Record 372 participants compete in one of the toughest adventure races in Singapore – the SAFRA AVventura, Rough Ramble

Sunday, January 11, 2009 – Participants of the SAFRA AVventura, Rough Ramble had to run, bike, kayak, scale a towering 25m rope ladder, sport climb, rope ascend, abseil down rugged slopes with their bikes slung over their shoulders, and clear a jungle trail and water crossing in one of the toughest adventure races held in Singapore.

The SAFRA AVventura, currently into its third edition, has also grown to be one of the largest adventure races in Singapore since its debut in 2006. A record 372 racers representing 186 teams competed this morning. This marked a more than 10 percent increase from the 336 adventure enthusiasts who had competed in the Coastal Challenge in September 2007.

Chairman of the Organising Committee Mr Kenneth Tan commented: "The popularity of adventure racing in Singapore has been growing steadily in recent years. Besides that, the organising committee for the SAFRA AVventura has also put in extra effort to introduce new elements and new challenges to the race each year. With that, we have been able to draw an increasing number of participants."

Organised by SAFRA Yishun Country Club and known by adventure enthusiasts in Singapore for its challenging race routes over rugged terrain, the SAFRA AVventura this year took participants from the dirt tracks of Bukit Timah Nature Reserve to new virgin territory such as Lorong Asrama where teams had to navigate, bike, run, rope ascend and abseil down steep rugged slopes together with their bikes.

For the very first time, participants of the Open and Novice categories also had to climb a record 25m and 18m rope ladder respectively, before abseiling down the SAFRA Adventure Sports Centre climbing wall. Participants of the Youth category were also surprised with a shooting challenge at the SAFRA Yishun Indoor Air Weapons Range.

The actual race route, which was only revealed to participants just before the race, covered a total distance of some 50km for the Open and Novice categories, and approximately 40km for the Youth category, which fully challenged the physical endurance, navigation skills and teamwork of the racers.

To inject some fun into the adrenaline rush, participants also had to clear two mystery challenges where they had to solve the Rubik's Cube while being piggy-backed by their team-mate at Zhenghua Park, and note a series of markers planted along Lorong Asrama to crack a secret code.

Mr Kenneth Tan, Chairman of the Organising Committee, commented: "We took the race up a notch this year to be one of the toughest adventure races in Singapore for participants who may want to challenge themselves against a much tougher race route. Besides increasing the total distance covered, we also introduced new elements such as the 25m rope ladder climb which is the highest done thus far."

Mr Alex Chan, Chairman of Singapore Sports Council, was Guest-of-Honour at the prize presentation ceremony held at SAFRA Yishun Country Club.

The Men's Open category was once again won by defending champions Tan Yeow Chung and Eng Yew Kiang who took top place at the SAFRA AVventura - Coastal Challenge in 2007. They completed the race in just 3 hours 48 minutes 12 seconds, the fastest timing in the race.

Thirty-three-year-old NSman Tan Yeow Chung commented: "The race is a lot more challenging and fun this year, especially the biking leg. The route is also safe."

The Novice Men category was won by Goh Eng Wei and Ong Tian Chang. "The jungle biking trail was very challenging as there were many obstacles that we had to overcome," commented Goh.

Team ´We Love the Muffin Man' made up of national swimmer Christel Fung Shufen, 16, and triathlete Joash Chong, 18, won the Youth Mixed category with a timing of 4:13:37.

Christel Fung said: "This is a totally new experience for me. I did not expect the race to be so tough and challenging, especially for the running segment from Mandai Road as we did not know the destination or how long we had to run."

RESULTS

MEN’S OPEN
1st
Team Toshiba Bike Labz
Members:
1) TAN YEOW CHUNG
2) ENG YEW KIANG 3:48:12

2nd
Team Name: Adventure in Motions
Members:
1) YEO KIM HONG
2) MUHAMAD HAIRUL NAZWA BIN NOI 3:49:06

3rd
Team Name: Bike Labz
Members:
1) CHEW ENG SENG
2) CHAU CHEE LONG 4:25:18

WOMEN’S OPEN

1st
Team Name: Go-Us
Members:
1) ZOU YUYUN
2) NEO LAY PENG 5:59:55

2nd
Team Name: Escapade
Members:
1) ONG LENA
2) JONIQUE ANG YAM HUI 6:45:00

3rd
Team Name: Bethany
Members:
1) TAY MEE GEOK JOSEPHINE
2) SERENE SEAH 6:45:43

MIXED OPEN

1st
Team Name: Adventure in Motion Too
Members:
1) ALVIN LIM
2) CHONG EE PIN 4:16:12

2nd
Team Name: Channel 5
Members:
1) RAGAZZONI MAGNER CELINE
2) RAVIER ERIC 4:37:20

3rd
Team Name: Team NUS
Members:
1) KHNG HWEE HOON
2) DANIEL LEE YONG BOON 4:52:50

MEN’S NOVICE

1st
Team Name: AEI
Members:
1) GOH ENG WEI
2) ONG TIAN CHANG 5:19:45

2nd
Team Name: Just For Fun
Members:
1) WITONO HALIM
2) SEE KAH MENG 6:05:38

3rd
Team Name: Doraemon
Members:
1) FOO CHER LI
2) RIUDIEE PERBON 6:21:19

WOMEN’S NOVICE

1st
Team Name: Climbuds
Members:
1) Tan Shufang
2) Tiffany Neo Mei Shan 7:31:51

2nd
Team Name: Happy Feet
Members:
1) Lau Soh Wai
2) Colleen Koh 8:19:45

NOVICE MIXED

1st
Team Name: Jumanji
Members:
1) MEI SHAN KRISHNAN
2) SILAS HUANG SONG EN 6:09:12

2nd
Team Name: DJ Again
Members:
1) CHONG KWONG VOON
2) DORA TAY 6:31:49

3rd
Team Name: Handsome & Pretty
Members:
1) MA ZELIANG BRANDON
2) GAN CHEA HUI 7:07:22

MEN’S YOUTH

1st
Team Name: Team Raffles
Members:
1) BENJAMIN KHOO
2) LIANG ZHENXIAO 3:59:52

2nd
Team Name: Adventure Republic 2
Members:
1) LIM KAI XIANG
2) PAN XIN AN 4:11:17

3rd
Team Name: A&W
Members:
1) GOH ZHI YUAN ALEX
2) YEONG WAI KIT 4:18:48

WOMEN’S YOUTH

1st
Team Name: Awesome Republic 2
Members:
1) MELISSA CHUA HUI EN
2) ONG SZE HWEE JESS 5:04:58

2nd
Team Name: Pai You
Members:
1) SITI NUR AINI BTE ABDUL RASHID
2) WYNNE TANG 5:27:26

3rd
Team Name: RIJC 1
Members:
1) JOCELYN SZE SHIMIN
2) YAP SI HUI 5:47:54

MIXED YOUTH

1st
Team Name: We Love The Muffin Man
Members:
1) CHRISTEL FUNG SHUFEN
2) JOASH CHONG 4:13:37

2nd
Team Name: Team Bravo
Members:
1) YEN LIANG CHI KENNETH
2) JOYCELYN SIN LIPING 4:26:32

3rd
Team Name: Tas Lepak
Members:
1) TIONG JIA HUI
2) RYUTA TEO YONG CHUAN 5:22:35