SINGAPORE \u2013 A steady drumbeat thudded across the basin at the Water Sports Centre in Kallang on Nov 13, 2026 as rows of seniors in matching jerseys dug their paddles into the water, eyes locked on the finish line.<\/p>\n
The goal: cover 200m faster than every other boat.<\/p>\n
In all, 260 seniors aged 60 to 88 took part in Singapore\u2019s first dragon boat championships for older adults, with 26 teams from NTUC Health Active Ageing Centres (AACs) racing across five heats.<\/p>\n
The event was part of the Singapore Regatta Waterfest 2026, organised by NTUC Health and the Kallang with Sport Singapore and the Singapore Dragon Boat Association,<\/p>\n
It grew out of a three-year programme that paired National Junior College dragon boat students with seniors from NTUC Health\u2019s centres.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe started hearing how excited the seniors were about dragon boating,\u201d says Lily Yeo, head of NTUC Health Active Ageing Centres.<\/p>\n
She recalled an 84-year-old woman whose family warned her it was too dangerous. Her reply? \u201cIf I don\u2019t join, when will be the next opportunity?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Yeo said the aim goes beyond fitness.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a very negative perception of ageing, and an assumption that once you\u2019re old, you shouldn\u2019t do certain things. It\u2019s not so much about the exercise, but about trying something new. That gives them the confidence to take on even more,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Lam Hang Thong (left), 88, the oldest participant in Singapore\u2019s first dragon-boat championships dedicated to older adults, poses with his NTUC Health Active Ageing Centre (Redhill) teammates after their race at the Water Sports Centre on Nov 13, 2026.<\/p>\n SPH Media Limited<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n At 88, Lam Hang Thong from NTUC Health AAC (Redhill) was the oldest paddler on the water.<\/p>\n The former electronics plant operator, who retired at 60, visits the AAC near his home five times a week and signed up after a staff member encouraged him to. He rarely exercised in his younger days but enjoyed occasional fishing trips. As a boy in a kampung, he rowed a sampan with friends.<\/p>\n \u201cI know how to swim, so I am not scared to get into the water,\u201d said the grandfather of three in Mandarin.<\/p>\n His team trained for two hours every Monday morning over 12 weeks.<\/p>\n Programme associate Megan Chan, 29, who drums for the team, rallied the nine senior paddler just before the race. A steersperson who is not a senior guided the boat.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you feel lost, look at my hand or look at your team members. One, two. My hand go up, your hand also go up. Let\u2019s go Redhill!\u201d she shouted, as they threw their hands into the air.<\/p>\n Lam admitted to feeling nervous.<\/p>\n \u201cI am scared that we will not be in sync. If one person is fast and another is slower, the boat won\u2019t move fast,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Redhill lined up against Kampung Admiralty, Kampung Kembangan, Whampoa and Bedok North in a five-boat race. When the horn sounded, Kampung Kembangan surged ahead and was first past the 50m mark.<\/p>\n Redhill finished fourth in 1 minute and 32 seconds.<\/p>\n Lam\u2019s teammate M. Ramasamy, 79, was disappointed but shrugged it off.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is my first time paddling, and I had a lot of fun,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Lam was also unfazed.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is just an event for us to test our physical ability. We did not go in expecting to win anything.\u201d<\/p>\n Yeo said the placing was secondary.<\/p>\n \u201cThe important thing is they show up for every training, and they form very good teamwork and relationships,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n NTUC Health Serangoon Central AAC took top honours, crossing the finish line in 1 minute 17 seconds. The top three teams received trophies and medals, while the remaining competitors each took home a participation medal.<\/p>\n Peggy Ong, 83, drumming for the Geylang Serai Active Ageing Centre team during Singapore\u2019s first dragon-boat championships dedicated to older adults at the Water Sports Centre on Nov 13, 2026.<\/p>\n SPH Media Limited<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n \u201cI think we won because we were one. We worked hard to be in sync,\u201d said Siti Aznah, 69, whose winning team had trained weekly since August.<\/p>\n Lam had reservations about the experience.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think dragon boating is very suitable for seniors, because we\u2019re out under the hot sun and the boat is a little unstable. We even fell into the water once during practice,\u201d he said with a laugh.<\/p>\n Still, he would encourage other seniors to give the sport a try.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you don\u2019t, you\u2019ll never know what you\u2019re capable of, though you do have to know your own physical limits.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n SINGAPORE \u2013 A steady drumbeat thudded across the basin at the Water Sports Centre in Kallang on Nov 13, 2026 as rows of seniors in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":99345,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2611],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-99344","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buzz-headlines","wpcat-2611-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99344","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=99344"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99344\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/99345"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=99344"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=99344"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=99344"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/picture><\/div>
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