By Dr. Beh May Ting

Sports often evoke images of sweaty runners, athletes competing for the glory of hoisting shiny trophies, or even the hype for athleisure wear. There is also the obvious but less talked about dimension of sports being the connecting sinew in binding people who have the same interests in exercising together. The organization of groups of people with similar goals have long been the key aspect in human interaction and societal formation. Essentially, organized collectivity is what differentiates us human beings from other beings. Like religion, sports clubs function well when its members have a common belief, despite the differences in their backgrounds.

Penang Forward Sports Club, one of the oldest active amateur sports clubs in Penang, was formed by a group of avid runners in 1978 who exercised together at the Bukit Dumbar Park. This band of runners eventually grew in number and the club registered officially as a sports club in 1986 and evolved to include a dragon boat division and more recently, a lion dance division. While dragon boat racing and lion dance performances are Sino in origin, members of the team are from various backgrounds, including expatriates. The club functions as a platform for its members to use sports as a way to achieve their personal goals. Be it to clock their personal best, to keep fit, to make new friends, or as a way to spend quality time with their families, the club aims to provide the space for society to include healthy activities in their lives. Additionally, the club is often involved in philanthropic work by frequently running blood donation drives and giving back through community services. The club is also involved in co-organizing running events and marathons such as the Love Penang Run.

To put it in a larger context, sports leave positive impacts on both the individual and communal level. It can transcend differences and even build a sense of camaraderie among teammates who speak different languages. For instance, the dragon boat team in Penang Forward Sports Club currently has members from Malaysia, Australia, Hong Kong, The Philippines, and Korea. While commands are communicated in English, it is not the case that all members are fluent in English. Albeit language and background differences, the teammates share every victory and loss together. This truly personifies esprit de corps and the basic quality of humanity, that is, to connect with another human being through shared understanding which may or may not be communicated through words.

Sports also play a big role in maintaining local cultures. Often overlooked but important nevertheless, is the traditional prayers done before every dragon boat race and during festive seasons. Members are not required to participate in these prayer sessions but it is fascinating when even the expat members of the team join in an essentially Taoist practice of praying with joss sticks. Additionally, when cultural sports such as dragon and lion dances remain actively practiced, the younger generation in these troupes play crucial roles in ensuring the longevity of a tradition which would undeniably fade in the modern world, if not for its symbolic and economic value.

In this day and age where the internet and social media are able to keep most people busy for long periods of time, physical exercises may diminish as a priority for the tech-savvy. Therefore, it is rather impressive when the younger generation, especially teenagers join sports teams and develop the discipline and commitment to wake up in the wee hours of the morning to keep up with their fellow teammates to exercise. It is imperative that more youths regularly do physical sports because the addiction to screen time would eventually cause health issues due to the sedentary lifestyle that it creates. Ultimately, if the majority of society have health issues because of the lack of exercise, serious economic and social repercussions could befall any nation.

Apart from physical benefits, sports doubtlessly improves mental health through the social interaction it involves, whether through the connections it provides through team sports or serendipitous contact with other people when exercising. Even when doing sports which are solitary in nature, such as running, chances are that the sense of satisfaction and liberty it provides would improve moods and thus minds.

The continuity of amateur sports clubs such as the Penang Forward Sports Club is important particularly because of its boundless nature when it comes to community engagement and its contribution in the development of the sports that it emphasizes in. As amateur sports clubs are essentially open to anyone who is interested in joining them, the easy access of belonging to such groups creates a widespread sense of conscience among society to see the importance of maintaining an active lifestyle, regardless of levels of fitness or age.

Note: The author would like to thank Lim Choo Hooi, Chairman of Penang Forward Sports Club for the invaluable information he provided for this article.