S. Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia 29 Aug 09;
SINGAPORE: The new S$8 million extreme sports facility at the East Coast Park has officially opened for daredevils to hone their skills on wheels.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong launched the Xtreme SkatePark and the inaugural extreme championship on Saturday.
80 participants from seven countries in the region are taking part in the two-day competition from August 29 to 30.
The skatepark located at the East Coast Park's energy zone is Singapore's first and only international standard competition facility.
And it is the result of an idea put up by young people during a consultation exercise in 2004.
Community Development, Youth and Sports Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said: "This also represents a transformation of our attitudes as Singaporeans. We used to be very risk-averse. If anything goes wrong, we look for someone to blame.
"This is part of a transformation of attitudes that in life you choose the level of risks you are happy with. Pursue your dreams and go all out and do your best. This also shows the coming of age for sports in Singapore."
The government said it would provide the necessary infrastructure to help Singaporeans realise their interests and talent.
Over the next few months, the National Youth Council will be hosting a series of programmes at the Xtreme SkatePark and they include extreme sports clinics for those who want to hone their skills on extreme skating. - CNA/vm
Athletes flip over Xtreme Skate Park
Jeremy Au Yong, Straits Times 30 Aug 09;
It is the first skate park in Singapore to meet international competition standards - and local and foreign athletes were yesterday already tagging it as among the best in the world.
Japanese professional inline skater Takeshi Yasutoko, a cult figure among Singapore's extreme sports enthusiasts, had nothing but praise for the $8 million Xtreme Skate Park in East Coast Park.
The 23-year-old and a host of other extreme sports stars were in town for the park's opening.
'This park has a very nice balance. It has a lot of ramp parts with different difficulties. A beginner can skate here. I am a pro-skater, and I can skate here,' he told The Sunday Times.
Australian Tim Wood, one of the world's best BMX riders, was similarly enthused, adding that such a park is crucial if Singapore's athletes want to be competitive overseas.
'It's fundamental: If you haven't got the facility to practise on, there's no way you can develop those skills,' he said.
It was a sentiment echoed by local athletes, who were thrilled to finally have a proper place to practise.
Local BMX rider Ng Chee Keong, 26, recalled the time when he had to build his own ramp out of dirt to practise. He has been riding for 10 years.
Even when a proper skate park was built in Orchard Road, it was not enough to help local athletes prepare for international competitions.
'There, the highest ramp is only 1.8m. Here, we have one that is 3.6m high,' he said.
But more than just having a new place to skate, local extreme sportsmen were pleasantly surprised that three ministers were present for the launch. They took it as recognition that the sport was finally stepping out of the shadows of its more mainstream cousins.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong officially opened the park. He was accompanied by National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan and Community Development, Youth and Sports Minister Vivian Balakrishnan.
Dr Balakrishnan acknowledged that extreme sports was starting to appear on the radar in Singapore. 'In the last five years, in fact more, we have certainly given extreme sports a place on our national sporting agenda,' he said.
And he added that the rise of extreme sports - where athletes often engage in risky stunts - was part of a larger change in society.
'It is part of a greater transformation of our attitude - our attitudes to risk, how we deal with risk, and how we take responsibility for those risks. It is part of a larger transformation of society.'
A survey conducted by the Singapore Sports Council in 2005 showed that some 30,000 Singaporeans participate in various forms of extreme sports. More than half, or 18,000, are inline skaters and skateboarders.
$8m skate park opens in East Coast
It's world class, says X-Gamer
Zaihan Mohamed Yusof, The New Paper 31 Aug 09;
THE 'ooohs' and 'aaahs' echoed loudly at a brand new skate-park in East Coast Park yesterday.
The 1,000-strong crowd, with their necks craned skywards, were treated to a dizzying show of aerial acrobatics by professional extreme games athletes at the inaugural Singapore Extreme Championship 2009.
The competitors came from various disciplines like Skateboarding, Aggressive in-line Skating and BMX Freestyling.
Earlier, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong 'planted' a skateboard into a 'launch' mechanism to officially open the $8 million Xtreme Skatepark @ East Coast, near Bedok jetty.
PM Lee wasn't the only person 'planting' yesterday.
At the Combo Bowl - one of the three sections at the skate park - famous X-Games in-line skater Takeshi Yasutoko performed hand plants as well.
The trick involved him staying temporarily inverted with only one hand supporting his body at the lip of the ramp.
Known as the Japanese Bullet, Takeshi executed more stunts, launching himself as high as 2m into the air in a series of back flips and somersaults.
