Meet the people keeping The Kallang roaring every week

The National Stadium, where Taylor Swift, Blackpink and Bruno Mars have drawn hundreds of thousands of fans, is abuzz weekly even when superstars are not in town.

Encircling the 55,000-seat stadium is the sheltered Promenade at National Stadium, with an 888m running track that has become home to a handful of eclectic communities.

Among the hobby groups spread across the stadium’s 23 gates are a dog-training school, a performance art group that uses colourful light sticks as they practise in the dark, and an in-line skate group made up of migrant workers who picnic and practise there on Sundays.

All of these groups gather here informally and use the space freely. The arrangement among them panned out organically over the years – since the Promenade is so big, the groups have each managed to find space for their own use.

A spokesman for The Kallang said: “The beauty of the Promenade lies in how people have made it their own. It is an open and vibrant space where patrons come together daily to work out, connect and play alongside diverse interest groups and communities. We welcome everyone to continue enjoying this shared space with consideration for fellow patrons.”

After closing in 2007 for major redevelopment, the National Stadium reopened to the public in 2014. It is now the centrepiece of the Singapore Sports Hub, which was renamed The Kallang in November.

The hobby groups based there keep The Kallang roaring regularly.

One of the biggest communities at the Promenade at National Stadium is the Shin Zhong Taijiquan Association, which has been there since 2014.

Every Sunday, around 200 of its roughly 300 members gather there to practise a wide variety of taiji exercises. The Chinese martial art combines gentle movements and deep breathing.

“Taiji is supposed to calm your mind, to let you relax and think,” said Mr Timothy Kee, 63, one of the association’s head coaches.

After warming up, the members split into about 13 groups and spread out between Gates 15 and 23, where volunteer coaches teach and revise with members a wide variety of taiji variants, including disciplines using fans, spears and even swords.

The association has been a staple at the Promenade since before the area officially opened in 2015.

“I heard on the radio in 2014 that the newly constructed Singapore Sports Hub was looking for people to use its spaces free of charge, and at the start there weren’t many people using the space, so we took the opportunity to write in and managed to get the green light,” said association president Toh Cheng Hai, 79.

Ms Tan Siew Ngan, the 72-year-old secretary-general of the association, said the big space at the Promenade makes it suitable for her large group of members.

At the same time, the venue is convenient for the members, as it has great access to public toilets and eateries in the vicinity.

Before settling on the Promenade at National Stadium, the association used various places for its sessions in the past, including a secondary school hall and a carpark of another sports complex.

When the group practises every Sunday, the sight at the Promenade is akin to that of a full-on martial arts academy.

In-line skaters and runners zip past participants wielding fists and weapons as they practise in small groups.

It is a quiet kind of chaos, but one that is harmonious and reflects the zen-like demeanour taiji practitioners mould themselves on.

According to Ms Tan, the group’s huge presence on the weekend attracts potential “recruits” once in a while.

Admissions are open only once a year – in either February or March – so that everyone can follow the same syllabus. When participants first join, they need to do at least one year of taijiquan (fist technique) before moving on to other disciplines like the sword and spear.

Around 300 migrant workers from the Philippines, Indonesia, Bangladesh, India and Myanmar are part of in-line skating group Skate Club Singapore, formed by Filipino domestic worker Ella Lyn in 2022 to help fellow migrant workers relieve stress and alleviate homesickness.

Ms Lyn learnt how to skate alone during the Covid-19 pandemic at the Promenade in 2020. She decided to take it up because restrictions prevented her from meeting her friends. When normality started returning, a few more friends joined her, and in 2022, she decided to set up the club.

“I wanted to give my fellow domestic helpers and other migrants like construction workers an activity to release their stress and help with some of their homesickness,” she said.

She used TikTok to spread the word, and more and more people joined them.

The group usually meets at the Promenade on Sunday mornings. They skate a pre-planned route from the stadium to places like Marina Barrage or Marina Bay Sands before making a loop and ending back at Gate 7.

Besides skating, the club members also have picnics near Gate 7.

