Follow us on Telegram for the latest updates: https://t.me/mothershipsg

Mass sport events, such as festivals and community events, will be reintroduced safely in Singapore this year, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong announced in Parliament today (Mar. 9).

This is part of a S$20 million Bring Sport Back programme in 2022, designed to "reinvigorate" Singapore sports, and to get people to play sports with each other again.

Reintroduction of mass participation events

Tong said one of the key elements of Bring Sport Back is the safe reintroduction of "mass participation events for all" by having more sports festivals and community events.

To facilitate this, SportSG will be opening a grant call to fund mass participation events at up to S$50,000 per award under the Blended Events Grant — Bring Sport Back edition.

Enhanced sports programming, more group activities

Community participation in sports will also be encouraged through "enhanced programming and also more group activities", said Tong.

Tong said the ministry is working on resuming larger team sports across more facilities around Singapore, and to bring them back to full capacity in several phases.

Currently, more than 170 facilities in Singapore have resumed five versus five team sports.

There are also plans for ActiveSG to roll out more leagues and competitions for people of all ages.

They include the ActiveSG Cup launch, and ActiveSG Leagues for Athletics, Badminton and Canoeing.

Tong added that ActiveSG Academies and Clubs will increase its capacity of high quality programmes, and will offer more pathways for youth athlete development at the elite level.

Tong said his ministry will "continue to keep [their] ears to the ground" and have noticed that pickleball is gaining popularity, especially among seniors.

As a result, his ministry will increase the frequency of the sport, and of other popular activities, to "bring people back to sports".

Converting underused spaces to gyms

Tong said the ministry also aims to "optimise facilities and spaces" to encourage people to play together again.

He said these spaces will be community-driven, "serving the unique needs of our different neighbourhoods".

These including repurposing spaces for a range of sports, and converting underused spaces into outdoor gyms.

Follow and listen to our podcast here

Top photo via Sport Singapore/FB