CAPTains at the 47th National Athletics Championships
16 Mar 2019
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On 16 March 2019, four of us from the Deaf Exploratory Committee went down to the 47th National Athletics Championships 2019 to support the participating deaf students from Beatty Secondary School. This yearly event is organised by the Singapore Disability Sports Council and is the longest-running championship in Singapore’s disability sports history. Athletes with various disabilities participate in track and field activities from sprints to field events. In the time we were there, we interacted with the teachers and deaf students from Beatty Secondary and through our conversations, we learned more about the deaf community – we saw how their inability to hear did not prevent them from being competitive.
While there, we realised that some communication issues can arise at the start of the track events since the deaf are unable to hear the sounds that signals the start of the race. We saw how technology was implemented to deal with these issues – starting light devices are on the running track that synchronised with the starting pistol. They change colours from red to amber to green to signal athletes when to go. There was also an event where there were racing wheelchairs and another where guide runners ran with the blind.
Besides having the opportunity to get to know the deaf students better, we also learned more about how sports can be made to include people with different needs. Overall, it was a very enriching learning experience.
“It was heartening to see the efforts put in by event organizers to facilitate competitive sports that cater to each of the athletes’ disabilities. I appreciate this opportunity and gained many insights into life within the deaf community through close interactions with students from Beatty Secondary School.” – Engracia Tan, Year 1, Social Work
“I was quite surprised by how small scale the event was and (probably) not a lot of Singaporeans know about disability sports. Before this, I only knew of Asian Para Games as the only event for people with disabilities to play sports. The trip was really eye-opening as I saw how the organising committee took into consideration the different needs of all the participants in order to make the event run well. Glad to be more aware of what Singapore is doing to include people with disabilities in the sporting field.” – Joy Chia, Year 1, Pharmacy
While there, we realised that some communication issues can arise at the start of the track events since the deaf are unable to hear the sounds that signals the start of the race. We saw how technology was implemented to deal with these issues – starting light devices are on the running track that synchronised with the starting pistol. They change colours from red to amber to green to signal athletes when to go. There was also an event where there were racing wheelchairs and another where guide runners ran with the blind.
Besides having the opportunity to get to know the deaf students better, we also learned more about how sports can be made to include people with different needs. Overall, it was a very enriching learning experience.
“It was heartening to see the efforts put in by event organizers to facilitate competitive sports that cater to each of the athletes’ disabilities. I appreciate this opportunity and gained many insights into life within the deaf community through close interactions with students from Beatty Secondary School.” – Engracia Tan, Year 1, Social Work
“I was quite surprised by how small scale the event was and (probably) not a lot of Singaporeans know about disability sports. Before this, I only knew of Asian Para Games as the only event for people with disabilities to play sports. The trip was really eye-opening as I saw how the organising committee took into consideration the different needs of all the participants in order to make the event run well. Glad to be more aware of what Singapore is doing to include people with disabilities in the sporting field.” – Joy Chia, Year 1, Pharmacy