SINGAPORE: Health Minister Ong Ye Kung and Sembawang GRC member of parliament Dr Lim Wee Kiak joined about 200 residents at the opening of the largest ActiveSg gym in Singapore over the weekend, Oct 29. The 1,500 square metre new gym and two dance studios marked the completion of the new ActiveSG Sports Centre at Bukit Canberra, following the opening of its four swimming pools on Oct 15.
During the opening of the AcitveSG gym at Bukit Canberra, Health Minister Ong and MP Dr Lim joined the residents in the Oxigeno® and Piloxing session. Addressing the crowd, Minister Ong and Dr Lim shared their excitement for the new ActiveSG programmes and facilities. The inclusive gym caters to varying physical abilities, and it features new HUR machines (pic below) that use air pressure in place of traditional weights. This new equipment will enable users of varying abilities to work out safely and more efficiently.
Apart from the gym, there are also two dance studios. It offers a variety of accessible and affordable learn-to-play programs such as Oxigeno®, Piloxing, Hatha Yoga and Zumba. These programmes will be available for bookings from November onwards. In support of Singapore’s move to encourage active ageing, Sport Singapore has announced that all Singaporeans aged 65 and above will continue to have free access to ActiveSG gym and swimming pools, including the newly opened facilities at Bukit Canberra.
Health Minister Ong also posted a video on social media of himself working out with residents at the largest ActiveSG gym at Bukit Canberra, with the caption, ‘Get energised at the largest ActiveSG gym in SG, here at Bukit Canberra! #makesembawangspecial #OKwithOYK’. You may view the video below. (Video credit: Facebook screengrab/ongyekung)
During the opening of the swimming pool earlier in the month, Dr Lim explained that the idea for the Bukit Canberra integrated sports and community hub was first mooted more than a decade ago. It was supposed to open a few years ago, but it was pushed back due to the pandemic.
“This has been a project in the making for at least 15 years. We started talking about this 15 years ago, we should have a swimming pool. At that point in time, the problem was Sembawang was too small. Everybody either has to either go to Woodlands or Yishun. The residents have feedback can we have a swimming pool of our own,” said Dr Lim, the MP for the Canberra division in the Sembawang GRC.
The ActiveSG Sports Centre @ Bukit Canberra comes under the Sports Facilities Master Plan, which aims to bring more innovative, accessible, inclusive and relevant sports facilities to all Singaporeans. The plan also seeks to improve accessibility to sporting facilities by situating them within a 10-minute walk from housing estates by around 2030.