Athletes’ accommodation decided by location, sports
SINGAPORE — Athletes and officials for the 28th SEA Games will be housed according to their respective sports and proximity to their competition venues, the Singapore SEA Games Organising Committee (SINGSOC) revealed today (May 27).
SINGAPORE — Athletes and officials for the 28th SEA Games will be housed according to their respective sports and proximity to their competition venues, the Singapore SEA Games Organising Committee (SINGSOC) revealed today (May 27).
A total of 20 hotels, including the Marina Bay Sands, Swissotel The Stamford and Pan Pacific Singapore, will provide accommodation for over 10,000 athletes and officials from across 11 South-east Asian countries during the June 5 to 16 SEA Games.
Based on SINGSOC’s “Celebration in the City” concept, the hotels chosen are located within the city centre near the Sports Hub, where most of the competitions and fringe activities will be held.
The accessibility of each hotel to the respective competition venues was a key factor in deciding where athletes for each of the 36 sports would be housed, said SINGSOC’s Chief of Manpower and Games Engagement Rostam Umar.
Speaking at a media tour of two participating hotels in Ramada Singapore at Zhongshan Park — which will house the gymnasts and shooters — and Days Hotel today, Rostam added that “comparisons (between hotels) were bound to happen”, but remained confident the respective sport associations would be understanding.
“We want to reduce travelling time between the hotel and competition venues so the athletes can focus on the training and competition rather than on travelling,” he said.
“We also wanted to leverage on the infrastructure of these hotels because they have systems, processes and personnel who know how to deal with professional athletes as guests.
“In addition, housing athletes of the same sport in the same hotel can help facilitate the building of relationships between athletes and officials from different countries.”
Though the SEA Games opening ceremony is on June 5, most of the football teams have arrived ahead of the opening matches in Group B between Vietnam and Brunei, and record 14-time champions Thailand and Laos at the Bishan Stadium tomorrow.
Days Hotel, which is about a 10-minute drive to the Jalan Besar and Bishan Stadiums — both venues will stage the group games of the men’s under-23 football competition — from its Balestier Road location, will house the football teams.
“Everything is well-prepared here at the Days hotel,” said Singapore captain Al-Qaasimy Rahman. “Security is tight to ensure to players’ safety and we’re treated really nicely so I have no complaints about our accommodation thus far.”