Lynette Chen
Men were kicking soccer – in a bubble. With their legs flailing in the air and them bouncing about in a translucent ball, it looked rather ridiculous – except they were having a ball (pun intended) of their lives.
Indeed, even the promise of rain, which thankfully failed to manifest, didn’t deter the wild and adventurous from coming out to play at Adult Playground. Touted as Singapore’s first local sports and music festival, Adult Playground played host to 2,000 revellers at Siloso Beach’s Sapphire Pavilion.
Not quite the Snoozeville
With our anti-chewing gum law and viral anti-gambling advertisements, Singapore might give off the impression of being boring or uptight. Founder of 22 Experience and Adult Playground Ellen Goel begged to differ.
“I don’t think Singapore is boring at all!” exclaimed Goel, who moved here in 2011 and fell in love with the country instantly. “Actually, Singapore has so much to offer,” the bubbly organizer proclaimed zealously.
Adult Playground was conceptualized when Goel decided it was time to step up her game. “I realized that it was nice to have a big event bringing together all the experiences in 1 place to make it more accessible for everyone to enjoy a whole day of fun with music,” she explained.
Let’s get physical
The 22 exciting alternative sports ran the gamut from team game bossaball, a fusion of volleyball and soccer (pictured above) to carnival favorite Dunk Tank, where you aim at your friend suspended above a tank of water to fall in.
One of the first sports this writer saw in action was a quirky twist on the traditional game of football. Players wiggle into a zorb – a clear inflatable doughnut-like ball – with only their legs left free to kick, score a goal or more importantly run head-on into your opponents. Call us laid-back but this contact sport got a little too competitive for this clumsy writer, who spent more time rolling in the sand than actually coming close to the ball.
The best part was that more often than not, it was teammates who bowled you over considering everyone was outfitted with the same translucent ball. Perhaps a colour distinction of zorbs would have worked better.
UrbanWire’s personal favourite was definitely the much simpler game of Gladiator. Played on a large inflatable bed, the aim of this 2-player game is to topple your opponent with a hefty foam-tipped baton, while maintaining your balance upon a minute raised platform. You might laugh, but this game requires more skill than you think. Try keeping your footing and fending off jabs to the face while under the duress and assault of convulsing fits of giggles.
The innocent-looking water park activities also proved to be more of a challenge than we thought. It took 20 minutes just to get a group of 8 onto the inflatable trampoline slide. The crux of the problem was that some of the rungs on the rather worn equipment had fallen off. The numerous failed attempts were rather hilarious.
Faulty equipment aside, the water activities were definitely worth the long queue, especially the wacky hamster wheel. Much alike the zorb soccer, a group of players shimmied onto a hollowed-out inflatable ball and try to get it moving across the waters. Any attempt at starting the ball rolling, however, only led to a mess of tangled limbs and uncontrollable laughter.
Some activities, though, required more dexterity than most participants had. Archery tag, for example, required players to shoot their opponents or cones in the arena with sponge-tipped arrows. Even with assistance, none of us, especially not this uncoordinated writer, had the chops to come anywhere close to Katniss Everdeen’s level. Players spent more time frantically scrambling around on the ground for ammunition to load their unwieldy bows.
Details such as complimentary sunscreen and freedom in choosing the activities were commendable and considerate. Tickets, however, priced at $59 to $88 per person, were a little steep. Still, given their limited budget and the combined effort of 180 young volunteers, Adult Playground made for a fitting weekend at the beach for thrill junkies and couch potatoes alike.
Zorb soccer, anyone?