It was a day to remember: the assembly hall of Tanjong Katong Girls’ School (TKGS) was packed with 800 screaming schoolgirls who cheered and clapped as two old girls – national sailors Savannah Siew and Kimberly Lim – and seven other Team Singapore athletes came onstage.

“The crowd went wild,” Ms Siew recalled of that morning in October 2014. “[Kimberly and I] were introduced as ex-students and given a really warm welcome.”

The nine athletes shared their experiences and played games with the audience, and were quizzed on how they balanced schoolwork with their sporting pursuits. The two sailors even rigged a sailboat on the school grounds. Their main agenda though, was to talk about the upcoming 28th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in June 2015, and to urge the students to get involved, whether as a spectator or a volunteer.

This meet-the-athletes session was part of the “50 Waves of Cheer” roadshow, which brought more than 100 athletes to 43 secondary schools and junior colleges. It was one of the many community outreach programmes created by the Singapore SEA Games Organising Committee (SINGSOC) and its partners, such as the Ministry of Education, to encourage Singaporeans to root for their local athletes at the Games.

Ms Lee Huei Chern, SINGSOC’s Head of Community Engagement and Merchandising, said: “We may not realise it [but] for some of our athletes, this is probably their first, or even the last time they will compete on home ground… so it is very important that we show them our support.”

The SINGSOC began to court the public as early as February 2014, with a launch party. Other activities followed, including a one-year countdown, a four-month schools outreach programme, and a three-month countdown at Orchard Road where hundreds turned up in red to rally behind Team Singapore.

“When we designed these programmes… we wanted [people] to be involved meaningfully, and contribute in one way or another to the Games,” said Ms Lee, who started planning the engagement efforts in late 2012.

So instead of unveiling countdown clocks, which she described as “passive”, her team involved the community more intently. For the final 50-day countdown, Sport Singapore (SportSG), through an open invitation, called for groups to “adopt” a number and to come up with creative numeric displays. The countdown, which started in mid-April, featured a school that formed the number 48 with school bags while an army unit created “41” with its soldiers and armoured vehicles.

The organisers also worked with artists and community groups for the “Torch Up!” project to create 30 art installations in the lead-up to the Games.

Ms Lee’s personal favourite was the “Make-a-NILA” activity. An estimated 10,000 people signed up to make 5,000 unique NILA (the 28th SEA Games mascot) plush toys over several months. The toys will be presented to winning athletes.

“The level of engagement was deep and meaningful,” observed Ms Lee. “When I went on the roadshows… I would see families creating NILAs together… The parents would do the sewing; the child would do the decoration. Then they would put it together.”

The idea to make each NILA by hand came about after SINGSOC EXCO Chairman and SportSG Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Lim Teck Yin – as a former national athlete – expressed his wish for the mascot to be more personalised.

“Think about it: in the last SEA Games, [Singaporean swimmer] Joseph Schooling won six medals so he would have received six owls [the 2013 Games mascot]. So why not something different?” quipped Ms Lee.

Going beyond the Games

Since the roadshow at TKGS, Ms Siew has participated in other lead-up events. More Singaporeans are taking notice of Singapore’s biggest sporting event, she said. “It’s exciting to see more of the country becoming aware… and showing their support.”

The roadshows also convinced some 10,000 members of the public to sign up as volunteers. Together with those from the Public Service and institutes of higher learning, they make up a total of 17,000 pairs of extra hands.

Ms Lee stressed that the engagement effort is not to merely publicise the SEA Games. The hope is to touch Singaporeans in a bigger way: from introducing and discussing sporting values through skits, roadshows and student activity booklets, to getting “sports onto their radar” by encouraging Games spectatorship with affordably priced tickets as well as free-entry events.

“We hope this… leaves them with some shared experience with their families and loved ones,” said Ms Lee. “My CEO always shares this story: as a child he went to watch the 1973 Games with his father and sports became something important for him forever. I hope as a nation, we could leverage the Games to create a legacy for our youths – to live better through sport.”