ActiveSG$100 each to get sporty

To kickstart Sport Singapore's ActiveSG movement and to get the public excited about participating in sports, $380 million worth of credits will be given to citizens and permanent residents.

Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Lawrence Wong made the announcement when he launched ActiveSG yesterday at the Jurong West Sports Centre open house.

Those who sign up for the free membership scheme will receive ActiveSG$100 each, which Wong believes is "significant enough to get (the initiatives) off to a good start".

The credits can be used to pay for entry to gyms and swimming pools, or to offset 30 per cent of the cost of signing up for sports programmes like zumba, masala bhangra and kickboxing.

A new ActiveSG app will also allow Singaporeans to book facilities, sign up for sports programmes and find other members with similar sporting interests to keep fit together.

These activities come under the umbrella of ActiveSG, one of the key elements of the Republic's Vision 2030 sports master plan launched in 2011.

It aims to provide all Singaporeans -from the youth to the elderly and those with special needs - with opportunities to get involved in sports.

INITIATIVES

Wong hopes that these initiatives will help Singaporeans have more convenient access to sports, bring more interesting and innovative programmes to people from all walks of life, and to increase community participation.

"In the beginning, the focus was on building infrastructure, and that has been going well," said Wong.

"But we realised we can't have just the hardware. We also need the software such as programming through these sports centres to make people interested in sports."

More than 30,000 people have already registered and those interested to make use of their ActiveSG$100 can head to any ActiveSG sports and recreation centre to activate their accounts and eWallets.

James Tan, a 43-year-old tutor, is one of those aiming to get sporty.

"It's a nice gesture and I may try out some sports like kickboxing which I wasn't sure whether to go for it or not," he said.

Following yesterday's launch, ActiveSG will also be holding outreach activities at the Seng Kang (tomorrow), Yio Chu Kang (May 3), Bishan (May 4) and Pasir Ris (May 10) Sports Centres.

In addition, there will be ActiveSG sports festivals in Jurong East, Woodlands, Hougang and Jalan Besar from May 24 to June 7.

Ways to use ActiveSG$100

50 visits to featured pools such as Jurong West Swimming Complex (based on $2 for adult on Sat or Sun) = almost a year's worth of weekend swimming

100 trips to featured pools (based on $1.00 for children on Sat or Sun)

10 months worth of swimming everyday under MyActiveSWIMTM ($10 per month) for adults, or 20 months worth ($5 per month) for children and seniors

Three months worth of unlimited entry to all gyms under MyActiveGYMTM ($30 per month) for adults + four peak hour gym entries

Six months worth of off-peak entry (Mon-Fri, before 4pm) to all gyms under MyActiveGYMTM ($15 per month) for adults + four peak hour gym entries

Singaporeans and PRs can sign up as ActiveSG members at www.myactivesg.com or at sports centres islandwide.

This article was published on April 27 in The New Paper.

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