Be an ActiveSG member

One of the activities I planned for the boys this September schools holidays was a trip to the Sengkang Swimming Complex. It has been quite a while since we last visited and the boys were so excited when I told them we were going swimming. I also wanted to register them to be ActiveSG members. I fellow parent volunteer shared about ActiveSG membership some time ago. I already signed up for it but we needed to go to the swimming complex office to register the boys personally.

In line with the government's on-going campaign of living better through sports, ActiveSG was launched in April 2014. There are several programmes and activities for all ages with the goal of increasing sports participation in the community. There are even programmes for parents and children to have more bonding time. New facilities (in selected locations) like gym by the pool, alfresco setting by the pool, BBQ by the pool, mobile charging station and free wi-fi have also been set up.  

Members enjoy the following benefits for FREE:

ActiveSG $100 (valid for a limited period), which can be used for:

1. Pool and gym admissions (includes Senja-Cashew Community Centre Swimming Pool)
2. ActiveSG programmes and activities (capped at 30% of the cost for each programme/ activity, no limit on number of programme/ activity sign-ups)
3. ActiveSG facilities booking (excluding Dual-Use-Scheme facilities)
4. Purchase of MyActiveGYM™ and MyActiveSWIM™ schemes

Priority booking of facilities - 1 day in advance of non-members (all facilities booking policies apply)

Complimentary trial classes

Invitation to exclusive members’ events

Eligibility for purchase of MyActiveGYM™ and MyActiveSWIM™ schemes

Singapore citizens and Singapore Permanent Residents (PRs) who are at least 16 years old may apply for membership, while those below 16 years old can be tagged to their parents'/guardians' accounts as supplementary members. 

During our visit to the Sengkang Swimming Complex (SSC) office last week, I registered my 2 sons (aged 14 and 9). There were 2 tables with SSC employees assisting walk-ins who apply for membership. We were asked to produce my boys' student IDs cum ezlink cards and my IC. The person who assisted us was very helpful and nice. They keyed in our personal info, asked us to input our passwords and we're good to go. For some reason, my 14-yr-old was registered to have his own account. The younger one was attached to my membership as a supplementary member. The ActiveSG $100 was automatically credited to their respective accounts.

We were advised by the assisting officer to just use our cards (IC and school IDs), tap the side with the bar code into the gantry (like we do in MRT stations and buses), the admission fee would then be deducted from the ActiveSG account and we would be granted entry. He said it was easier to do so than purchasing thru the app and scanning the smart phones at the gantry. We did as advised. Upon entry, Kelvin received an SMS that 80 cents was deducted from his ActiveSG account. I didn't receive an SMS, I assumed it was because I had the app and I could just check the account balance from there (I did and the amount was deducted accordingly).

We headed straight to the big pool area and Ira jumped into the pool right away. He missed being in the water but we were concerned if he still remembers how to swim. I told him to test the water depth first. He could still tread the waters but swimming one lap was a challenge. Good thing we brought his board to help him out.

Goggles were left at home (I guess that's what happens if you haven't been going to the pool for a while) but that didn't stop Kelvin from doing laps at the pool. After some time, we went to the slides. Ira has not been allowed to go to the big slide due to his age and height (if I remember right the age requirement before was 11 yrs old), but this time the requirement changed to just height limit of 1.2m. He was slightly above the limit so he was so happy to finally go to the slide without getting reprimanded. Here were some of the photos taken during our September holiday swimming day.

 

  

  

At the gantry we didn't have any problems going in, but there was a queue going out (and another long queue going in, since there was only one machine that caters to this service). It helped, somehow, that there was someone assisting. I think the system is still quite new and glitches are expected. Swimming complex patrons will just have to be patient for now. 

tapping card on the way out

We left after 3 hours or so, before we turned all pruny, with good memories from this simple day-out. They couldn't wait for our next visit. Maybe Kelvin and I can try the gym next time. He's into building muscles these days after all.

If you haven't signed up for your ActiveSG membership yet, go and get the app or go straight to the office to have someone assist your application. It's an opportunity not to be missed.

For more information, please visit the ActiveSG website:  http://www.myactivesg.com