SINGAPORE – The national sports associations for netball, floorball and waterskiing have expressed concern over the news that the maximum number of non-Olympic sports in the SEA Games would be reduced from eight to four starting from Bangkok 2025.

Malaysian media on Dec 16 reported Olympic Council of Malaysia president Norza Zakaria as saying: “The SEA Games Federation has amended the Games charter to limit the number of non-Olympic sports to four in the competition.”

He added that this is necessary to restore the quality of the biennial meet, which has been derided as “kampung Games”. Hosts have been known to include traditional sports to inflate their medal tally. For example, 2023 hosts Cambodia introduced local martial arts kun khmer and kun bokator and won 22 out of 40 gold medals on offer.

Norza’s statement was in line with what Singapore National Olympic Council secretary-general Chris Chan told The Straits Times after May’s Cambodia Games.

While announcing that the next three SEA Games in Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore respectively will feature a standard programme to help regional athletes better prepare for the Olympics and Asian Games, he said the compulsory Category 1 will be made up of two groups – 1A, which comprises aquatics and athletics; and 1B, which is a minimum of 10 Olympic sports from Tokyo 2020.

Hosts will also need to include at least 10 other sports from Tokyo 2020, Asian Games and Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games programmes under Category 2. Winter Olympic sports may also be added. Category 3 will remain for up to four regional or traditional sports, down from eight.

Under the previous charter, each Games must have both Category 1 sports, aquatics and athletics, and at least 14 Category 2 sports from the Olympics and Asian Games.

Siam Sport reported in January that the SEA Games 2025 sub-committee had shortlisted 43 sports, which will be confirmed at least 12 months before the Games.

Calling the amendment to the Games programme a “big concern”, Netball Singapore chief executive Cyrus Medora said it could potentially affect the sport’s place in the biennial meet.

Netball made its SEA Games debut in 2001 in Malaysia before featuring again at three consecutive Games from 2015 to 2019, with Singapore winning one gold (in 2015) and three silvers. However, it was left out of the 2021 and 2023 Games.

Medora added: “We have been working hard with other countries like the Philippines and Vietnam to promote netball there.

“We have sent coaches there and sponsored their trips here at our own cost to help them learn how to play the sport and organise competitions, and we have seen the results with the Philippines finishing fifth at the 2022 Asian Netball Championships.”

Singapore Floorball Association president Ben Ow felt that while it is necessary to limit the number of traditional sports, he hopes it will not come at the expense of emerging team sports like floorball.

The sport was first staged at the 2015 Games in Singapore and was played in the 2019 and 2023 editions with the Republic claiming four golds, one silver and one bronze.

He said: “It would be a pity if floorball gets cut because we have been working hard to keep the sport in the programme and promote it in the region.

“Unlike in Europe, there are not many international floorball competitions in this region, and the SEA Games are really important for our players’ development.”

Meanwhile, waterskiing was featured at the Games as early as the 1983 edition in Singapore, with the Republic racking up 20 medals from the 2011, 2015, 2017 and 2019 editions.

Singapore Waterski and Wakeboard Federation vice-president Marcus Lee said the reduction in Category 3 sports “does put all of us under the pump”.

He added that they have been in discussions with their regional counterparts, who will be presenting “value propositions” to their national Olympic committees to include towed water sports (waterski, wakeboard, cable wakeboard and wakesurf) in the next three SEA Games.

Lee said: “More than our good track record, good training facilities and a new generation of athletes to continue that tradition, we believe towed water sports are good for engaging youth, and are TV- and spectator-friendly, which tick the boxes of what major Games sports should be.”