Every national sports success story begins with a small step. For aspiring student-athletes, playing at the modern billion-dollar Singapore Sports Hub facility in the National School Games (NSG) finals could inspire bigger dreams.
Especially when just stepping onto the same turf or plunging into the same pool as the national and world-class athletes have done before them gives the desire to return as competitive elite sportspersons as adults.
For every generation of student-athletes and school supporters that have planted their feet at the present Sports Hub or the former National Stadium, the occasion is a moment to remember and cherish.
St. Patrick’s School was the first local school to step foot onto the old National Stadium on 19 June 1973 when it made history by hosting the maiden school sports event at the ground.
This evolved into an annual tradition of having the NSG track and field championships held there for over three decades as school teams descended from different parts of Singapore to compete in days of action on the track.
(Photo: SportSG)
With the opening of the Sports Hub in June 2014, more sports, beyond the past athletics and occasional rugby and football finals at the old National Stadium, were having their day at the various arenas in the NSG finals.
The first NSG event to be held at the Sports Hub saw Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) (ACS(I)) defeat St. Andrew’s Secondary 28-8 in the ‘C’ Division rugby final at the rebuilt National Stadium on 26 August 2014.
In subsequent years, whether it is at the National Stadium, OCBC Aquatic Centre or the various halls at the OCBC Arena, various NSG finals have been held as student-athletes aspire to be the next Joseph Schoolings, Shanti Pereiras and Delvin Gohs.
(Photo: Team Nila Content Producer, Ken Chia)
That day saw the first action of school sports at the Sports Hub in the present NSG season as St. Andrew’s capped an electric day for youth rugby by defeating ACS(I) in the ‘B’ Division final 19-12.
This has been followed by the badminton, basketball, netball, wushu and fencing finals held at the OCBC Arena this month. With the lifting of restrictions following the pandemic, NSG has returned to a full-scale competition format for the first time since 2019.
That meant more sports are given the opportunity to compete in the final stages at the centrepiece of Singapore sports at Kallang.
A week after the rugby finals, badminton took centre stage when Raffles Institution defeated ACS(I) 3-2 to win the ‘B’ Division boys team title. Two days later, Nanyang Girls High School (NYGH) whitewashed Dunman High School 5-0 in the ‘B’ girls’ team final.
Fencing was next to feature when SEA Games-bound fencer Samuel Robson of ACS(I) won the ‘A’ Division boys’ individual epee on 21 April. Lia Swee of Anglo-Chinese Junior College won the ‘A’ Division individual girls’ foil in a close contest on the same day.
(Photo: Team Nila Content Producer, Anbumani Arivalagan)
From the sabre, Chinese martial arts wushu was next to be in the NSG spotlight when NYGH and Hwa Chong Institution dominated the sport in the girls’ and boys’ events respectively, sweeping the ‘B’ and ‘C’ overall titles after winning 11 out of 12 events on offer on the final day of competition on 23 April.
NYGH continued their fine form at the OCBC Arena, this time in basketball, when they defeated Chung Cheng High (Main) in the ‘B’ girls’ final after a nail-biting 39-34 win. In the ‘B’ boys’ final, Bukit Panjang Government High School claimed the championship when they overcame a spirited challenge from Swiss Cottage Secondary School 75-61.
The most recent NSG final held at the Sports Hub saw CHIJ Secondary (Toa Payoh) reclaim the ‘B’ girls’ netball title since 2018 after they defeated Methodist Girls’ School 34-23 in the final at OCBC Arena on 26 April.
With more sports set to take the spotlight at the Sports Hub, especially with the return of school athletics at the National Stadium after the pandemic, there are more opportunities for the finalists to make history and possibly sow the seed towards national glory in the future.
So for student-athletes and their school supporters, seize that moment for it will last a lifetime!
Now is the chance to experience the exhilarating school spirit in this iconic national venue, catch these upcoming finals live at the Singapore Sports Hub or watch the highlights here!
16th May - Volleyball A Division Finals (OCBC Arena)
17th May - Badminton A Division Finals (OCBC Arena)
19th May - Swimming A Division Finals (OCBC Aquatic Centre)
22nd May - Basketball A Division Finals (OCBC Arena)
22nd May - Table Tennis A Division Finals (OCBC Arena)
26th May - Football A Division Finals (National Stadium)
Read more here
Tell us what you think here
Cheer on the school teams and student athletes here