GetActive! Singapore to promote active sporting lifestyle
GetActive! Singapore aims to promote active lifestyle and forge national identity through sport
For the first time in history, Singapore will turn into a hub of sporting activity in the week leading up to National Day on Aug 9.
Tagged as GetActive! Singapore and taking place from July 30 to Aug 7, the festival will feature three components - the Singapore National Games (SNG), sports carnivals and community initiatives.
Making the announcement yesterday at the FedEx World Service Centre, Sport Singapore chief executive officer Lim Teck Yin said: "The 28th South-east Asia (SEA) Games and the 8th Asean Para Games amply demonstrated the power of sport in bringing people together and inspiring pride and celebration as a 'tribe' of Singaporeans.
"We would like to continue to celebrate every year as One Team Singapore.
"In line with this year's National Day theme of 'Building Our Singapore of Tomorrow', GetActive! Singapore will provide opportunities for all to have fun, play and compete, and forge shared memories together through sports and physical activities."
Singapore hosted the 28th SEA Games last June - the first time since 1993 - and it was hailed as a resounding success, with the nation gripped by sports fever and a record haul of 84 gold, 73 silver and 102 bronze medals.
Team Singapore also finished sixth in the overall standings at the Para Games with 24 golds, 17 silvers and 22 bronzes, the country's best in the history of the event.
Four new sports - archery, canoe marathon, floorball and tennis - and five para sports - archery, swimming, boccia, table tennis and tenpin bowling - will be introduced in this third edition of the SNG.
This brings the total number of sports at the event to 21, up from 12 sports in 2014.
The 2016 Singapore National Games will also have Youth, Open and Masters categories for each sport; promising a sport or an event for everyone, regardless of age and ability.
Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, Grace Fu, who was at the media briefing, said: "After the Asean Para Games (last December), we realised that sport is a great way for people with special needs to be involved in society.
"It's a great way for them to realise their potential. They don't have disabilities, they just have abilities of different levels."
"This initiative is about celebrating and practising sports of all levels of abilities.
NEW GRANT
"We're glad to already have incorporated some sports and we aim to see even more being taken up for people with special needs."
Family sporting events will be held at the 15 ActiveSG centres around Singapore and will include activities for children and families, as well as for people with disabilities.
A new grant called the Active Enabler, which helps to fund sport-focused and lifestyle-driven initiatives by the community and corporate partners, was also introduced.
Successful applicants can expect to be funded up to 90 per cent, capped at $25,000 for projects and $50,000 for mass events.
Sport Singapore also thanked its partners for the support it has received for GetActive! Singapore.
FedEx Express Singapore, one of the 10 partners already on board, firmly believes in the promotion of healthy living among its employees.
Said its managing director, Khoo Seng Thiam: "There's always the cliche that an active life is always a productive life and that's what we believe in.
"The sports programmes not only help our employees to bond better but also help to keep their minds active and it has contributed a lot to productivity and the thinking process."
SPORTS AT SINGAPORE NATIONAL GAMES
Archery, athletics, badminton, basketball, bowling, canoe marathon, dragon boat, floorball, futsal, hockey 5, sepak takraw, swimming, table tennis, tennis, volleyball, crosscountry, archery (para), boccia (para), tenpin bowling (para), swimming (para), table tennis
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