New SportSG arm to document, promote local sporting heritage

Stored in two locked rooms in the Singapore Sports Hub are several boxes containing items that tell of the nation's sporting history.

Among them are old programmes, souvenir magazines and memorabilia from various meets over the years.

Together, they are a treasure trove of research material for national sports governing body Sport Singapore's (SportSG) new Sport Heritage Division, which has set out to document and promote the nation's sporting heritage.

It will hold an exhibition, public lectures and engagements with schools ahead of SportSG's 50th anniversary next year.

Seeds for the new division - launched on Jan 1 - were sown when sport historian Nick Aplin, 69, was tasked by SportSG in 2020 to write a book documenting its history.

In the course of writing, Dr Aplin and SportSG realised that his research could act as a foundation for more education and outreach opportunities, and three more members were added to the team to this end.

SportSG chief executive Lim Teck Yin said that with the new division, SportSG will "fuel the learning opportunities, appreciation and affinity for sport in Singapore and its values, and engender recognition and pride for our nation's achievements".

The team hopes to work on an islandwide heritage trail that features some of Singapore's oldest and most iconic sports facilities.

Heritage galleries may be set up at some sites.

Facilities that may feature in the trail include a building retained from the former Yan Kit Swimming Complex, which was Singapore's second public swimming facility, and Toa Payoh Stadium, Sports Hall and Swimming Complex, which hosted the 1973 South-east Asian Peninsular Games.

"These sports structures and stadiums were built in tandem with the rest of the nation, and are part of Singaporeans' memories," said Ms Teresa Teo Guttensohn, 59, the team's assistant director overseeing education and outreach.

Some of these sites will be featured in a new microsite being developed, along with content covering local sporting history, personalities, competitions and communities.

National swimmer Toh Wei Soong, who in 2019 interviewed generations of athletes while directing a documentary film about the sporting heritage of Farrer Park, said many had stories that up till then were left untold.

The 23-year-old hopes the new division would be able to capture such stories to inspire current and future athletes.

"Singapore has a number of older athletes who have flown our flag proudly over the past decades," he added.

"I hope the new division can prioritise connecting generations of athletes, as I believe it is our responsibility as current athletes and inheritors of past legacies to pay homage to the generations before, lest we become forgotten by future Singaporeans too."

The team will also look into the conservation of structures with sporting heritage significance, and hopes to partner other government agencies, as well as non-governmental organisations in its outreach efforts.

But for now, Dr Aplin is focused on writing two books - one commemorating SportSG's 50 years, to be published next year, and another that will serve as a prologue and is slated for release this year.

He has been sifting through the many boxes that the team has inherited. "Hopefully I will make discoveries that enrich our understanding of sport, and be a catalyst for further research in the future," he said.