51 essay

ESSAY

Sport in the City Living Better Through Sport

n , sport is more than child’s play. To tackle many of the city’s I health and demographic challenges, promoting sport and physical activity is key. This article explains how providing the necessary sport facilities and empowering the community to exercise helps society to stay in good shape.

Cities today face a variety of challenges, decade is projected to be approximately including rising healthcare costs, an 3% of GDP, overtaking spending on ageing population, social tensions and education. The country’s healthcare costs economic uncertainties brought about will also rise at a rate faster than that by geopolitical tensions. Singapore is not of its neighbours. On the other hand, immune to these challenges. while various races and religions coexist in harmony in Singapore, forces that Singapore in particular faces the threaten to pull communities apart are challenge of a rapidly ageing population, still present. where one in four Singaporeans will be aged 65 and above by 2030, double While sport might not be the immediate of what it is today. Singapore’s annual answer that comes to mind, how can we healthcare expenditure over the next use it to improve Singaporeans’ lives? With Sport Singapore’s Sports Facilities Master Plan, sports and play spaces are just a short walk away Lim Teck Yin is the Chief Executive Officer of Sport Singapore. from people’s homes. 53 essay

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Activating Sport for Health & Well-being Promoting Sport through Programmes ballet-inspired exercises at its pool. Bishan Sport Centre holds circuit training sessions, SportSG’s goal is for the With an ageing population, sport can inspire ActiveSG is SportSG’s national movement kickboxing classes, and even yoga under the everyone to stay active and healthy, which can that brings people together in sport and stars. Other sport centres offer trail walks, majority of Singaporeans reduce the healthcare burden on the working physical activity. ActiveSG membership is energy-bar making classes, night cycling to have access to a sporting population. Every 10,000 Singaporeans who complimentary and open to all Singaporeans sessions, and even dance parties. facility within a 10-min walk stay active can translate to S$2.3 million in and Permanent Residents. New members healthcare savings and an increase in the receive free credits that can be used to enter Activating Infrastructure for Sport of their homes by 2030. number of healthy years lived, according to swimming pools and gyms, book sport Active Citizens Worldwide (ACW). Sport can facilities and pay for sport programmes. SportSG’s goal is for the majority of also encourage seniors to be socially active, Singaporeans to have access to a sporting 2 reduce their risk of social isolation and help ActiveSG members can participate in a range facility within a 10-min walk of their homes 0.35km national facility consists of the communities build resilience. of sporting and lifestyle programmes that by 2030. The Sports Facilities Master Plan National Stadium, Singapore Indoor Stadium, cater to all ages and abilities. At ActiveSG guides the development of sport spaces at the OCBC Aquatic Centre and OCBC Arena, ISSUE 16 • JAN 2020 Sport Singapore (SportSG) is a local swimming pools, morning pool walks help national, regional, town and neighbourhood Wave Mall and more. The National government agency that promotes sport in the seniors build water confidence before they levels. Regardless of scale and scope, all Stadium hosts sport events from regional country. Its purpose is to transform Singapore progress to other activities like aqua-aerobics. facilities allow people to live actively through competitions such as the Southeast Asian through sport. It envisages a Singapore where Some ActiveSG gyms hold senior-friendly sport, anytime, anywhere. (SEA) Games in 2015 to community sport active living is the norm and citizens are programmes and have been retrofitted with programmes for the public to gather and motivated to stay healthy with their family, resistance-training equipment that utilise air At the apex of sport facilities available is the watch, cheer and bond over sport. The 100Plus friends and community, regardless of life pressure instead of weights, reducing the risk , a fully integrated Promenade running track that encircles the stage. This is done using three approaches: of injury. sport, entertainment and lifestyle hub. This National Stadium is open for public use. organising programmes to promote sport, developing infrastructure and facilities to There are also free public programmes. encourage active lifestyles, and empowering For example, Yishun Swimming Complex the community. holds hydro-health programmes such as 01 ActiveSG’s programmes have encouraged seniors to get active and try new sports, like flippa ball. 02 The Singapore Sports Hub hosts all types of activities, from elite sports to community events. 55 essay 01 The Regional Sport Centres (RSCs) are and abilities. Under the Dual Use Scheme, focal points for sport programmes, events school sports facilities such as football fields and activities for Singapore’s five main and indoor halls are open for public use regions (Central, East, Northeast, North on weekday evenings and weekends. This and West). The first RSC, Our Tampines has added more than 300 additional sports Hub (OTH) in the east, opened in August facilities to the public inventory. 2017. It brings together public facilities such as sport facilities, a library, a hawker Empowering the Community centre, an arts theatre and dance studios under one roof. OTH exemplifies how co- In SportSG’s engagements with location of facilities can help achieve broader Singaporeans, most expressed hope for a planning objectives of space optimisation, nation that values community bonds and intensification and integration. Residents provides equal opportunities for all. The visiting OTH can drop off their children for ACW report reaffirms that sport brings sporting programmes and then run family people together and fosters social mixing. errands within the vicinity or participate in ActiveSG’s Academies & Clubs (A&C) sport programmes themselves. features a mix of traditional, new and lifestyle-oriented sport based on popularity, In July 2017, SportSG launched Active emerging trends, potential to deepen Health as a national movement for expertise in the sport, and ability to support Singaporeans to take ownership of their lifelong sport participation. health and well-being while building social bonds. SportSG also set up Active Health 03 Labs (AHLs), which are immersive and experiential centres founded on exercise science. These complement the work of ActiveSG Sport Centres and integrated hubs to raise awareness of health and well-being using the four pillars of nutrition, physical exercise, sleep, and screen time. There are now eight AHLs located across Singapore. AHL@Admiralty Medical Centre, the first of its kind, is a collaboration with Yishun Health and part of a community medical facility in Kampung Admiralty, Singapore’s first self-contained “retirement village”.

