Bigger equipment, bigger participation

Ryan Ng, organiser of the Singapore Giant Games Festival, hopes the larger sports equipment used in his event can encouraged disabled people to be more active in sports. His event will be be held on Aug 6 and 7 as part of the GetActive! Singapore wee
Ryan Ng, organiser of the Singapore Giant Games Festival, hopes the larger sports equipment used in his event can encouraged disabled people to be more active in sports. His event will be be held on Aug 6 and 7 as part of the GetActive! Singapore week. ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM

The Singapore Giant Games Festival, as its name suggests, is a sporting carnival with a twist, as participants can try out badminton, bowling, darts and pool played with bigger equipment.

The public can try out these unique variations for free at the festival, to be held at The Red Box at Somerset Road on Aug 6 and 7.

The aim of the carnival is to encourage more disabled people to become more active by taking part in the 10 novel activities.

The event, which is held from 11am to 7pm, is run by Society Staples, a social enterprise that organises community outreach events.

Its co-founder Ryan Ng, 25, hopes to draw 100 disabled people to the event, adding: "When we work with people with disabilities, a lot of them think that playing sports is tough.

"What we're trying to do is to change their perspective by making it easier for them to do the movements similar to that of sports, and so make these sports more fun and engaging for them."

Ng also plans to work with partners and organisations to run the event on a smaller scale every month after August.

The festival is one of the new initiatives that have been approved through the Active Enabler programme, which provide grants for ideas created from the ground to encourage wider community participation in sports. The programme has received more than 160 proposals so far and it is still accepting applicants until June 30.

Another endorsed initiative is a race around the Padang, where teams of four will run a relay around the iconic field on July 31.

Said organiser Adrian Quek, 49: "We want to use a sports event to highlight Singapore's rich heritage, as there are at least 15 monuments or landmarks around the Padang."

The events are part of GetActive! Singapore, a week-long sporting bash held at the National Day week from July 30 to Aug 7.

Also held concurrently are the Singapore National Games, a biennial competition which will feature 16 sports and five para sports.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on June 26, 2016, with the headline Bigger equipment, bigger participation. Subscribe