Story by Iman Hashim/Red Sports
Grace Fu (C), Minister of Culture, Community and Youth, launches the Singapore Youth Olympic Festival 2016. With her is Mr Ng Ser Miang, Chairman of the Singapore Olympic Foundation. (Photo 1 courtesy of SNOC)
Anglican High School, Friday, June 17, 2016 — The sixth edition of the Singapore Youth Olympic Festival (SYOF) kicked off with an opening ceremony at Anglican High School, with a 200-strong crowd of students in attendance.
The occasion was graced by Guest-of-Honour, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, Ms Grace Fu, along with International Olympic Committee (IOC) member and Chairman of the Singapore Olympic Foundation (SOF), Mr Ng Ser Miang.
Organised by the SOF, the Festival is a fun multi-sport event for youths aged 18 and below, and was first started in 2011 to celebrate the first anniversary of the inaugural Youth Olympic Games (YOG) held in Singapore. It aims to inspire Singaporean youth to discover their love for a particular sport and forge bonds through sports.
Said Mr Ng in his opening address, “The Festival started off with five sports in 2011 and has gradually expanded to 11 sports this year. We know there are many other sports interested to be a part of this, and will definitely consider the suitability to include new sports in future editions.”
This year’s Festival is indeed set to be the biggest one yet, with two more sports – athletics and fencing – added to the roster which already includes badminton, 3-on-3 basketball, football 7s, rugby 7s, sailing, shooting, table tennis, taekwondo and volleyball.
Last year, the Festival attracted an all-time high of 2,300 participants across nine sports. Registration for this year’s edition is still ongoing and organisers are already looking at more than 2,000 participants.
Urging the audience to embrace the bigger picture, Ms Fu said, “In 2010, we had the inaugural Youth Olympic Games; and it was a proud moment for Singapore. But beyond the medals and the glory, the Olympic values of excellence, friendship and respect are also important life lessons for all of us. Sport is a great teacher. Through sport, we learn to respect our opponents, the importance of team work, and to be humble in victory and gracious in defeat.”
Mr Ng and Ms Fu were joined by youth athletes representing each of the SYOF sports – which included the likes of long jumper and hurdler Tia Louise Rozario and basketballer Choo Jie Ying – as they officially declared the Festival open.
The ceremony was not without entertainment, with the audience being treated to a wushu performance by Anglican High School students and a fun basketball skills challenge showcased by Team Singapore basketballers.
The ceremony was capped off with a spellbinding display by exponents from the Singapore Taekwondo Federation, which starred 2015 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games Men’s Individual Poomsae gold medallist Kang Rui Jie.
The three-on-three basketball competition commenced after the ceremony.
Interested participants can still register for Athletics (closing date: June 20), Football 7s (closing date: June 26), Rugby 7s (closing date: June 30) and Sailing (closing date: July 9). More information can be found on the SYOF website at www.syof.sg.
The SYOF is supported by ActiveSG, 100PLUS, Yonex Sunrise and Anglican High School, along with the 11 National Sports Associations.
2016 Singapore Youth Olympic Festival
Athletics
Bishan Stadium
2 July
Badminton
Jurong East Sports Hall
2-3 July
3-on-3 Basketball
Anglican High School
17-19 June
Fencing
OCBC Arena Hall 6
1, 3 July
Football 7s
Clementi Stadium
16-17 July
Rugby 7s
Yio Chu Kang Stadium
16 July
Sailing
National Sailing Centre
16-17 July
Shooting
SAFRA Yishun
25-26 June
Table Tennis
Yio Chu Kang Sports Hall
18-21 June
Taekwondo
Woodlands Sports Hall
25-26 June
Volleyball
Jurong West Sports Hall
22-26 June
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