Singapore Gets Ready for SEA Games 2015

Singapore Gets Ready for SEA Games 2015

Athletes, community and venues around Singapore poised to deliver an extraordinary and immersive experience

With one year to the 28th SEA Games, organisers are already deep into the preparations to ensure that the region’s largest multi-sport extravaganza held in the year of the Republic’s Golden Jubilee will be one to remember for everyone.

2. Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, Mr Lawrence Wong, said: “This is a significant milestone in our preparations for the SEA Games.The response so far has been tremendous, and I am heartened to see many Singaporeans stepping forward to be part of the Games, as volunteers, participants and sponsors.SEA Games 2015 has extra significance because it is taking place in the year of our Golden Jubilee.So the Games is more than just a wonderful sports spectacle; it’s also an opportunity for all Singaporeans to come together to celebrate as Team Singapore.” Mr Wong chairs the SG50 Programme Office as well as the Steering Committee for the Singapore Southeast Asian Games Organising Committee (SINGSOC).

Getting Team Singapore ready

3. Our Team Singapore athletes are already receiving support through the Annual SportSG Grants and the spexScholarship for their sporting endeavours such as the SEA Games. Given that the 28th SEA Games presents our Team Singapore athletes an opportunity to do well in front of a home crowd, in consultation with the National Sports Associations (NSAs), Sport Singapore will be committing additional funds customised to support more than 200 athletes across different sports.

4. “We want to give our aspiring athletes full support to pursue their dreams to do well in front of their families and friends on home ground. This will also inspire the next generation of our athletes,” said Mr Lim Teck Yin, Chairman, Executive Committee, SINGSOC and Chief Executive Officer, Sport Singapore.

5. Entitled ‘The Final Push’, this one year support scheme is an addition to the current support programmes for carded athletes (non-spexScholars). In return, athletes on this enhanced support scheme will need to commit to a fully monitored, full-time training load that is dependent on the sport in which they train in.

Getting the community ready

6. The organising committee hopes to see every segment of the community participating actively and enjoying the 28th SEA Games. “Today marks the official start of the series of community and celebratory activities around Singapore so as to get everyone ready for the 28th SEA Games. There will be customised programmes for schools, interest groups and organisations. People can be creative and initiate activities to celebrate and commemorate Singapore’s 50th anniversary and SEA Games together,” said Mr Lim, announcing the launch of the SG50-SEA Games Torch-Up! Fund.

7. Jointly funded and supported by the SG50 Celebration Fund, the SG50-SEA Games Torch-Up! Fund aims to encourage Singaporeans to step forward with innovative ideas and co-create activities to celebrate Singapore’s Golden Jubilee and the upcoming SEA Games.

8. These ground-up projects will be unveiled from March 2015 onwards, in a three-month countdown to the SEA Games. These projects should inspire a sense of community belonging and incorporate key themes of the SG50 celebrations and SEA Games. Successful applicants will be able to receive up to 90 percent of the project expenditure, capped at S$50,000 per project. Singaporeans may apply for the SG50-SEA Games Torch-Up! Fund through the SG50 Celebration Fund website from 01 July 2014.

9. Other activities include customised modular and flexible programmes to primary, secondary and tertiary students through Activity Books, Drama skits and Make-a-Nila programme. 38 schools have already signed up for 55 programmes within a week since its launch.

10. In the final run up to the Games, we will have the Final Countdown – a community initiative that will be held 50 days before the Games that will see community groups coming together to pick a number and form the number in a creative way.

Getting the interest to experience the Games

11. As part of SINGSOC’s effort to involve the community, early birds can register from today their interest for SEA Games tickets through the SEA Games 2015 website and receive priority to purchase tickets in October before they are released to the public in November. Priced as low as S$10, nearly 50 percent of the events will be free-of-charge.

Getting Corporate Singapore onboard

12. SINGSOC is heartened to have received interest from many companies wanting to partner us for the SEA Games; either by sponsoring the Games or participating in the Games outreach and volunteer programmes. This includes traditional Olympic sponsors, local and international companies.

13. We recently announced our partnership with NTUC FairPrice & FairPrice Foundation and today we signed with SingTel. In addition, we have ATOS, a traditional Olympic sponsor partnering with us to deliver a state of the art Games management system and the latest technology for timing and systems for all sports.

14. With more sponsorship announcements on the horizon, Mr Lim said, “We believe that such strong support from companies effectively demonstrates the trust that companies have on Singapore hosting the Games, their belief in the power and value of sport adding value to their brands and the unique selling proposition of the SEA Games. These companies are willing and committed to support SINGSOC’s strive to deliver an extraordinary Games to the entire Southeast Asian community.”

Getting our venues ready

15. Athletes and spectators from the region will be treated to our innovative Sports Hub facilities - state of the art fully integrated sports, entertainment and lifestyle hub. Swimmers and floorball players from the region already have tried the new facilities and we had Rugby 10s last weekend at the stadium. The Sports Hub will definitely be ready to welcome the 28th SEA Games next year.

16. “SINGSOC has been working closely with SHPL and the NSAs over the last two weeks hosting events at the OCBC Aquatic Centre, OCBC Arena and the National Stadium and we are pleased with the overall feedback. We are mindful that the Sports Hub is a new facility and there are areas for improvement. However, it will be ready to capture everyone’s imagination and will be the main focal point of sporting action for the 28th SEA Games,” said Mr Lim confidently.

17. To enable everyone to come out in force to support their athletes and cheer them on to victory, competition venues are clustered around the island so as to minimise travelling time from one venue to another. To date, close to 15 venues around the island have been demarcated as SEA Games sporting venues.

18. The close proximity of venues as well as the clustering of sports within a concentrated area also gives athletes, officials and the community to enjoy sporting action and to celebrate the extraordinary as one Southeast Asian Community.

19. In conclusion, Mr Lim said, “We have reached the one year milestone today and we all have much to look forward to in the coming months as we prepare for the 28th SEA Games. We are going to intensify our work to get all the segments of our society to feel excited about the Games and have collective memories of the Games that they can cherish and share for generations to come.”

About the 28th SEA Games
The 28th SEA Games will be held from 5 -16 June 2015, with Singapore Sports Hub as the main venue for the Games. Organised by the Singapore Southeast Asian Games Organising Committee (SINGSOC), the Games is held in conjunction with Singapore’s 50th anniversary and will host more than 7,000 athletes and officials from 36 sports. Adopting the theme of Celebrate the Extraordinary, the Games will celebrate triumph of human spirit - be it in sports or daily lives; in success or in the grit to try again and again; in winning or in merely being at the start line. The 28th SEA Games will show the people of the Southeast Asia that success ultimately comes to ordinary people with extraordinary dreams. It’s not about having a champion, but inspiring the champion that is inside each of us.

About Singapore50
Singapore is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its independence in 2015. To commemorate and celebrate this major milestone in our nation’s history, Singaporeans will not only have a say in how the nation celebrates its Golden Jubilee, they will also be invited to plan and organise activities. To guide and coordinate the plans for the 50th anniversary celebrations, a Steering Committee chaired by Minister for Education Heng Swee Keat has been formed. Named the Singapore50 (SG50) Steering Committee, it comprises representatives from the public, private and people sectors.