To kick off the March school holidays, the Singapore Sports Hub is organising a two-day water festival this weekend as part of its Community Play Day.
It promises to be a fun-filled weekend for kids who can throng the water playground, float down a lazy river and try water drumming. These are among a dozen activities taking place from 9am to 7pm daily. Admission is free.
The quarterly event is geared towards encouraging active and healthy lifestyles through family-friendly sports try-outs, fitness workouts and children's activities. The previous seven editions drew more than 100,000 attendees.
Christine Lau, Sports Hub's director for sports and community programming, said: "People might know about the Kallang Basin next to the Sports Hub, where elite athletes like dragon-boaters train.
"But what they might not know is there's an exciting water adventure they can experience there. There are fantastic facilities for the family, like the Splash-N-Surf centre.
"We hope people will come, watch, play and learn about all the facilities we have. Hopefully, families can plan to visit them as part of their regular outings."
The activities at the Community Play Day are not just aimed at kids.
Adults can also take part in a first-ever "water bottle fitness" workout - a dance-based routine which combines piloxing and zumba, and includes a water bottle with a mist spray. The first 500 to register will get a free Sports Hub bottle.
Fitness enthusiasts can also take part in a Tahiti dance (Ori Tahiti) fitness performance and workout, a women-only programme.
There will also be sports events.
On Saturday from 9am, more than 100 teams will battle it out against the iconic Sports Hub skyline in the Century Dragon Boat Race, the first race this year, organised jointly with the Singapore Dragon Boat Association.
Over at the OCBC Aquatic Centre, junior (eight to 12 years old) swimmers will compete in the Liberty Insurance 49th Singapore National Age Group Swimming Championships this weekend.
There is also a beach volleyball competition featuring 12 pairs from six tertiary institutions at the Sports Hub's Beach Courts.
Ang Wei Neng, president of organiser Volleyball Association of Singapore, said: "Beach volleyball has gained popularity over the last couple of years, particularly after the successful South-east Asian championships in Sentosa last September."
