URBAN SPORTS MAKING INROADS

Growing interest as recent festival attracts 70,000 fans and participants

- Kolette Lim

Void decks, car parks and an open space near the Singapore Indoor Stadium are Phoebe Lim's go-to spots to practise dancing.

But on Sept 1, the 21-year- old Singapore Institute of Management undergraduate brought her moves to a decidedly bigger stage - the Singapore Expo.

Lim was one of 30 dancers selected to perform at the Dance Xhibit event at Expo Hall 5, held as a part of the inaugural Singapore Urban Sports & Fitness Festival.

"The atmosphere was crazy," she said, "and the energy was through the roof."

About 450 people watched the showcase, said Lim, which was one of 22 included in the line-up of festival activities that involved sports such as parkour, BMX and callisthenics.

The festival, held from Aug 23 to Sept 1 across multiple venues, saw a turnout of more than 70,000 participants and spectators, said Roy Teo, chief of industry development at national agency Sport Singapore's (Sport SG) technology and innovation group.

The appetite for urban sports has been increasing over the years, said Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong in a Facebook post at the start of the festival.

Ensuring that such activities are accessible and enjoyable for the public, and making them an integral part of the sporting culture is Sport SG's goal, said Teo, who noted an increase of urban sports events in the community.

Event organisers and sporting academies have also seen a growth in interest.

Faiz Saifulrohman, president of Parkour Singapore, said at least 50 parkour classes are conducted across different academies on a weekly basis.

The sport, which involves over-coming obstacles in natural and man-made environments, is also a co-curricular activity in many international schools, he added.

For three-on-three basketball, Esther Quek, chief executive of media and event organiser lump-shot Singapore, said participation rates for these tournaments have trebled from 2021.