Clementi to have beach volleyball court
By Patwant Singh, Channel NewsAsia
SINGAPORE : It is a game that is usually associated with the hip
and fun crowd.
But now, the Volleyball Association of Singapore (VAS) wants to
reach out to more Singaporeans by introducing a beach volleyball
court right in the heartlands of Clementi.
For a start, the VAS kicked off its first Beach Volleyball Open at
Sentosa.
Held over two weekends, the tournament attracted a total of 29
teams,
as the final 12 teams vied for the $1,000 top prize on
Saturday.
In the women's finals, the pair from Team Ax proved too strong to
win the title and prize.
Ms Angelina Scanlon, Champion Team of VAS Beach Volleyball Open
2005, said: "I think it is hard because the opponent really pushed
us. It is going to be really hard to keep the title, we will try
our best."
The men's category was won by a team called Thai-Sing.
It was aptly named as the winning pair comprised Singaporean Melvin
Tan and his Thai partner Chinnakorn Lintharaphet.
But the popularity of the Sentosa event is only a prelude of things
to come as the organisers embark on bringing the beach and fun to
the heartlands.
Mr Arthur Fong, President of VAS, said: "We have beach volleyball
coming on in the heartlands. And actually I might want to blow some
trumpet here because the first beach volleyball at the heartlands
in Clementi will come on stream this year. And also I hear that
Singapore Polytechnic, including their sports centre, will also
have a beach volleyball court."
And beach volleyball players can look forward to competing beyond
Singapore's shores. It has been revealed that the VAS has been
invited by Indonesia to join its league. - CNA/de