Apart from establishing AHLs, SportSG has activated spaces for exercise across the island. The Sport-in-Precinct and Dual Use ISSUE 16 • JAN 2020 Scheme are key components of the Sports Facilities Master Plan. Under the Sport- in-Precinct scheme, sporting spaces are designed to be accessible and convenient for all. Multipurpose hard courts can be easily reconfigured for team sports like basketball, street soccer, badminton and sepak takraw. The exercise equipment available are also suitable for use by people of different ages

01 Active Health Champions guiding seniors in a workout. 02 Residents enjoying the Sport-in-Precinct facilities at Jurong Spring in Singapore. 02 03 Engaging in sport brings about a myriad of positive social outcomes. 57 essay

By organising programmes, planning infrastructure and empowering the community, Beyond encouraging physical activity SportSG promotes long-term and supporting character and Members of the leadership development, A&Cs foster community have since social interactions between participants sporting participation and from different ages and backgrounds. joined Team Nila to bond SportSG has also established platforms with like-minded peers social engagement. ancillary to A&C programmes for and give back to the parents who want to support their children in their sporting journey. community through From football kickabouts and fitness sport volunteerism. boot camps to photography workshops, families can experience sport and create memories together. Activating Sport as Strategy Team Nila started out as SportSG 01 volunteers for Singapore’s SEA Games Lord Sebastian Coe—Olympic and ASEAN Para Games participants. medallist, former President of the More members of the community have Organising Committee for the Summer since joined Team Nila to bond with Olympic Games and President of the like-minded peers and give back to the International Association of Athletics community through sport volunteerism. Federations—once shared that “sport There are five ways for volunteers to is a universal language, building more serve and participate. bridges between people than anything else I can think of”. For example, at the Woodlands Sport Centre, Team Nila regularly engages Sport can be the bridge that connects residents from the neighbourhood solutions to address urban issues to participate in sporting activities. related to a country’s social and This includes water activities and healthcare priorities. By organising the Sporting Friday initiative, where programmes, planning infrastructure

activities are organised on Friday and empowering the community, ISSUE 16 • JAN 2020 evenings by both Team Nila and SportSG promotes long-term sporting ActiveSG Sport Centre staff. Volunteers participation and social engagement. can also join interest groups like sport This exposes people to new cultures safety or sport photography to try new and ideas, allowing them to appreciate activities, hone their passions and bond each other’s contribution to society and with like-minded peers. strengthen community bonds.

01 Children enjoying a game of modified water polo with Team Nila volunteers.