Cyclists enjoying the closed runway at Paya Lebar Air Base. (Photo 1 courtesy of SAFRA)
Paya Lebar Air Base, Sunday, June 17, 2012 — Cyclists and skaters took part in six non-competitive categories at the 2012 National Runway Cycling and Skating.
A 45km Endurance Challenge category was organised to commemorate 45 years of National Service.
Taking on the 30km skating race route for the first time was Mr Vincent Lye Kheng Hock, 51. Mr Lye was attending the event for the second time in a row and he decided to take on the Endurance Skating Challenge as a test of his physical limits.
In preparation for the challenge, he had been training with his five children, heading to East Coast Park to skate together. On hand to cheer him on for Father’s Day was his wife, Rebecca Kee, and his five children, aged between eight to 20 years old.
In all, almost 6,000 NSmen and their families thronged Paya Lebar Air Base for the 16th edition of the event as organisers SAFRA and the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) put on a range of activities.
This year, in support of the Dads For Life movement which aims to encourage active fathering, organisers turned hangars into play areas to create new and exciting experiences for father and child. In all, there were 19 specially designed games.
At the SAFRA 40th Anniversary booth, NSmen and their children got to try, as a team, a few IPPT-inspired games. Some of these games included the 40 sit-ups challenge, the 40m shuttle run challenge, 4 x chin-up challenge and the 4m standing broad-jump challenge.
Families also got to try their hand at gaming stations such as the ‘Young Aviator Booth’, the ‘F16 Simulator’ and ‘Wii Aircraft Battle’.
The sportier NSmen and their families had the opportunity to try out and experiment with various sports like wrestling, hockey, as well as taking on the Segway circuit in the sports try-out segment.
Commander of Paya Lebar Air Base and the chairman of the organising committee, Senior Lieutenant-Colonel Foo Yang Ge, shared: “National Runway Cycling and Skating is organised in support of promoting a healthy lifestyle — to get families to cycle and skate on the runway for a day of fun and bonding. This year’s event is exceptionally meaningful as it coincides with the commemoration of 45 years of National Service. To allow the public to better appreciate some of the RSAF’s capabilities, our NSmen demonstrated the arming of an F-16D+ fighter aircraft and the deployment drill of 35mm Guns.”
On hand for the event was Guest of Honour, Mr Lawrence Wong, who is the Minister of State for Defence and President of SAFRA. Mr Wong also joined in the fun, taking a tour of the carnival grounds while stopping to interact with participants and NSmen, including some 77 children and their families from the Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore who were invited to enjoy the carnival activities at the organisers’ invitation.
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