Sports Events in Singapore

If you love the big outdoors and love nothing more than spending your weekend trekking, join nature trekkers ( see email below ) . They'll take you to places that are really off the beaten track and membership is free.

I just joined naturetrekkers for a hike in Khatib Bongsu ( an abandoned kampong in Yishun ) . Lovely, I saw durian trees, dollar birds and monitor lizards.

Equipment: One thing I learnt from them is, never wear anything that is red! It'll make you stand out from the jungle greenery and you might scare the animals away. Another thing is, also bring a raincoat, you'll never know when it starts to rain in a rain forest.

There's a lot of cyclists in Singapore and they range from leisure cyclists to the die-hard Ironman traitheletes! Here's a couple of trails you can try out and I've graded them according to the level of pain ( haha, all atheletes are sado-machoists) you'll feel.

For the unchallenged couch potato
Where else but East Coast? The dedicated bike trail here is flat and there's lots of rental bike shops scattered all over. Better to start from East Coast Lagoon, you can cycle all the way to the SAF Yacht Club(10km?) and feast on claypot fish head there.

For the leisure cyclist
Try the trails in Pulau Ubin, though it is gentler, it is challenging and you'll get to see durian plantations, pandan ( fragrant leaf ) plantations and prawn hatcheries.Just take the bumboat from jetty close to the Changi Village Hawker Centre.

For the more seasoned cyclist
Try the unforgiving, undulating road around lower seleter road. Start from Yio Chu Kang.
By the time you enter the park, your legs are half dead.

For the training athelete
Try the loop around the east coast of singapore, from tanah merah country club to singapore expo . Click here to find out more.

For the trail lover
The trail at Bukit timah nature reserve is strictly for the seasoned trail biker. It's right at the entrance of the park.



Equipment: Mountain biking is a demanding sport that requires good equipment. Make sure you own a decent bike and check the brakes/tire traction before you attempt the more challenging trails. And wear protective gear !

Biking on local roads - Not recommended in the city area. Singaporean drivers can be really inconsiderate and there's smog overload.

Well, it's not special, but folks hoping to catch a swim in Singapore (afterall we have plenty of sun!) and finding our beaches pathetic, there're always the public swimming pools. Costs S$1 to enter on a weekday and S$1.30 for weekends and public holidays, you can stay as long as you want. Most public pools will have a store selling light snacks and drinks so it's pretty self-sufficient but you'll need to bring your own shower gels/soaps/shampoos and towel. Deck chairs are also available for sun worshippers. The bigger pools tend to attract families, so if you can, try to stick to smaller neighbourhood pools. And oh, nudity in any form is NOT allowed (unless you are in the shower rooms, separated by sexes). Don't try your luck against Singapore's laws.

Equipment: Swimming gear & sun-tan/sun-block lotions. But leave that G-string back home. G-string is banned in public pools.

Update: Cathay Bowl has closed since this tip was written. Best look for another bowling alley in Singapore.

Bowling, the sport of kings!

But seriously, even if you aren't a big bowler, cosmic bowling at Cathay Bowl is a fun and surprisingly hip time. Some alleys call it Laser Bowling or Disco Bowling, but at Cathay its Cosmic Bowling. Essentially, its regular bowling with disco lights, black lights, glowing balls, and dance music, and it kicks off every Saturday night at 10pm and goes till 3am. The alley itself is top of line with electronic scoring and 22 lanes. Great place to hang out with friends for some wholesome entertainment, especially if you're not big into the bar/club scene, which I am not.

Equipment: Bring socks, otherwise you will have to buy them.

The SingTel Singapore Grand Prix is the first race to be run at night under floodlights on September 28, 2008... The race was a new experience for every driver on a street circuit under powerful spotlights and it turned out to be one of the most exciting of the season... Despite dark clouds lurking, Singapore's notorious tropical downpours stayed away and the whole race was run in dry, but hot and humid conditions...

The street track circuit winds its way thru the Singapore Marina Bay and downtown area... The 61-laps Singapore circuit covers 5.067-km and joins the existing street circuits at Melbourne, Montreal and Monaco...

Equipment: The race was won by Spain's Fernando Alonso after a drama-filled race... It was the Renault driver's first victory since the Italian Grand Prix in 2007... Alonso claimed his 20th career triumph by 2.95 seconds over Germany's Nico Rosberg in a Williams and Britain's world championship leader Lewis Hamilton in third... Ferrari's Felipe Massa started from pole, but for a comical pit lane mistake, he lost the lead in the race... He was given the green light and drove off with the fuel hose still attached to his car, leaving one of the pit crew floored and subsequently carted off in a neck brace... He was given a drive through penalty following which he was not a threat to the race leaders...

Race for all ages. Allows you to put your determination at test and to enjoy the after-run adrenaline pumping. Once you start a race, you just can't stop.

A goody bag will be given out to all participants. For more details/ registration please refer to website provided.

Equipment: Seasoned running shoes, running attire and plenty of fluid

Hash House Harriers (HHH or H3) was founded by a group of British company men in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 1938. They named the group after their meeting place, the Selangor Club, aka the "Hash House."

Hashing is an exhilaratingly fun combination of running, orienteering, and partying, where bands of harriers and harriettes follows a trail of eight-to-ten kilometer-long trails through town, forest, jungle, and on public transport, all in search of exercise, camaraderie, and good times.

There are 10 hash chapters in Singapore. Some of them are for men only, some are open for both sexes and there's even biking hash, dog hash and hash for children available in Singapore.

In Singapore, the weekdays run starts at 6pm at the runsite and the hare (person setting the run) will set the trail of the run using chalk, paper and flour.

Check out the website below for the different hash chapters and their respective websites.

Equipment: Terrain running shoes, change of clothes, beer-drinking spirit and a great sense of humour.

A recommended diversion from the South View Path is the Taban Loop.

As it is a "loop" it is accessible from 2 points on this Path. Starting at the Visitor's Centre, you have the choice to descend into the wondeful Taban valley at the first or at the second opportunity.

Please note the following considerations:

1. You don't want to miss the stretch of the South View Path between the 2 points.
and now:

a. You are only interested in the Taban Loop and don't intend to go further on the South View Path than necessary.

In this case obvious: go down at the first opportunity, and when you come up at the second point, go left back to the Visitor's Centre. Be prepared that this involves a steep and long climb. Total hiking time on this route approx 20 minutes.

b.You intend to continue on the South View Path after completing the Taban Loop.

To make the right decision, it depends on:
Now you cannot avoid to walk this part of the South View Path twice. I would recommend to ignore the first access point and start the loop at the second, for the following reasons:

* You have to walk it twice but at least there's the Taban Loop inbetween so that it's less boring than walking up and down this stretch immedaitely;

* Since there's a big altitude difference between the points (20m, wherby the second is higher), it is easier to start at the second point as you go more down than up. Fair enough, you will cover the altitude anyway returning via the South View Path to the second access point, but it is much more gradual.

2. You don't mind missing the stretch of the South View Path between the two accesspoints of the Taban Loop.

If this is the case I would just go down at the first accesspoint you come accross. It is more steneous than option 1, but in the end you don't walk more than you want.

Note that most visitors regret if they made choice 2. Many of them suffer from restless nights wondering how the stretch of the South View Path between the two accesspoints of the Taban Loop looked like!