“I choose to skate during my days off because it helps me to save money,” said 39-year-old Indonesian domestic worker Lolly, who goes by one name. She has worked in Singapore for 18 years and started skating in 2022, after a friend introduced her to in-line skating.

Ms Lolly found out about the group when she met Ms Lyn and other migrant workers who skated around the Promenade.

“Before this, I would spend my Sundays at the mall shopping for clothes and shoes and jewellery, but now I am here skating every Sunday. The stadium is my second home,” she said with a laugh.

The location is easy to find thanks to its proximity to Stadium MRT station.

“The only thing you need to bring is your own pair of skates,” said Ms Lolly.

“We teach and learn together for free, and if you don’t have food, there is always something that someone has brought to share.”

Skating aside, the group’s multi-religious and multiracial skaters also celebrate occasions like Christmas and Hari Raya as a group.

“There is no rank here and no hierarchy,” said Mr Mithu Arifurzaman, 37, who is from Bangladesh.

“We have supervisors, domestic workers, general workers and engineers. And when everyone comes here to meet, everyone is happy.”

The Fast and Free Running Club (FFRC) gathers on Thursdays at Gate 4 for interval-based running sessions. Co-founded in 2022 by commodity operations analyst Azaria Heng, 29, and account executive Dadima Kimmex, 25, FFRC began with just five runners who were training for the return of the Standard Chartered Marathon after the Covid-19 pandemic. The club now sees a weekly turnout of around 150 people.

Its main aim has remained the same from the start – to create a fun environment for runners who want to train for races like full or half marathons.

While FFRC organises runs on Saturdays as well, it is its interval-based sessions that make it unique from other running groups.

“Think of interval training as pace-specific workouts that could simulate what a race day might look like,” said Mr Heng.

“With the mileage accumulated throughout the months of training, hopefully participants get a taste of their fatigue level that mimics what they would feel during a race.”

He added: “There are many running clubs in Singapore with different focuses, and I think FFRC sits at the line where we call ourselves seriously social.

“We still want to retain that level of socialness with a focus on community, but we also want to create a culture where participants can be competitive and train for races at the same time.”

On Thursdays, participants do a warm-up lap around the Promenade and convene for a short stretching session, then break up into groups based on running pace.

The session goes on for about half an hour. The day ends with warming down and a weekly group photograph before everyone splits up.

“I think a huge part of our running club now is that we train for and travel together for (overseas) races,” said co-founder Ms Kimmex.

“At FFRC, we’ve consistently championed the idea of destination races.

“Travelling for races has become a meaningful part of our club culture because it gives members something tangible and motivating to build towards. Preparing for an overseas race carries a different kind of energy. It requires intention, commitment and personal investment, which often make the experience especially memorable.”

The club splits the year into three-month “training blocks”, using each block to train for one race.

FFRC members have trained for and travelled together to compete in half- and full marathons in Sydney, Hong Kong and even Copenhagen.

On some mornings, the Promenade at National Stadium is frequented by more than just humans.

It is not uncommon to see dogs on leashes – sometimes up to 20 of them – walking abreast in a line around the track, led by a group of trainers.

This is part of Tails N Trails School for Dogs’ weekly “pack walk” for its customers’ dogs, which starts at Gate 14.

“It’s like a route march in the army,” quipped Mr Cheng Yew Teng, the 39-year-old founder of the dog training school. “It’s not as sharp as a passing-out parade, but there’s a certain sync we are looking for in the group walk activity.

“The somewhat uncontrolled environment of the Promenade, with the added factor of curious passers-by, makes it a conducive area to train the dogs’ discipline. We expressly teach the dogs not to approach passers-by without permission, and we also consistently indicate to people to avoid touching the dogs during their training.”

After every pack walk, Mr Cheng gathers the dogs in a line for a group photograph.

A big part of teaching dogs to stay calm in public, according to Mr Cheng, is increasing the amount of time they can stay put. The group photo thus serves as a “final challenge” after each session to train the dogs’ ability to sit and stay.

