Seeking the future of sports in Singapore
“I went to Singapore for esports, active gaming and new formats. I left studying how a city makes everyday activity inevitable,” writes Sport Waikato’s head of digital innovation, Leanne Bats. Over ten days, Leanne experienced firsthand how sport — particularly esports — and recreation are delivered in the Southeast Asian city state, while meeting with industry leaders and officials shaping the sector. Her visit was supported by a grant from the Foundation’s Sports Leaders Fund.
Leanne says she was amazed by the energy of the audience at a gaming tournament she visited, BLAST IV
Within 12 hours of landing, I was immersed in the real world of esports: BLAST IV, a major Dota 2 [multi-player action game] tournament. Theatre lighting. Broadcast muscle. A record 6.81 million hours watched for this series. It felt like live sport should feel: crowd energy, drama, skill under pressure. Proof that esports are sport, and that the next generation is already there.
I was in Singapore to better understand how a highly developed Asian city is thinking about the future of sport, particularly through the lenses of esports, active gaming, digital engagement, and emerging hybrid models of movement.
I was interested in what Singapore could reveal about how younger generations are being engaged, how technology is being used to make participation more compelling, and what lessons might be relevant for New Zealand.
What I found was broader than just sport tech. While I did see some strong examples of digital activation, the bigger learning was how intentionally Singapore has designed movement, play, and access to green space into daily life, so that physical activity feels much more like a default setting than a separate programme.
SuperPark is an indoor adventure playground for all ages
One of my first ports of call was SuperPark, an indoor adventure playground that runs on game logic, where movement is the input. Scores. Levels. Instant feedback. Kids climb, run, bounce and react across zones that feel like a game world. No one is told to exercise, yet everyone is moving.
Then Sparkd: a brain gym that pairs cognitive work with physical work: reaction, memory, dual tasking. People were laughing and sweating. Working hard without the grimace. When effort sits inside play, the tone of the room changes, not the results.
Sparkd promotes itself as Asia's first brain fitness hub
At Sparkd, I connected with founder and CEO Anna Milani and learned more about their “brain gym” model, where cognitive challenge and physical movement are combined in a highly engaging way.
We discussed the role of technology in creating more responsive and personalised movement experiences, and her thinking around the future “nano gym” concept, where a small footprint gym could eventually use technology to assess, guide, and tailor movement in real time. It was a very useful conversation, because it showed how digital tools can enhance movement experiences without becoming the whole story.
I also saw a Pokémon Go mall-takeover that turned Christmas retail into a location-based scavenger hunt, and a digital trail at the Botanic Gardens that turns a family walk into small quests. The pattern was clear: digital can turn effort into enjoyment.
Spaces for play and movement dot the city
But what really stood out to me was the broader system holding it all together.
In Singapore, movement is the default. Walking, lingering and riding are opt out, not opt in. That is not a happy accident, it is a choice made a long time ago and pursued with consistency.
The cornerstone is the Park Connector Network, a web of green corridors designed for walking, cycling, running and workouts. It stitches together the components of daily life. Homes to schools. MRT stations to waterfronts. Gardens to neighbourhood centres.
Leanne: [In Singapore art is] not garnish but strategy. A sculpture as landmark and pause button."
On any corridor the choices are obvious: shade where heat would win; width so two prams pass without the awkward dance; covered links so rain becomes a pause, not a plan killer; crossings that match a child’s pace. Stack those choices and you design time to be active into the day. Errands become steps. Commutes become small adventures. You do not need to book it or brand it. Singaporeans, and visitors like me, just move.
Along these arteries sit parks positioned as living-room nodes. Places to dwell in shade, with seating, water and often workout equipment. Art that is not garnish but strategy. A sculpture as landmark and pause button. A mural that anchors memory and helps you navigate. You stay a little longer. Your pace softens. You feel it. Wellbeing, at city scale.
The Singapore Urban Sport Festival is a celebration of urban sports and fitness that spans locations across the island
The windy path ties it together. Step from the street into the connectors and the paths stop being straight. In a world wired for efficiency and A to B, these paths invite A through Z. Late afternoon I watched a path bend under palms and past a sculpture that stopped a jogger for half a minute. Children invented rules for games by the water. A grandparent relaxed with perfect sightlines. You still get where you are going. You just arrive with more steps and less stress.
Events carry the same DNA. I caught the first weekend of the Urban Sport and Fitness Festival. Climbing, CrossFit, HYROX and other lifestyle sports were on full display. Spread across connected locations that carry crowds in and out, the energy was electric. People were smiling because they were playing, even while competing. Clear goals. Feedback. Progression. The output is movement.
Leanne: "Step from the street into the connectors and the paths stop being straight. In a world wired for efficiency and A to B, these paths invite A through Z."
Why does the city feel like this. Because Singapore chose its future early and kept choosing it. Garden City. City in a Garden. City in Nature. Different labels, same intent: treat daily access to greenery and time outdoors as health infrastructure. Pathways. Trees. Links. Wayfinding. Over time everyday activity starts to feel inevitable.
Then I turned my thinking home. We are a sporting nation. We are proud of organised codes and performance pathways. We can compete with anyone. However, our communities say their number one way to be active is walking. Not everyone is built for competition. Everyone is built for movement.
So, here is the takeaway. Singapore widened my definition of sport. Count the walking and riding that good design invites. Count the play in public space. Use events and digital as drivers. Treat nature as the everyday setting that makes it all work.
For a city of the future, the digital I saw was careful rather than cutting edge. That leaves a door ajar for New Zealand to lead on what comes next for sport in a more digital world. An opportunity worth exploring.
The Foundation's sports programme leverages the appeal of sport to forge cultural connections. It provides New Zealand sportspeople opportunities to grow their knowledge of Asia, establish connections and develop relationships with their counterparts throughout the region.
The Sports Leaders Fund enables New Zealand sports leaders to travel to Asia to deepen their understanding of the region’s sporting landscape, enhance cultural awareness and establish meaningful connections.
