Singapore urban sport athletes hope for better facilities, support in bid for 2028 Olympics

SINGAPORE: At just three years old, Felix Balzer got his first taste of skateboarding and never looked back.

Now aged nine, the young athlete competed at the qualifiers for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, held in Dubai earlier this year. 

Although he failed to secure a spot at the Games next month, the schoolboy hopes to qualify for future editions.

The earliest he can do so? The 2028 Games in Los Angeles in the United States.

“My favourite part (about skateboarding) is that it’s extreme,” he told CNA. 

“There's a lot of creativity, like you can invent tricks. And it’s about the community - it's great.”

In a move to attract a wider and younger audience, skateboarding and sport climbing made their Olympic debuts at the delayed Tokyo Games in 2021.

With both sports now included in the quadrennial Summer Games, urban sport athletes in Singapore like Felix are hoping for better facilities and support in order to leave their mark at the world’s premier sporting event.

“A POSITIVE CHANGE”

National climber Luke Goh, 21, did not qualify for this year’s Games too, but told CNA that he feels even more pumped about his future chances.

“It gets taken more seriously because it's in the Olympics now, and I'm really glad that over the years, we've seen this huge growth in climbing and how climbing is perceived in the general public. So it is a positive change,” he added.

At the Olympics, sport climbing involves three formats – bouldering, speed and lead.

Now that it is part of the Olympics and the Asian Games, Goh hopes it will also make its way to the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games. The next edition of the regional event will take place in Thailand next year.

“If we just look at it, the SEA Games prepares (athletes) for the Asian Games, the Asian Games prepares (them) for Olympics. Obviously, it will be a very good stepping stone for athletes looking to take their competitive journey to the next level,” noted Goh, who was crowned champion of last year’s Southeast Asian Boulder League.

In terms of Singapore’s prowess, Goh said its sport climbing athletes can “definitely get medals”.

“I don't really doubt our capability in that. It will be hard work regardless, but I’m pretty sure we can,” he added.

Nevertheless, he said the baby steps also matter – like finding more ways to get people interested and excited about the sport, along with having better climbing facilities in Singapore.

TAKING SKATEBOARDING SERIOUSLY

As more youngsters think of taking skateboarding seriously, Felix similarly hopes more dedicated venues can be built.

“A lot of people want to learn how to skate, especially the young ones, so I wish one day there'll be more people trying to learn how to skate,” he told CNA.

While competing at this year’s Olympic qualifiers, he said he naturally felt somewhat nervous but great overall.

“The level there is, like, way higher than all around the world – every country was there and they have Olympic bowls, so they can practise a lot there,” he added.

“I really hope one day, they'll build an indoor park with Olympic-sized bowls (in Singapore).”