Renovated ActiveSG Queenstown Sport Centre reopens on Aug 8

SINGAPORE – After a three-year wait, the ActiveSG Queenstown Sport Centre will officially open on Aug 8.

The reopening of the sport centre, which had been closed since May 2023 for upgrading works before its soft opening on June 30, will benefit not just residents in the area, but also the rugby and diving communities.

The refreshed facility features a new annexe building that houses an ActiveSG gym and two activity rooms, spanning about 1,000 sq m. 

The gym has both conventional and inclusive strength training equipment, including HUR machines, which use pneumatic technology (air pressure) and lever arms to support safe, accessible workouts for seniors, persons with disabilities and those with mobility concerns.

Programmes available at the sport centre’s gym activity rooms include kickboxing, yoga and Zumba.

Now that the upgraded centre has reopened, Queenstown resident Shermaine Tan is glad to once again have a place to work out just opposite her home.

Before the renovations, the 34-year-old visited the centre’s running track every other day.

While it was closed, she explored other options, including going to the gym at Delta Sport Centre, which was sometimes crowded.

Tan, who is self-employed, said: “It’s been something we’ve been waiting for for quite a while. When it opened, we were all very happy because it’s so convenient and I like that the space is very bright, spacious and there’s good ventilation between the equipment, it’s all quite nice to be working out there.”

Martial arts instructor June Gan, who lives in River Valley, said the gym at Queenstown is worth the 20-minute bus ride, thanks to its wider offering of equipment and its more spacious layout.

“It’s quite nice because you barely have to wait for anything, there’s lots of equipment to go around,” said the 33-year-old, who also works out at Delta Sport Centre which is closer to her home.

To better support high-performance training and competitions, other facilities within the centre have also been enhanced.

The home of rugby returns to Queenstown with a field upgraded to meet World Rugby standards.

Measuring 98m by 68m, the field uses an artificial grass system specially designed for the sport.

Singapore Rugby Union (SRU) general manager Sidney Kumar is happy that the sport has a place to call home.

The national sports association estimates that it will shift its operations from Toa Payoh to Queenstown in September or October.

The national teams started using the Queenstown pitch three weeks ago and the SRU is exploring options to set up facilities for recovery at the venue, said Kumar.

The 40-year-old added: “Over the last five, six years, we’ve moved around quite a bit, so it’s been a long time coming to go back home.”

The revamped pitch will also provide visiting teams with a good experience during events and regional tournaments, he said.

One potential issue, he noted, is the artificial turf, which might take a toll on players, given the physical nature of the sport.

To manage that, one of four weekly training sessions will be held at another venue with natural grass.

He said: “The Queenstown pitch is already World Rugby-certified, which means it already has extra specifications like shock padding to facilitate rugby, so that’s been taken into account, but in general, we want to protect the longevity of the players.

“But the synthetic turf allows us to have a consistent training venue in Singapore’s unpredictable weather. Rain or shine, we know what we are experiencing on the pitch.”

Newly constructed team changing rooms with dedicated restrooms also provide athletes with a private space for preparation and debriefs.

In a first for an ActiveSG facility, the upgraded running track now features three artificial turf lanes and two surfaced with ethylene propylene diene monomer rubber, the material used for conventional athletics tracks.

The sport centre’s 4.5m diving pool has been retained. It will be complemented by a new dry-dive facility that serves as an additional training environment for divers from the community as well as athletes from Singapore Aquatics’ (SAQ) learn-to-dive programme.

This will be the second dry-land facility in Singapore, with the other located at the OCBC Aquatic Centre.

Former national diver Freida Lim, one of the main coaches at the Queenstown diving facility, explained that dry-land facilities are important, as they allow divers to “fine-tune their fundamental techniques and develop more precise dives in a safe way”.

The Tokyo 2020 Olympian added: “We are optimistic that the facility at Queenstown Sport Centre will contribute towards SAQ’s ongoing efforts to grow our pipeline of divers.”

The swimming complex, comprising a competition pool, a learner’s pool and two wading pools, has also been refreshed with new pool deck flooring.

Accessibility features have also been incorporated into the facility, including a mobile pool hoist at the competition pool for persons with disabilities, accessibility ramps and a central lift to improve connectivity across the facility.

Sport Singapore’s sport infrastructure group chief Lim Hong Khiang said the national governing body’s main considerations for the revamp were to create inclusive spaces suited for the general public and high performance.

ActiveSG chief Tan Hock Leong noted that the centre is a “familiar space” for many people.

“With this renovated facility, we want to make it a place where the community can pursue sport at various levels – from residents looking for a space to play sport, to athletes who require specialised spaces for training and sport development,” he said.

“With Queenstown’s strong sporting heritage, we hope to continue providing the community with opportunities to reconnect through sport while embracing and celebrating our past.”