IT SEEMS there's no better time to be a sports fan in Singapore.

The local events calendar just seems to keep growing and growing - highlights include Formula One, golf's HSBC Women's Champions and Lexus Cup, the Aviva Badminton Open and now, a leg of the prestigious Triathlon World Championships will be held next May.

There's one marquee or world-class event once every two months on average - certainly not bad for a small country like ours.

While this is all well and good for the sports industry, tourism and the economy, my greatest hope is that young Singaporeans will be inspired to consider a life of professional sports when they watch these events.

The lasting legacy of these events, to me, is much more important than the short-term economic fillip they generate.

True, you can never run away from academics and paper qualifications in our society.

The reality is that many parents prefer their kids to spend most of their time deep in study rather than on the playing fields, courts and gymnasiums.

Sports is just recreation, they tell their children. Or "It's just a past-time, you can't make money from it."

Not true. More and more companies are interested in putting money into sports and sports personalities, believing these are ideal platforms to enhance their brand.

So as we strive to be one of the world's best cities, surely a home-grown, world class sportsman would add to that reputation?

How fitting if one day in the not-too-distant future, a Singaporean could compete in these top events and do well.

The 2010 Youth Olympic Games here would be a good start.