Haze hits para athletes

Vanessa Kang, The Straits Times AsiaOne 25 Oct 15;

The haze has cast a pall over Singapore for much of the last two months and it has also become a major issue for local athletes preparing for the Dec 3 to 9 ASEAN Para Games (APG).

The thick smog has led to cancellations of outdoor training sessions or relocation to less-than-suitable training venues.

For instance, the Republic's 17-strong track-and-field squad have had their programmes severely disrupted. Earlier this month, they went 10 consecutive days without training.

Said coach Muhamad Hosni: "Our athletes cannot train because of the haze. It is at a dangerous level and unhealthy for training."

For the former national sprinter and SEA Games bronze medallist, indoor gym work can act as an alternative but it is a poor substitute.

"There is a world of difference training on a treadmill as the treadmill is more controlled while on the track, you can feel the pull of gravity and the wind conditions can slow you down," he explained.

"You can push yourself more on the track compared to the treadmill."

Even when they do manage to train outdoors, recovery takes longer, noted para-sprinter Lieu Teck Hua, who competes in the 100m and 200m (T42) sprints.

"My throat is a little dry when I run and I'll experience a little coughing afterwards," he said.

Added wheelchair sprinter (400m, 800m) Jack Lai: "It really affects me because if I miss training for a long stretch, whatever progress I've made is wasted and I have to start all over again."

In recent weeks, the haze has consistently shot above the unhealthy level of 101.

The 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) hit a 2015 high of 267 to 322 on Sept 25 and on Wednesday, the PM2.5 particles reading, an air pollutant smaller than 2.5 micrometres, reached 442 micrograms per cubic metre in the west, the highest this year. The World Health Organisation's maximum average annual exposure level is 10.

Instead of practising their drills on a full-sized field, the cerebral palsy football team now train in a semi-sheltered futsal facility in Kovan to avoid the haze whenever the PSI goes beyond 120.

This was not ideal for coach Mohamed Zainudeen but he was left with little choice.

He said: "It's a small pitch, about half the size of the actual pitch, so we can't do drills like crossing or finishing and can only play small-sided games."

The APG, hosted in Singapore for the first time, will feature 3,000 athletes and officials from 11 participating nations.

Of the 15 sports contested, five will be held outdoors or in naturally ventilated venues. These are archery (Kallang Cricket Field), athletics and cerebral palsy football (National Stadium), sailing (Marina Bay) and swimming (OCBC Aquatic Centre).

With recent reports indicating that the haze, caused by forest fires in Indonesia, may last until early next year, para-athletes are unlikely to train under clear skies from now until the APG.

But that should not stop them from giving their all, noted chef de mission Raja Singh.

He said: "It is the athletes' responsibility to perform and to psych themselves up and not give excuses like the haze.

"They have to be strong in mind and character to do their best and train as hard as possible. Being elite athletes, they need to be composed and their performance should not be compromised."

Having returned from the last APG in Myanmar in January 2014 empty-handed, the athletics team are determined to put in an improved showing on home soil - haze or no haze.

Said Lieu: "We have committed our time to training and we do not want our hard work to go to down the drain, we want to achieve something."

Stranded in Langkawi - How effects of haze hit home
Audrey Tan, Straits Times AsiaOne 25 Oct 15;

I was one of the nearly 3,000 people left stranded in Langkawi recently because of the haze.

What was supposed to be an 85-minute flight back to Singapore eventually turned into a 41-hour-long adventure involving two cancelled flights, a three-hour ferry ride and a 10-hour bus journey.

During the five-day vacation on the island of Langkawi, located off north-western Malaysia, the haze kept its nose out of our itinerary - which consisted mostly of swimming, diving and lazing by the beach.

That is, until last Tuesday, when my colleague and I were due to fly back to Singapore from the Langkawi International Airport.

We were given some idea of how bad the situation was on the way to the airport, when the taxi driver complained about how the jerebu - Bahasa for haze - had returned with a vengeance. And he warned that in the past, the haze had forced planes to be grounded.

This was exactly what happened when we reached the airport. First, we were informed that the 3.40pm Tigerair flight we were taking back home had been delayed.

Then, our worst fears were realised at about 5pm, when the sign came up to indicate that the flight had been cancelled. We were told that poor visibility meant aircraft could not land.

The next flight was at 11am the next day and the airline put us up at a nearby hotel.

But the next morning, that flight was first delayed for four hours, and then cancelled.

By this point, the small Langkawi International Airport was filled with stranded passengers huddling near charging points, or lounging in any available seat.

But people seemed mostly relaxed and we did not encounter anyone making a fuss.

The staff were also helpful and polite, patiently answering our many questions.

The next Tigerair flight for Singapore was scheduled to depart only on Friday, and even then there was no guarantee it would not be cancelled.

So, at about 3pm on Wednesday, my colleague and I decided to find another route back - a three-hour ferry ride to Penang, then a 10-hour bus ride to Singapore.

And we had to make these arrangements within an hour if we wanted to make the last ferry to Penang.

As we scrambled to call home, send e-mail to our bosses and change more money, Rachel and I met two other Singaporeans who helped us book bus tickets online.

We arrived in Singapore early on Thursday morning - tired, hungry and glad to be home.

As an environment reporter with The Straits Times, I have written much about how the haze has affected lives.

But it took an incident like this to drive home the long-reaching effects of the haze.

Imagine how much worse it is for those living at ground zero.