Seng Kang Primary School is the only school in Singapore whose students have daily physical education. Find out why and how the school did it, and the rewards they are reaping. … [visit site to read more]

Change. A word that is so widely popularised, and used to the point people forget that it takes a lot of courage to deviate from the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. … [visit site to read more]

When the final whistle sounded at this year’s A Division Girls’ Football Championship final, Azrulnizam Shah was coach of the first junior college side to retain the title since the tournament’s inception. He was also the architect of three gold medals and one silver since the start of his tenure in 2005. … [visit site to read more]

Over the last few years, the Singapore national football team has evolved to look more like a club than a traditional national team. That probably has its roots in the ethnic relations on the ground. … [visit site to read more]

It is not often that one gets to write about being last. The Lucerne Marathon was all plans gone wrong, but what an incredible turn of events and experience it became. This is my story… … [visit site to read more]

Golden Hills Trail Marathon
13 Oct 2007, Berkeley, CA, USA

Story by Sim Phei Sunn.

Editor’s note: Running is the base for all sports. A strong fitness base is built through running and that is what separates good teams from very good teams in the last quarter or last 15 minutes of any game. Our contributor for this feature is Sim Phei Sunn, a working adult who was from Nanyang Girls’ and Hwa Chong Junior College. She actually disliked running when she was in school and only started running after university.

I was in Berkeley, California in October 07 for a work conference and managed to sign up for a Golden Hills trail marathon. I have never done a trail version before, so I went with no time targets and not knowing what to expect.

… [visit site to read more]

Feature story contributed by Red Sports reader, Gloria Lee. Pictures contributed by Ong Kheng Boon and Sit Weng San.

For the uninitiated, Canoe Polo is a hybrid sport that fuses the concepts found in water polo, basketball and kayaking to produce a fast paced, high-energy contact team sport. Canoe Polo games are usually held in swimming pools or lakes on a demarcated field of play.

A canoe polo player gets ready to shoot while an opponent defends © Ong Kheng Boon
… [visit site to read more]

National Stadium, Saturday, June 30, 2007 — The sun is going down, casting long shadows on the National Stadium as the ex-internationals from Singapore and Malaysia play their final game on the stage that made them famous. The stadium is starting to fill with fans, most of them wearing red, eager for the start of the game between Singapore and Australia, and the post-game celebrations that will go long into the night. … [visit site to read more]

Story by Red Sports reader, Ms Jan Lin, a sport journalist and a former Singapore-Chinese Girls’ School player. Thanks, Jan!

As curtains fell for the 2007 Aviva Singapore Badminton Open just a fortnight ago, the writer observes an exponential growth in the popularity of badminton as a spectator sport over the last couple of years resembling that of a facelift, which she finds somewhat bemusing.

Boonsak Ponsana floats on air in ecstasy after winning the men’s singles final at the recent Aviva Open Singapore 2007. Photo by Leslie Tan/Red Sports

THE men’s singles crown at the 2007 Aviva Singapore Open went to Thailand’s talent Boonsak Ponsana who mentioned he would give his juicy cheque to his mother. Now, I have a secret that might shower me with dusts of stardom: I had dinner with Boonsak’s mother last year. Actually, it was with his younger sister (whom I’m good friends with) and their mother serendipitously joined us later at a seafood restaurant, apparently Boonsak’s favourite, just outside Bangkok city.

In the years I was involved in the local badminton circuit, spectatorship of this ancient sport revolved mainly around fellow players and badminton enthusiasts who (are usually of the older generation and) play the sport religiously. But of recent times, I have come across a fresh new breed of young hardcore badminton fans gushing about their “idols” in the sport of badminton, Boonsak being one of the more popular heartthrobs among local fans.

I think I’d be less intrigued if the fans are in their early teens – the prime age of idolism – but nope, their mean age would be about 17-years-old and many have neither held a racket (properly) nor have dabbled footwork on the courts, yet have often been swept of their feet at the sight of their “idols” photos.

Showcased on their weblogs and on forums are their blatant fanaticism and loyalty to the sport, or player for that matter. The extra miles taken to follow every match and tournament, on top of their comprehensive knowledge of the littlest detail about their “idols”, are all absolutely admirable.

Catholic High old boy Kendrick Lee changes into a fresh t shirt while contemplating his moves for the next set. Kendrick was eventually knocked out by fellow Singaporean Ronald Susilo in the quarterfinal. Photo by Leslie Tan/Red Sports.

… [visit site to read more]

Story by Lee Hwee Cheng. Pictures by Leslie Tan, official photographer of the Aviva Open Singapore 2007. © Red Sports /soulbreath pictures

It was rather hectic for the Red Sports Crew during the week we were at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

But I think we all made it through pretty well.  And we wouldn’t have done it, if not for the much appreciated help from our student volunteers Lai Jun Wei, Shaun Chook and Goh Shao Wei.  And of course, all the exciting contributions from all of you readers that came in through our emails that continued to tell the school stories.  Finally, the constant company you regular Chat-boxers gave us throughout the hustle and the bustle (and the usual fire-fighting and smack downs you guys helped with when we old folks weren’t around!) – I think we might have gone bonkers if not for your virtual presence!

So a big ‘thank you’ for understanding our cause that week, and for giving the Red Sports Crew a chance to experience first-hand and get up close and personal with a world-class event. 

We had wanted to be able to share the experience with you, and we do hope that the stories we brought you excited you as much as they have inspired us. 
________________________

I am not a badminton player, by all accounts, not even down at the outdoor court just across my apartment block (though now I wish, and I actually think, I could be one).  But I suppose I must have been born with the right ‘jock’ genes and an inherent passion for most kinds of sports.  And with those two attributes, even as a spectator, I appreciate the strategic beauty of any single game as if I were playing it myself, and most of all, I breathe sports and let it infuse my life like it were a game in itself.
… [visit site to read more]