Singapore sports round-up (29 Apr - 5 May): New Zealand wins both HSBC SVNS titles, new MyActiveSG+ platform

SINGAPORE — Here is a round-up of sports events and developments in Singapore in the past week (29 April to 5 May):

New Zealand teams win both titles at HSBC SVNS Singapore

New Zealand clinched both the men's and women's titles at the HSBC SVNS Singapore rugby sevens event at the National Stadium on Sunday (5 May), while Argentina’s men's team also claimed their first-ever HSBC SVNS league title.

In the women's final, New Zealand emerged 31-21 victors against Australia in a straight shootout to be crowned SVNS women's league winners and the first women’s HSBC SVNS Singapore champions. A hat-trick from Michaela Blyde set New Zealand to the overall league title, with both finalists tied on 106 points entering the final.

In the men's final, the New Zealand men were also triumphant, edging Ireland 17-14 to retain their Singapore title. Earlier, Argentina had to dig deep and find a way to win 14-10 over South Africa in the fifth-place play-off, coming back from 0-10 down at the break to secure their first HSBC SVNS overall series win.

The new look HSBC SVNS 2024 featured seven regular season events in Dubai, Cape Town, Perth, Vancouver, Los Angeles, Hong Kong and Singapore, where the league winners were decided, before the inaugural grand final in Madrid from 31 May to 2 June, when the HSBC SVNS 2024 champions will be crowned from the top eight teams from the regular season.

New MyActiveSG+ sports facilities booking platform launched

Sport Singapore (SportSG) announced on Friday (3 May) that it will be launching a new booking platform, MyActiveSG+, from 15 June to combat the use of bots and multiple accounts to book its sports facilities. The new web-based platform will replace its 10-year-old membership management system.

ActiveSG members can look forward to a fairer and more transparent system for booking facilities:

• Singpass app verification: Members are required to use Singpass for sign up and login to MyActiveSG+. This prevents people from holding multiple accounts for booking and balloting, as well as bots and scripters.

• Peak hour facility ballot: MyActiveSG+ will have a balloting feature for peak hour slots (6pm to 10pm from Mondays to Fridays, and 7am to 10pm on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays). These slots will remain open for 24 hours, allowing everyone to have a fair chance of booking their preferred slot. Unassigned slots from the peak-hour balloting exercise will be released for booking on a first-come-first-served basis at 12pm the next day. Bookings for all other slots will remain first-come-first-served.

With the new web-based platform, users will no longer need to install and regularly update an app on their mobile devices. The current app system will remain accessible until 1 October.

All facilities and programmes will be available for booking on MyActiveSG+ from 15 July, while seasonal and day passes to swimming pools and gyms will be available for purchase from 15 August.

ActiveSG members can start to login to MyActiveSG+ from 15 June, and their ActiveSG credits will be migrated in batches to the new system between 15 and 30 June. Those who login anytime between 15 June and 31 August will receive a one-time top-up of $10 credits.

ActiveSG members will be able to start using their ActiveSG credits on MyActiveSG+ by 1 July. There will also be an automatic extension of all ActiveSG credits to 31 December 2025.

ActiveSG will be ramping up support for users during this transition period, such as having on-site assistance at sport centres, as well as extended contact centre operating hours, reachable at 1800-3441177.

Sailors clinch Community Shield with 2-0 win over Albirex

Defending Singapore Cup champions Lion City Sailors defeated reigning Singapore Premier League (SPL) winners Albirex Niigata Singapore 2-0 in the Community Shield match - the season-opener to the 2024/25 SPL season - at Jalan Besar Stadium on Saturday (4 May).

Forward Shawal Anuar opened the scoring in the 43rd minute when he latched onto a superb through-pass by Maxime Lestienne to slot home. Lestienne, the reigning SPL Player of the Year, then slotted home a penalty in the 82nd minute to seal the victory for the Sailors in front of 4,148 fans.

The Sailors - who have added Croatian defender Toni Datkovic, Singapore midfielder Song Ui-young, Australian forward Obren Kljajic and Dutch playmaker Bart Ramselaar for the upcoming season - will begin their SPL title assault on Friday against Hougang United at Jalan Besar. Albirex will face BG Tampines Rovers on Sunday at the same venue.

Tickets for Lions' World Cup qualifier against South Korea on sale

Tickets for Singapore's 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifier against South Korea at National Stadium on 6 June are on sale at Ticketek. The stadium's full 50,000 capacity will be opened, with 5,000 tickets allocated for away fans.

Ticket prices will range between $10 (Category 1) and $40 (Category 5) across five ticket categories. Away fans will be seated exclusively in the West Zone area, with tickets priced at $30 each.

Those seeking a premium matchday experience can look forward to the new hospitality package, which is priced at $150 per person, excluding booking fees. Fans can enjoy a range of on-site privileges at the stadium, including dedicated entry, expedited security clearance, access to the OCBC Lounge two hours before kick-off and during halftime, and an exclusive meet-and-greet session with Singapore's Lions legends.

A limited bundle promotion exclusively for Singaporean fans will also be available during the presale period, where they can enjoy a 60 per cent discount when purchasing four Category 2 tickets at the Home (Singapore) East Zone at just $40, down from $100. This offer is on a first-come, first-served basis, with only 800 tickets (200 bundles of four) available.

Match tickets can be purchased onsite at the Singapore Sports Hub box office at Kallang Wave Mall on match day from 3pm until 9:45pm, subject to availability.

Brooks Koepka wins LIV Golf Singapore by 2 strokes

American golfer Brooks Koepka warmed up for his PGA Championship title defence in two weeks' time, as he clinched the LIV Golf Singapore title by two strokes at Sentosa Golf Club on Sunday (5 May).

The former world No.1 closed with a three-under-par 68 at the Serapong Course for a 15-under 198 total to hold off a late charge by Australians Cameron Smith (64) and Marc Leishman (66), both of whom finished joint-second on 200. Koepka thus becomes the first golfer in LIV Golf history to win four individual tournament titles.

While Smith and Leishman came up just short in their individual title charges, they were nonetheless able help their team Ripper GC clinch a second straight team title, following their dramatic playoff victory in Adelaide. Ripper finished with a 32-under 678 total, three strokes ahead of joint runners-up Fireballs GC and Cleeks GC.

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