Online bookings required for ActiveSG facilities

As part of ActiveSG's safe management measures, individuals or groups who wish to access its facilities - with the exception of stadiums - will now have to book online at www.myactivesg.com.

They will be allowed to book only one time slot per day for each facility, with bookings allowed 14 days in advance.

In a media walkabout at Jurong East Sport Centre yesterday, Mr Sng Hock Lin, chief of national sports movement ActiveSG, also explained how it has been maintaining its facilities, as well as its new operating hours when Singapore enters phase two of the post-circuit breaker period today.

He said: "As we enter phase two, we want to encourage the public to exercise but not socialise at our facilities. We ask for everyone's cooperation because we do not want new clusters to form."

In a bid to curb the spread of Covid-19, the Government introduced circuit breaker measures in April which included the closure of sports facilities.

On Wednesday, Sport Singapore (SportSG), which runs most public sports facilities and governs sports and exercise policy in the Republic, issued an advisory for sports facilities that will reopen from today.

The operating capacity of these facilities is restricted to 10 sq m per person, or a maximum of 50 people per facility. This will be policed by enforcement officers.

While the public will still be able to walk into the 14 ActiveSG stadiums - subject to the new capacity limits - they will have to book online before they can access the 64 ActiveSG swimming complexes, gyms, studios and indoor sports halls.

This is to discourage large groups from converging and forming queues at entry points, said SportSG.

While Mr Sng acknowledged demand could exceed supply, he said: "Let's start small, but safe and strong. It will be worse if we completely open up and go back to zero. The measures in place are for everyone's safety.

"We will look at recalibrating and tweaking the advisory based on government guidelines and consultations with various stakeholders."

In yesterday's session, Mr Sng and his colleagues said that ActiveSG swimming pools have been maintained daily by essential workers for the past two months to maintain water quality, and ensure there is no algae and mosquito breeding.

The pools will be sectioned by lane ropes into eight blocks for coaches to conduct lessons for five students per block from 9am to 6pm daily.

In addition, lap swimming for seniors is limited to 6.30am to 8.45am, while the general public can do so from 6.30pm to 9.30pm. The closing time at Our Tampines Hub, Sengkang, Yio Chu Kang, Jurong Lake and Kallang Basin swimming pools will be extended from 9pm to 12.30am.

A queue system will also be implemented for toilets and shower facilities to prevent congregation.

Those who book ActiveSG indoor sports halls to play racket sports are limited to four users per court or table. Temperature screening and the SafeEntry check-in system will be in place and audio recordings will remind users when their time slots are expiring.

Mr Andrew Wong, a 67-year-old retiree, said: "This is good news, that we can start using public pools and sports halls again. I'm sure there will be a mad rush at first, so I probably will wait a while first before trying my luck.

"Hopefully there will be equal opportunities for everyone, including seniors who can't make online bookings, to use the facilities."