Said Takeshi, 23, who is in Singapore for the first time: 'This is a cool skate park because the concrete surface is smooth.'
S'poreans lucky
X-Games BMX rider Tim Wood said Singaporeans were fortunate.
Said the 34-year-old Australian: 'Singaporeans are lucky to have the facilities to learn how to be better skaters and riders. When I was growing up, I had to build my own ramp. And I had no one mentoring me.'
Wood's largest ramp, which he had built in his backyard, cost more than $60,000.
He added: 'What you have here is world-class.'
The skate park, built on 1.4ha of land, is about the size of 21/2 football fields.
It has three courses with unique features like bank walls, ledges and ramps of differing heights.
The skate park, a joint project by National Parks Board, the National Youth Council and the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS), only became a reality because of what young Singaporeans said they wanted in 2004.
Dream big
Said Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Dr Vivian Balakrishnan: 'I hope it would inspire young people. In Singapore, you can dream big dreams.'
The skatepark also represented a 'transformation of attitudes'.
He added: 'We used to be very risk-averse. If anything goes wrong, we will look for someone to blame... In life, you choose the level of risk you are happy with and pursue your dreams.'
Taking risks to the extreme were 80 participants from the region.
The competitors perfected their stunts during yesterday morning's practice session.
It was a combination of gravity-defying tricks blended with some spectacular spills.
One of them told The New Paper on Sunday that he liked what he saw at the skate park.
Said Mr Mohd Zamri, team manager of the 11-man Malaysian contingent: 'The park is perfect with its combination of a street course and challenging ramps/bowls.
'In Malaysia, a skate park is usually designed as a street course, not a combination of different courses.'
Closer to the sidelines, the future of extreme games athletes may have already got the bug.
Boys like Samuel, 7, were spotted getting 'air-time' on their skate-scooters and skateboards.
After managing to get the wheels of his skate-scooter 2cm off the ground, Samuel, an American, said: 'I don't know what you call this trick. I just made it up a few minutes ago.'
The finals will be held today.
Entry is free.
Extreme take-off
Extreme sports enthusiasts thrilled with $8m East Coast skate park that meets world competition standards
Tan Yi Hui, Sunday Times 6 Sep 09;
It is a weekday evening but the newly opened Xtreme SkatePark in East Coast Park is busy.
Two teenage skateboarders attempt stunts and receive the occasional whoop and applause from other users of the park, which include inline skaters and BMX riders.
Only a few days after its official launch last week, the $8-million facility, a joint development by the National Parks Board and the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports, is already being put to good use by enthusiasts.
Extreme sports, which encompasses aggressive inline skating, BMX freestyle riding and skateboarding, first took root here in the late 1980s, with enthusiasts carving their skills on the streets or in small, neighbourhood skate parks.
With the 1.4ha Xtreme SkatePark, they now have a facility that meets international competition standards. The park features a street course packed with obstacles and a 3.6m Vertical Bowl, a challenging pit for advanced athletes.
More importantly, say insiders, the park is a sign that the Government recognises the growing popularity of extreme sports and that it has gone from being a niche activity to a mainstream obsession.
A survey conducted by the Singapore Sports Council in 2005 showed that about 30,000 Singaporeans participate in extreme sports, with 18,000 of them being inline skaters and skateboarders.
This is an almost sixfold leap compared to the number in the late 1980s, says Action Sports Association president Eddie Goh.
Adrenaline booster
Mr Zeeshaun Sheikh, owner of online shop Boards And Stuff Skateshop, says he has seen a 20 per cent jump in sales of skate products compared with last year. And over at the Singapore Inline Skating Training Centre off Farrer Road, chief executive officer Law Kum Seng says business has grown in recent years. They declined to give figures.
The burgeoning interest in extreme sports also bodes well for the competitive scene. The authorities have said they welcome organisers of international competitions to stage their events here, including the annual Kia X Games Asia, which has been held in Phuket and Kuala Lumpur.
When contacted, ESPN Star Sports, a major promoter of extreme sports, says it would 'definitely look at any opportunity to bring the X Games Asia to Singapore'.
Competitive BMX rider Ng Chee Keong, who has taken part in events held in places such as Thailand and Canada, says: 'I've been waiting for this park for a very long time. We should finally be able to catch up with athletes from other countries in one to two years.' The self-employed 27-year-old used to drive up to Kuala Lumpur on weekends to train.
Competitive athletes aside, the leap of extreme sports into mainstream popularity also m
