Singapore sports events up for global award

SINGAPORE — Two Singapore-based sports events have garnered nominations at this year’s International Sports Event Management (ISEM) Awards.

The 2013 Sundown Marathon and the ONE Fighting Championship (ONE FC) will be vying for the Most Innovative Event gong at the annual awards, which recognises excellence in the global sports event management industry.

They will be up against the Julius Baer Beach Polo Cup Dubai 2013, the Kazan Universiade 2013, the Prudential RideLondon and the University College of Football Business (UCFB) launch at Wembley Stadium. The winner will be announced at the ISEM Awards in London on Nov 6.

This is the second time that both the Sundown Marathon and One FC have been nominated for the award.

Both were also in the running last year alongside the 2012 London Olympics and the Innsbruck Youth Olympic Games. The Innsbruck YOG eventually won the award.

Adrian Mok, the Director of HiVelocity Events which organises the Sundown Marathon, said he was particularly pleased with the nomination as this year’s edition is his company’s most successful to date.

About 30,000 people took part in this year’s event, making it Asia’s largest night marathon. The first Sundown Marathon in 2008 had 6,000 participants.

“Every year, we look for ways to improve our event, and this year was no different,” said the 38-year-old.

To widen the appeal of this year’s Sundown, HiVelocity introduced new team relay categories — teams of two and four — for the 100km ultra-marathon race.

The race was also held over two nights to ease congestion, and this year’s Sundown Festival Village at the F1 pit building provided food and entertainment for the runners. Activities included Zumba sessions, movie marathons and live band performances.

Said Mok: “It is about creating more than just a race event, and I think that has been welcomed by the ISEM committee.”

Victor Cui, the Chairman and Chief Executive of ONE FC, takes it as a badge of honour that his two-year-old Singapore-based mixed martial arts company — which has staged nine events so far this year — has been nominated for a second year running.

“The world is recognising that an Asian-based organisation is bringing in a sport to the rest of the world — a sport that is uniquely Asian and enjoyed by potentially up to a billion viewers around the world,” he said.

“Our broadcast reaches 70 countries, and I think our global reach is commendable. For any sport to have that kind of reach, it is an indication of its success.”

Cui told TODAY that ONE FC recently received two awards from trade publication Asian Marketing Magazine for Best Engagement Strategy for Male Audience and the Best Relationship Marketing, Business-to-Consumer. He is now hoping to make it a hat-trick of awards.

“We are hopeful of winning the Most Innovative Event award this year,” he said.