On Tuesday and Saturday nights, members of the SG Wotagei Community gather in the open area facing the waterfront near Gate 2 to practise a unique dance.

“In Japanese, wota refers to fans of Japanese idol singers, and gei means arts,” said 23-year-old Muhammad Haiqal Abdul Murad, a long-time wotagei practitioner.

Wotagei originated with the chants and synchronised dance moves Japanese fans use to support idol singers during concerts, starting with hand movements and later including the use of light sticks.

It is estimated that the SG Wotagei Community has around 70 to 80 practitioners, aged 16 to 26.

“Wotagei isn’t that technical compared with other dances, but it focuses on the upper body, requiring core strength and a considerable amount of leg stability,” said Mr Noel Lam, a 26-year-old wotagei practitioner.

“Wotagei is very muscle memory-based, and the reason we can change up our moves so fast is that we learn them in sets.”

Before making the area around the Promenade its base, the group practised in a corner of *Scape in Orchard Link. Other dance groups did not use the corner because it was far too dark at night, preferring to dance in brightly lit places with mirrors. In contrast, the dark suits wotagei dancers as it increases the visibility of their light sticks while they practise.

“Sometimes we practise in front of mirrors, but it isn’t entirely ideal,” said Mr Lam.

“Head moves are very important in wotagei, and if you look in the mirror all the time, it will affect your head placement.”

When *Scape underwent renovation in 2023, the wotagei dancers went around looking for a new base and found that the area around the National Stadium ticked all their boxes – it was spacious and dark enough at night for their purpose.

“The stadium management was actually quite interested in our art form after noticing our regular practices. We were even invited to perform at some events,” said Mr Haiqal.

“An added bonus (of using this area for practice) is that when we film videos and post them, there is the iconic background of the Beach Road area behind us, which makes us distinguishable to the global community.”

During their sessions, members break into smaller groups to practise various routines, and Mr Lam and Mr Haiqal mentor younger or newer members.

Besides the FFRC, another group also holds fitness activities at the Promenade at National Stadium.

Runninghour is a cooperative whose main purpose is to use mainstream sporting activities to help people with physical and intellectual disabilities integrate with one another.

While Thursday nights are for fitness sessions involving strength training and occasionally Zumba, the group is more known for its outdoor runs, which it holds twice a week at Gate 3 on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

Mr John See Toh and his wife Chan Jan Siang, who are both former special education teachers, founded Runninghour in 2009 as a way to keep their former students occupied and socially integrated.

At the beginning, it was just the two of them running alongside 10 of their former students.

As the group expanded to include more beneficiaries with physical or mental disabilities, Mr See Toh and Ms Chan recruited volunteers to help them, devising a guide and buddy system where able-bodied guides (volunteers) run alongside buddies (beneficiaries).

The group has grown to 800 members now, with almost equal numbers of guides and buddies. It has also increased its activities, adding things such as bowling, rock climbing and even dragon boating to its line-up.

“The activities we organise are just a vehicle to bond people together,” said current chairman Ong Meng Hong. “A lot of buddies look forward to coming down not so that they can achieve their personal best, but because they know they will meet their friends.”

Ms Samantha Gan, 65, said she has seen improvement in her daughter’s quality of living ever since she started taking her to sessions in 2017. Ms Gan is a full-time caregiver to her 30-year-old daughter, Ms Leann Eng, who has intellectual disabilities after having childhood meningitis and is prone to seizures.

The condition made Ms Eng weaker on the left side of her body, making it difficult for her to walk. But after patiently attending sessions, she has become stronger, and has even managed to slow-jog for the past two years.

“She definitely got stronger and healthier, and her memory and focus improved,” said Ms Gan. “She also managed to make friends within the community, something that was difficult after she left school.”

On top of helping her daughter get regular exercise, which helps those with physical and intellectual disabilities retain physical independence as they grow older, Ms Gan also is thankful for the “break” she gets from full-time caregiving during these sessions, as guides take over for that one hour.

“That’s another good thing about Runninghour – it provides time and space for caregivers to rest.”