Community Games 2012 launched

1,500 take part in Community Games
Some 10,000 residents to do battle until July, with top teams to enter National Games
By Janice Tai, The Straits Times, 16 Apr 2012

MORE than 1,500 residents slugged it out at football pitches, bowling alleys and sports halls islandwide yesterday as the nationwide Community Games got under way.

To run until the end of July, the games series co-organised by the People's Association and Singapore Sports Council will pit constituency teams against one another. In all, 10,000 residents, forming more than 1,000 teams from 15 clusters, will go head to head in 10 sports, with the top teams going through to the Singapore National Games (SNG) in September.

The Community Games are distinguished by their exacting rules for entry, which are designed to foster mingling across races, generations and housing types: Most sports will require representatives from at least two ethnic groups per team; at least one team member must also come from a Housing Board estate, and one from a private estate. In addition, participants must be from different age groups.

Athletes aside, medals will also be presented to the best cheerleading teams and supporters.

The Community Games are an attempt to revive what used to be called the Inter-Constituency Games, which had their start in 1972 with football. The range of sports in these games widened over the years, but interest in them flagged.

At the launch of the rebranded games series at Senja-Cashew Community Club yesterday, Minister of State for Trade and Industry Teo Ser Luck noted that community participation in the games had 'exceeded expectations' despite the criteria for the composition of the teams.

'We didn't expect that many teams when we started. Interest in the Inter-Constituency Games at some point had become quite flat, so we thought the SNG could revive it and bring some energy and spirit into the games,' said the minister, who is also adviser to the SNG Steering Committee.

Matches for badminton, basketball, bowling and football began yesterday, and those for netball, sepak takraw and table tennis start next month.

Competitors in swimming, dragon boat racing and athletics will, however, get a ticket straight into the biennial SNG. Registration for these sports opens on Wednesday.

The logo and mascot for the SNG were unveiled yesterday. The logo, comprising the letters S, N and G depicting stylised human figures engaged in running and swimming, was the work of Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts student Yong Wen Yeu, 21.

The mascot is a lion named Nila, in a nod to Sang Nila Utama, the legendary founder of Singapura. It has a fiery mane symbolic of the burning passion of the athletes. It was designed by Singapore Polytechnic student Beatrice Cho, 18.

The winning designs were picked after more than 4,000 votes were cast online.

Meanwhile, new friendships are being made as the Community Games get rolling.

Singapore Polytechnic student and keen basketball player Matthew Stewart, an 18-year-old Australian who lives in Bukit Timah, has been training with 11 others on a court near Zhenghua Community Centre. He said he has seen in the last five months how working towards a common goal has made community bonding easier.

'You need to know them well to work well. Through the training and games, we get to mix and have fun,' he said.

Engineer See Cheng Yun, 26, who represented Bukit Timah in the opening basketball match, said: 'We hang out for movies and drinks after training. It's easy to do so because we're all from the same neighbourhood after all.'