SINGAPORE - No scrums, no grappling and no contact. Several sports will take on a very different look after Sport Singapore (SportSG) issued broad guidelines for the safe resumption of sporting activities on Wednesday (June 17).
These include limited contact for combat sports such as boxing and mixed martial arts. Kicking and punching are acceptable, but not grappling and restraining, while only non-contact shadow sparring and non-contact technical work with a coach, including using pads, paddles and shields, are allowed.
Singapore's Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion and The Straits Times Athlete of the Year Constance Lien said the guidelines were within her expectations and those of her gym Evolve.
However, as her discipline involves more grappling than kicking and punching, jiu-jitsu exponents like Lien will still be restricted to mostly strength and conditioning.
The 20-year-old said: "Maybe we will look at how certain movements in jiu-jitsu can be incorporated into our strength training.
"Personally, I do feel it is important as athletes to learn and know how to adapt in times like these.
"While full-body contact activities are still prohibited, it is nice to have my support system back again as it is important psychologically and emotionally now that I can work with a trainer who is an expert in his field, instead of handling it on my own."
Sporting activities had ground to a standstill in Singapore since circuit breaker measures were imposed in April due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The local sports fraternity is appreciative that restrictions have been relaxed and sporting activities can resume, even if the new normal is an unfamiliar one.
Cricketers, for example, will not be able to shine the ball with sweat or saliva during training, and Singapore Cricket Association (SCA) chief executive officer Saad Khan Janjua is ready to comply.
On top of SportSG's guidelines, SCA has sent a 12-page advisory of its own to the local cricket fraternity about a safe return to playing cricket. This includes measures such as the modifying of field positioning rules to maintain safe distancing.
Janjua said: "The national team have been conducting training via Zoom and we are looking forward to resume small group training this month to prepare for the Men's T20 Asia Cup Qualifier in August. We expect our players to follow the guidelines and our coaches to monitor them.
"As our national team comprise working adults and students, we are already used to small group training, where one group trains in the morning and another at night, so that will not be a problem."
Meanwhile, in rugby, there are to be no rucks, mauls, lineouts, scrums and tackling. As with other outdoor team sports, any match play has to adhere to group size limitation, with no inter-mixing between groups. Multiple groups are also to stay 3m apart when sharing a venue.
Local rugby schools coach Yazid Rosli said: "Earlier, we were encouraged to come up with drills which players can refer to online and do on their own. In phase two, we can now look forward to working on individual skills, as opposed to unit skills, which involve physical contact.
"We will likely split players into groups based on their positions and needs, and conduct passing and kicking drills, while progressing their ongoing strength and conditioning programmes outdoors.
"It will likely be some time before sport can fully return to what it was before here, but we are just happy to be able to play some sport again and we will make the best of what we have in the meantime."
