toward Uranus and Neptune, which were conveniently positioned in a rare alignment with Jupiter and Saturn making it the only spacecraft to visit those distant worlds.

Following the grand tour of the outer solar system, Voyager 2 was also tossed out toward interstellar space in 2018 when its mission was extended and where it continues on its journey today. 

• After a 42-year journey, Voyager 2 goes interstellar
• Voyager 1 picks up the 'hum' of interstellar space

While their primary missions were over, both spacecraft were still in good health, thanks largely to their nuclear power sources or Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators (RTG). These containers hold small amounts of plutonium which provide heat that is turned directly into electricity with no moving parts. They have an expected lifetime of around 50 years and have kept the Voyagers' instruments running.

Now, as both spacecraft continue their journey through the space between the stars, they are showing signs of their age.

For Voyager 1, the problem seems to be in the flight data subsystem (FDS) that packages data from the scientific instruments for transmission to Earth. The scientists don't know if the faulty module was corrupted by cosmic rays or just worn out, but they say they're optimistic they may be able to work around the problem, although it will take some time.

Engineers have confirmed that corrupted memory aboard my twin <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Voyager1?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Voyager1</a> has been causing it to send unreadable data to Earth. It may take months, but our team is optimistic they can find a way for the FDS to operate normally again: <a href="https://t.co/qe5iQUu4Oj">https://t.co/qe5iQUu4Oj</a> <a href="https://t.co/AGFBZFz53v">https://t.co/AGFBZFz53v</a> &mdash; @NASAVoyager

The challenge is that the computers were built in the 1970s using old code and send data very slowly by today's standards.

In addition, these computers are so deep in space, it takes 22.5 hours for a radio signal from Voyager 1 to reach Earth. That means the controllers on the ground have to wait 45 hours for each two-way communication with the spacecraft.

Given how very, very far they are from home, if something goes wrong with them, it's up to engineers on the ground to fix it by sending radio signals since reaching them for repair missions isn't possible. We're a long way from the fictional warp drive and sub-space communication that made life so easy on the Starship Enterprise of Star Trek fame. 

The twin Voyagers are now the most distant objects ever sent from Earth; a demonstration of how vast space is and how slow our spacecraft are. In 1977, I attended the launch of Voyager 2 when my hair was black and skin was smooth. This one mission with Voyager 1 and 2 has occupied a good chunk of my lifetime.

In another few years, the RTGs on both Voyagers are expected to run down to the point where the spacecraft will no longer be able to communicate with Earth. They will just continue to drift in silence among the stars of the Milky Way for billions of years. 

However, there is one item on both Voyagers that will continue to function, the Golden Record, which carries a message from Earth to anyone out there who may find the spacecraft in the future.

The chances of them being found are astronomically small, but they will become the longest running experiment in human history.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Bob McDonald is the host of CBC Radio's award-winning weekly science program, Quirks & Quarks. He is also a science commentator for CBC News Network and CBC TV's The National. He has received 12 honorary degrees and is an Officer of the Order of Canada.

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Chandra and Voyager: A Robust 3D Experience

The creative team at Chandra X-ray Center has been hard at work on a collaboration with the Smithsonian Institution’s Digitization Program Office (3D SI). Together, our teams have been bringing three-dimensional X-ray datasets to the Voyager platform to offer inclusive, multi-sensory learning experiences.

The Chandra X-ray Observatory is one of NASA's “Great Observatories” (along with the Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Telescope). Chandra, the world's most powerful X-ray telescope, is still going strong after 25 years in orbit. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) in Massachusetts operates the telescope and runs the science center on behalf of NASA.

In 2021, Chandra and 3D SI released a collection of cosmic models showing various high-energy phenomena in three dimensions including novas, supernovas, pulsars, and the Chandra telescope itself. These 3D representations provided the opportunity for users to tumble around each object and learn about its features and the science behind the model. This has been a huge step in granting greater access to these incredible 3D models and prints for institutions like libraries and museums, as well as the scientific community and individuals in the greater public.

To help celebrate Chandra’s 25 years of observations, we have added new items to our 3D collection and released new Instagram experiences in partnership with Smithsonian, NASA, and Brown University. This new release includes the latest model with improved accessibility features of the Vela Pulsar joining Chandra’s Voyager collection and improved accessibility features. The 25th Anniversary 3D release simultaneously debuts new Instagram experiences of the Vela Pulsar and four other objects, as well as to existing models of Tycho's Supernova Remnant and V745 SCO . These three objects are annotated with highlighted areas of interest, incorporating, for the first time on the Voyager platform, audio and text versions of Visual Description Tours, which walk the user through the details of the models, describing the textures and shapes and what they represent.

The Vela and Tycho datasets also include sonifications as one of the annotated features. A sonification is the translation of data into sound rather than colors, so that the user can explore the shape and texture of a phenomenon by listening. Sonifications and visual descriptions offer a way for the blind and low-vision communities to experience the datasets in new ways. The 3D printing also adds a tactile experience, building a robust multi-sensory process of learning and discovery.

All of Chandra’s 3D models are made freely available in 3D-printable formats, and anyone with access to a 3D printer or printing service can have the models built to hold in their hands.

Discover the Chandra X-ray Observatory’s Voyager collection at https://3d.si.edu/collections/Chandra . Explore all of the 3D SI collections in Voyager at https://3d.si.edu/collections , where exotic cosmic phenomena shown with X-ray and other data sit alongside the US Botanic Garden’s orchid collection, and Neil Armstrong’s space suit, to name just a few highlights of this treasure trove of 3D objects.

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Engineers Pinpoint Cause of Voyager 1 Issue, Are Working on Solution

Engineers have confirmed that a small portion of corrupted memory in one of the computers aboard NASA’s Voyager 1 has been causing the spacecraft to send unreadable science and engineering data to Earth since last November. Called the flight data subsystem (FDS), the computer is responsible for packaging the probe’s science and engineering data before the telemetry modulation unit (TMU) and radio transmitter send the data to Earth.

In early March , the team issued a “poke” command to prompt the spacecraft to send back a readout of the FDS memory, which includes the computer’s software code as well as variables (values used in the code that can change based on commands or the spacecraft’s status). Using the readout, the team has confirmed that about 3% of the FDS memory has been corrupted, preventing the computer from carrying out normal operations.

The team suspects that a single chip responsible for storing part of the affected portion of the FDS memory isn’t working. Engineers can’t determine with certainty what caused the issue. Two possibilities are that the chip could have been hit by an energetic particle from space or that it simply may have worn out after 46 years.

Although it may take weeks or months, engineers are optimistic they can find a way for the FDS to operate normally without the unusable memory hardware, which would enable Voyager 1 to begin returning science and engineering data again.

Launched in 1977 , the twin Voyager spacecraft flew by Saturn and Jupiter, and Voyager 2 flew by Uranus and Neptune. They are both exploring interstellar space, outside the bubble of particles and magnetic fields created by the Sun, called the heliosphere. Voyager 2 continues to operate normally.

News Media Contact Calla Cofield Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. 626-808-2469 [email protected]

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