More Water Sports Could Be Held At Marina Bay

Source : Channel NewsAsia, 26 August 2007

SINGAPORE: WaterFest 2007 saw 18,000 people throng the floating platform at Marina Bay for performances like the aqua acrobatics of the "Stars of China" to regular events like banana boat rides.

One sport, known as 'Rail Jam' or 'wakeboarding on land', brings the moves closer to fans.

Amidst the fancy moves, at stake was a spot in the upcoming Wakeboard World Cup for some Singaporean wakeboarders, including rising star, 16-year-old Matthew Christian.

"I will be training a lot. I will be trying to win regional competitions and maybe after winning them, I will go international and see where I stand from there," said Matthew.

This year, despite the lack of a title sponsor, the Wakeboard World Cup will be staged at Bedok with big names competing.

Paul Fong, general manager of Singapore Waterski and Wakeboard Federation, said: "We are also going to explore a new venue as well. Maybe we can explore this fine venue with this fine city skyline. The Wakeboard World Cup is here to stay – we have partners on board who really believe in it and we have a big wakeboarding community. We are very lucky that the Singapore Sports Council believes in this particular sport."

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More water sports could be held at Marina Bay

Organisers are also confident that a move to Marina could help gain a main sponsor.

Another plus point is, the sport is seeing growing popularity, especially at the universities.

Jetski, too, is set to take off, especially with the introduction of the Jetsports Supercourse Team Challenge.

The endurance race uses the more powerful four-stroke machines, capable of hitting 100 kilometres per hour.

Justin Lee, president of the Singapore Powerboat Association, said: "We already have One Degree 15 Marina Club wanting to run a series. It's very good to know that the Association is getting that kind of support, (as it fits) the profile of their clientele. All of them are business people and they have taken jetski in a first place as a recreational sport. Now we have this format to cater to them, so it will be a wonderful thing to get them into the sporting scene."

Marina Bay is deemed to be the place for water sports, more so when it is turned into a freshwater lake in 2008. - CNA/so