S'pore women's softball team eyes 2025 SEA Games gold, narrowly missed out & finished 4th in 2019

The Singapore national women's softball team narrowly missed out on a podium finish at the 2019 Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games).

They placed fourth.

Fast forward to 2025.

The team has qualified for the SEA Games in Thailand — and they believe this is their year to bag the gold medal.

Redemption?

Speaking to Mothership, team captain Cacia Tan, 27, said she was very close to a medal six years ago, but "choked at the end".

At least for five teammates, it will almost feel like redemption if they came out tops.

"I think we are prepared and I think we are quite ready and eager to show what we have," Tan said.

But she also admitted that while aiming for a gold medal is the ultimate goal, finishing second place is more achievable.

But "there's no point aiming for something that's achievable", she explained.

Moreover, it has taken her close to two decades playing at the highest level to get to where she is.

Challenges of representing the country

Tan picked up the sport when she was 10 years old and she said she fell in love with it even in school.

She has been representing the country for the past 10 years, first in the youth squad in 2015 and eventually joining the senior team in 2018.

Being part of the national team has not been easy, given that the training takes place four times a week in preparation for the 2025 SEA Games.

As a doctor, Tan works during the day and then rushes to train in the evenings.

It takes a lot of effort and will power to keep up with this regime.

"The hardest point is now," Tan said. "When I was a bit younger, I used to have more drive or motivation."

Previously, she would look forward to training as a way to unwind from work.

But now her energy is more drained due to having more responsibilities at work and during training.

"When you're younger, you don't really know the weight of each competition. Now, as you get older, there are only so many more competitions I can play," Tan added.

And with the 2025 SEA Games as a redemption round, there's the added pressure to perform.

But it has not reached a point where it becomes too overwhelming for her to consider quitting.

Tan said: "I always see it as something with a greater purpose. I don't really feel like I want to quit what I'm doing. I know I will definitely regret it."

Keeping energy high

When asked if she could dedicate her time to being a full-time athlete, Tan admitted that the past year has felt like playing catch-up.

Tan would only reach home at 11pm and then have dinner.

She would then need to wake up at 6am for work the next day.

The cycle of work and training can be tiring and has a bearing on her sporting performance.

She had even considered taking a leave of absence from work two months before the SEA Games.

But the ability to do both has its plus points.

"I appreciate the fact that we are able to work and play at the same time, like being a part-time athlete, as it opens up a lot of possibilities or pathways in your life," Tan said.

She said that other full-time athletes in Japan and Taiwan will marvel at how the Singapore players can pursue a career after retiring from the sport.

Collaborations

To qualify for the SEA Games, the Singapore team must travel overseas to train and participate in competitions.

Tan noted that in Singapore, there is not enough local competition to propel them to a higher level, unlike places like Taiwan and Japan, which have their own professional leagues.

As such, travelling overseas is the better option, but that requires money.

This is rarely mentioned but it comes with being in the national squad.

A significant portion of their expenses is allocated to sending the team on overseas trips for competitions and training camps.

While the national sports association, the Singapore Softball and Baseball Association, provides subsidies for the trip, team members are still required to raise funds to defray the costs of their training and travel.

The team created Giving.sg to raise funds for their development, often targeting the local softball community by organising tournaments and selling t-shirts.

However, such efforts do not generate enough funds, so they have reached out to collaborate with other brands.

One brand is Ang Ku Kueh Girl, who has helped create exclusive merchandise, such as a handheld fan, reusable bag, sports towel, reversible lanyard and an umbrella.

With the help of other sponsors, the funds raised support the team's training development.

In addition to these funds, the team also benefits from the One Team Singapore Fund.

In 2017, the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth announced that S$50 million would be pledged to match sports donations from the financial year 2017 to 2021, with the pledge being extended to 2027.

This means that the government will match contributions dollar for dollar across all sports.

Tan shared that even though it is fair for the government to match their fundraising efforts, she felt that part-time athletes having to try to raise extra money on their own can get "disheartening".

She added that it can be tough when she has to reach out to family and friends to ask for donations, and it feels like she is paying to play.

Having the government and community recognise the efforts and track record of the softball team should help improve funding.

More than funding

In addition to funding, maintaining a properly prepared field is essential, especially if Singapore is to host the SEA Games in 2029.

Tan shared that the field they currently play on in Jurong is not ideal because it requires a lot of maintenance.

The men's baseball team, for example. would travel to Johor Bahru every weekend, on their own dime, to train.

She said: "The players are willing to pay, but we don't have a choice. If results are what get us noticed and money, then we have to work towards that. We have to put in the effort and get the support needed."

All this would help alleviate the stress the association and players feel, she added.

Team sports potential

In a recent written parliamentary reply, the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) shared that the High Performance Sport Institute (HPSI) provide grants to more than 50 national sports associations.

These are used to defray operating costs for facilities, pathway development and high-performance programmes to support the national teams' training and development.

MCCY added that they also guide national sport associations in fulfilling the requirements for obtaining charity status, enabling them to be considered for funding support and to receive donations:

"Beyond government support, we encourage fellow Singaporeans to support our athletes' development through contributions to the One Team Singapore Fund which the government matches dollar-for-dollar."

In 2024, then Minister for National Development Desmond Lee announced that the Clementi Stadium and the vacant site of the former West Coast Recreation Centre would be "comprehensively redeveloped" into a new stadium by 2030.

The new stadium will feature softball and baseball fields, as well as other sports facilities, such as community play courts and a jogging track.

Winning gold

Tan added that she would love to have more public interest in softball, which translates to support for the team, and learning the game.

If the women's team wins the gold medal in the 2025 SEA Games, it would be a historic victory as it would be their first gold medal in the sport.

"It would be validating and it would be a weight off our backs," Tan shared.

"I think just to achieve something that has never been done before, will fulfil all my softball dreams."

Tan hopes that if they win, it will highlight Singapore softball and inspire others to take up the sport.

She also hopes to inspire other small sports to know that it is possible to take on the odds.

Top photos courtesy of  Singapore Women's Softball