Since March 2020, children in Singapore have been unable to play outdoor team sports in a regular format. From no sports at all, to groups of 5.... then 8.... then 2.... then back to 5....then back to 2 with masks on, then back to 5, and again back to 2 with children under 12 not allowed to play ANY sports.... When will these yo-yo restrictions end?

Whilst most measures taken over the past 18 months have been totally understandable, the rules for outdoor team sports have been overly strict and punitive, both for clubs - who have been struggling to survive - and children who end up training and playing in very odd formats, let alone the collateral damages that this situation causes in terms of mental health, kids being overexposed to screen (myopia cases have been on the rise) and the list could go on and on.

What fun is there to play 1vs 1 or 2 vs 2 football? How about the actual impact on players' performance when they eventually go back to regular format? How much of their skills and capabilities will they have lost? How about their losing interest in practicing the sport itself?

Is intermingling in schools, which have (thankfully) remained mostly open in Singapore, even with masks on, less risky than children from the same club training outdoors together on a large football pitch or basketball court? What about packed malls, MRT, buses, religious and other events with 50 to 300 people? Are those less risky than 16 children playing 8 vs 8 football outdoors, with very limited contact? Can the MOH and SportSG actually trace any case(s) of Covid19 which would have originated in any outdoor sport situations?

Limiting dining group numbers is fair enough. Does it make sense for the 2, 5 or 8 people cap to apply to everything else in our daily lives no matter what the context is, especially outdoors? 

Children need team sports, to be in competitive situations, it's fundamental to their well-being and a matter of physical and mental health. 

As a foreigner living in Singapore since 2016, I am very grateful for the opportunity to be here and despite my frustrations believe that Singapore has handled the pandemic well. Prevent me from traveling, from dining in large groups, having big parties at home, impose mask indoors and outdoors, I have no issue with those preventive measures. However now that we have such a high percentage of the population fully vaccinated, please let us have a somewhat normal life at the very least outdoors, and above all allow our children to play sports, gather at the playground with their friends, kick the ball around. 

Thank you for your support, let's keep our children saNe!