Asean Para Games athletes to use public trains to reach venues...Oct 8, 2015
Public trains will be the primary mode of transport for athletes during December's Asean Para Games, to take them from the Games Village at Marina Bay Sands (MBS) to the Singapore Sports Hub and vice versa.
The unconventional arrangement - which has drawn some criticism and could see athletes with disabilities jostling for spots on the MRT with other commuters, especially during rush hour - was planned to give athletes and officials ease of mind when it comes to travelling.
But perhaps just as important, the Singapore Asean Para Games Organising Committee (Sapgoc) added, is the opportunity to promote "a spirit of inclusiveness" where commuters and athletes with disabilities will share common space.
Said Sapgoc chairman Lim Teck Yin: "This was part of the overall concept of the Games from the start. The community with disabilities was consulted and it, as well as the Asean Para Sports Federation and the Singapore Disability Sports Council, welcomed the idea."
All 3,000 athletes and officials from 11 countries will be housed at MBS. The hotel is linked to the Circle Line's Bayfront station, three stops away from Stadium station.
Organisers say travel times will be shorter by train than by chartered buses. But while trains will be the preferred mode of transport to the Sports Hub, chartered transport will still be provided for athletes competing at other venues around the island. Athletes and officials taking the train will be given Cepas cards with stored value and have chaperones accompanying them to competition venues.
However, the unorthodox move - made known to team managers during a meeting with organisers last week - has led some to question its practicality, particularly for athletes with mobility and visual disabilities.
With eight of the 15 sports on offer being played at the Hub, some athletes fear they might be late for their events if the trains are crowded or their equipment cannot fit on board.
Asian Para Games gold medallist sailor Jovin Tan noted that, as hosts, Singapore should ensure all athletes are rested to shine on the regional stage. "Instead, we could be worrying over how to get to the venue, or how we will return to the hotel sweaty and tired after competing, and possibly jostling for space with office crowds."
A Philippine Paralympic official, who declined to be named, expressed concern that athletes who travel separately from their contingent could get lost. "We don't need missing or late athletes on top of the usual issues we have to deal with during major sporting events."
Others were displeased that the Games - now into its eighth edition but which Singapore is hosting for the first time - will not have a full-fledged shuttle bus system as seen during June's SEA Games.
In his statement, Mr Lim said shuttle buses will be provided to those who are "unable to take the Circle Line". But exactly who falls under this classification was not defined nor explained.
Mr Baey Yam Keng, Parliamentary Secretary for Culture, Community and Youth, said the Games serve a larger purpose - that of assimilating and integrating the public with athletes with disabilities. "The idea of inclusiveness is something we should be open about. If the athletes are seen in public, we can raise awareness of the Games and expose them to the athletes' way of life."
Asean Para Games: Athletes have a choice if they don't want to take the MRT, say organisers...Oct 8, 2015
A day after saying that the MRT will be the primary mode of transport during the Dec 3-9 Asean Para Games (APG), organisers have clarified that public trains are just one option for athletes to take at the event.
At a hastily-arranged press briefing on Thursday (Oct 8), Singapore Asean Para Games Organising Committee (Sapgoc) chairman Lim Teck Yin said shuttle buses will be provided for athletes, while there will also be shuttle services for movement within the Kallang cluster.
"I won't be disappointed if the athletes don't take the train in the end," he said. "It's their choice and we must respect it."
He also said that Team Singapore athletes had not been briefed on the transport plan, as an announcement was planned at a joint training camp next month.
The Straits Times broke the news on Thursday that athletes and officials will use the MRT to shuttle between the Games Village at Marina Bay Sands and the Singapore Sports Hub in Kallang, where eight of the 15 sports on offer will be played. Mr Lim had told ST on Wednesday that the trains will be the "primary mode of transport for athletes and officials".
All 3,000 athletes and officials from 11 countries will be housed at MBS. The hotel is linked to the Circle Line's Bayfront station, three stops away from the Stadium station.
Mr Lim, who is also chief executive officer of Sport Singapore, sought to dispel any notion that para athletes are treated unfairly vis-a-vis the able-bodied athletes who featured at the SEA Games in June.
He said: "I hope the public understands that we are not treating para athletes as second-class citizens.
"If anything, you will see from the facts that we are actually doing more as far as transport operations are concerned," he added.
In a meeting with Singapore Disability Sports Council (SDSC) officials last week, team managers were told that public trains would be the primary mode of transport for the biennial meet, which Singapore is hosting for the first time.
Mr Lim said the SDSC did not inform him about the briefing, which he added was "their own prerogative".
The unconventional transport arrangement sparked criticism online, with many worried that athletes with disabilities will be jostling for spots on the train with other commuters, especially during rush hour.
Speaking during a visit to the Singapore Land Authority earlier on Thursday, Culture, Community and Youth Minister Grace Fu said that the welfare of athletes and officials is the "top concern", while noting that the important message of the APG is "inclusiveness, how do we bring the Games, and how do we bring the athletes to the bigger community".
Ms Fu added: "I think having the athletes incorporated in our public transport system, having our volunteers help them in getting to the venues, actually would show the spirit of the Games to its fullest.
"I'd like to work with the associations better and also have a discussion with the athletes."
Jalan Besar GRC MP and president of the Autism Resource Centre Denise Phua said: "We should be proud of our athletes with special needs and they should be seen and heard in public. Hence, the idea to have them travel in public where appropriate.
"However, we need to be athlete-centred as well and if they choose or need specially arranged transport, they can exercise the choice to do so.
"After putting in so much investments in the Asean Para Games, and led by a minister (no less), it is unlikely that the organisers would make decisions that are not inclusive or inconsiderate of the needs of the special athletes."
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