More than 800,000 celebrated National Day through GASG

More than 800,000 celebrated National Day through GASG

Singapore, 7 August 2018 – GetActive! Singapore, the national week of sport saw 803,055 participants took part in sport festivals, competitions and activities across Singapore over 11 days.

Launched in 2016, GetActive! Singapore, which takes place in the week leading up to National Day, aims to foster a stronger Singapore spirit and promote active lifestyles through sport. This year, 12 sports festivals were organised with members of public participating in over 300 sporting activities. The festival attracted participation from Singaporeans young and old, who took part in activities that range from competitive pillow fights for youths to roller-blading lessons for seniors.

Guest-of-Honour, Ms Grace Fu, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth said, “GetActive! Singapore has brought thousands of Singaporeans, of all ages and backgrounds, together to celebrate National Day through sports. This year, we have extended the activities to the children. It is important for us to give our children opportunities to experience sports together, and socialise with each other from diverse backgrounds. It was also special as we helped raise funds for vulnerable communities. I hope this spirit of care and contribution will continue to be part of our national identity.”

Finale with 3,000 pre-schoolers

As part of the finale for GetActive! Singapore, more than 3,000 pre-schoolers from 50 pre-schools came down with their parents and teachers to the Singapore Sports Hub where they took part in a fun-sized sports day at the National Stadium. Decked in red and white, the children took part in sports try-outs, sang National Day songs and also danced to the GetActive! Singapore workout choreographed to this year’s National Day theme song.

Enabling a more caring Singapore

In collaboration with SG Cares, this year’s Active Enabler Programme saw close to more than 90% of its activities organised to inspire Singaporeans to care for their fellow people.

One such activity is the OneRun 2018 community event organised by the Taman Jurong Zone B Resident’s Committee Youth Chapter. As part of the event, participants had to run 700m-long laps around the perimeter of the Chinese Garden to raise household products for underprivileged families residing in rental housing at Taman Jurong. The event saw more than 6,500 participants raising close to 8,000 household products such as food provisions and toiletries provided by corporate partners.

Mr Caleb Lee Jia Le, Chairman of the Youth Chapter said, “This is our first major sports event and i’m proud to see so many people turning up to help our fellow residents. We wanted to create an event where everyone in the community can put a foot forward to contribute and give back. In the end, the participants were able to raise a good number of products while having fun and getting some exercise. We definitely look forward to making this an annual event with GetActive! Singapore.”

The Singapore Cancer Society was also a beneficiary of donations from two sports events organised by fitness company Abvolution Wellness. The first was a cycling event conducted at the Singapore Turf Club and a second is a challenge to break the World Resistance Bands challenge record. Participants can pledge to donate either $0.10, $1 or $10 for each kilometre cycled or per resistance band repetition done during the events.

“Mr Albert Ching, CEO of the Singapore Cancer Society said, “We are glad to have a platform like GetActive! Singapore that helps raise cancer awareness through adoption of a healthy and active lifestyle with so many fun activities. I would also like to thank Abvolution Wellness for organising such a wonderful event that brings people together and helped raise funds for the Singapore Cancer Society. I hope to rally more Singaporeans and organisations to join us at the next GetActive! Singapore.”

Partnering to bring sports to the people

This year also saw Sport Singapore engage more than 150 partners and sponsors for GetActive! Singapore. One key partner is the Singapore Sports Hub, which was the anchor site for this year’s Sport Festivals.

Mr Oon Jin Teik, CEO of Singapore Sports Hub, said, “We are delighted to be the anchor venue for GetActive! Singapore this year. This great collaboration has united Singaporeans and visitors to participate in a full array of sports, entertainment and lifestyle activities, thereby strengthening the bond of friendships and families. Come and celebrate the nation’s 53rd birthday at Singapore Sports Hub on 9 August. We have lined up yet more fun and entertaining activities for all to enliven the spirit “We are Singapore @ the Hub!””.

Mr Lim Teck Yin, CEO of Sport Singapore, said, “Every year, we aim to organise GetActive! Singapore to galvanize the Singapore spirit as we celebrate National day. The turnout at the various events was heartening and reflected the pride and energy of people from all walks of life coming together as a community. This year, we were delighted to partner YouthX at the Singapore Sports Hub. The powerful combination of music, dance, art and sport provided a rich experience that was shared and celebrated by our youth and families. The Inclusive Sports Festival and the addition of more para sports in the Singapore National Games was a strong testimony of our commitment to engender a more inclusive society. In this respect, it was encouraging to see the coming together of people of all abilities. We Are Singapore!”