2017 ASEAN Para Games

9th ASEAN Para Games

Host city	Kuala Lumpur
Country	Malaysia
Motto	Rising Together (Malay: Bangkit Bersama)
Nations participating	11
Events	479
Sports	16
Opening ceremony	17 September 2017
Closing ceremony	23 September 2017
Website	2017 ASEAN Para Games
<  2015

The 2017 ASEAN Para Games (Malay: Sukan Para ASEAN 2017), officially known as the 9th ASEAN Para Games (Malay: Sukan Para ASEAN ke-9), is a Southeast Asian disabled multi-sport event that will take place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 17 days after the 2017 Southeast Asian Games from 17 to 23 September 2017 with 479 events in 16 sports to be featured in the games.

This will be the third time Malaysia host the ASEAN Para Games and its first time since 2009.^[1] Previously, Malaysia also hosted the 2001 inaugural games. Timor-Leste is expected to return to compete at the ASEAN Para Games for the first time since 2011 after its suspension by the International Paralympic Committee had been lifted.

Organisation

Host city

As per ASEAN Para Games traditions, the games are usually held after every Southeast Asian Games and usually the host country of the Southeast Asian Games is also the host of the ASEAN Para Games.

Previously, in July 2012, the SEAGF meeting in Myanmar confirmed that Malaysia would host the Southeast Asian Games in 2017, should there be no other country willing to bid for the host job. Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) secretary general Sieh Kok Chi, who attended the meeting, said that Myanmar would host the Games in 2013, followed by Singapore in 2015. Then it should be Brunei's turn but it wanted to host the 2019 Games instead of the 2017 edition. Malaysia is willing to be the host for the 2017 Games. This means the hosting rights of the ASEAN Para Games automatically goes to Malaysia, which will host the games two weeks after the end of the 2017 Southeast Asian Games.

On 12 May 2016, a meeting was held between Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) and the Paralympic Council of Malaysia (PCM) to discuss the possibilities of organising the 2017 Southeast Asian Games and the 2017 ASEAN Para Games simultaneously and the merger of the two games.^[2] The same topic was also discussed at the Asean Para Sports Federation Board of Governors meeting on 7 June 2016. By 14 July, the proposal has been rejected by SEA Games Federation (SEAGF) Council, with 9 member countries have opposed the proposal while only two (Malaysia and Laos) agreed, citing the reason for the rejection was due to the tradition and culture that has long been maintained by SEAGF.^[3] Hence, the date of the 2017 ASEAN Para Games was set from 17 to 23 September 2017.

Development and preparation

The Malaysia SEA Games Organising Committee (MASOC) is the governing body for the 2017 ASEAN Para Games. It was formed in 2015 to oversee the staging of the event.

Venues

The 2017 ASEAN Para Games will be organised across a few states in Malaysia.^[4][5] All the existing venues in Bukit Jalil National Sports Complex were upgraded while a new velodrome, costed MYR 80 million was built in Nilai, Negeri Sembilan to host track cycling events and was completed on late March 2017 and opened on 26 May 2017.^[6][7]

More than RM1.6 billion has been allocated by the host country to turn the National Sports Complex in Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur, and its surrounding areas into a Sports City.^[8] The first phase of the work will get the Bukit Jalil National Stadium ready to host the 2017 Southeast Asia Games.^[9]

Public transport

Prasarana became one of the 2017 ASEAN Para Games sponsors as “Official Public Transport Service Provider” on 9 May 2017 during the 100-days countdown celebration. The company had commitment to provide 50 Rapid Buses in Klang Valley, fully wrapped with the games' images and logo and agreed to extend its service hours during the Games to ease the movement of the public to competition venues.^[10]

Volunteers

The organisers estimated that about 20,000 volunteers are needed to successfully host the SEA games and the ASEAN Para Games. They were tasked with a variety of duties, such as scorekeeping, crowd control, ticketing, promotions. Volunteer recruitment began on 14 November 2015, the same date as the launch party of the games logo, theme and mascot^[11] until July 2017, in which 50,000 people have signed up as volunteers. The first phase of the Games Volunteer Program was held at the National University of Malaysia in Bangi^[12] in February 2017, the second phase of the training was held in April while the third and final phase of the training were held in May and June respectively.^[13] On 19 July 2017, of the 50,000 online applicants, 13,000 people were selected to be the games volunteer. 9000 people were chosen to be the volunteer of the 2017 Southeast Asian Games, whereas another 4000 people were chosen to be the volunteer of the 2017 ASEAN Para Games.^[14]

Ticketing

On 4 July 2017, it was announced that no paid tickets are required for the ASEAN Para Games events and the entry to the games' venues is entirely free.^[15]

Countdown

During the closing ceremony of the 2015 ASEAN Para Games, the ASEAN Para Sports Federation Flag was formally handed over to Malaysia from Singapore. This was followed by a song and dance section highlighting Malaysia as the next venue. On 14 November 2015, a launch party was held at the Suria KLCC to launch the logo, mascot and the volunteer recruitment programme.

On 19 August 2016, a series of festivities, dubbed the "Wau Factor" were held at the National Sports Council Centre in Setiawangsa, to mark the one-year countdown to the games.^[16] From 2 March to 20 May 2017 Malaysia SEA Games organising committee organised a school tour programme dubbed the KL2017@Schools programme at 33 selected schools across Peninsular Malaysia to instill awareness about the games amongst the school students.^[17]

On 9 May 2017, Malaysia SEA Games Organising committee organised a major countdown event at KL Sentral to mark the 100-day countdown in a few days which was attended by athletes, officials, Para athletes, stakeholders, sponsors and volunteers.^[18] After that, various individuals and organisations marked the games countdown 10 days each through a video tribute. This included: Kyopropaganda and Malaysia SEA Games Organising Committee (100, 100-people mass exercise), Ipan Bender (90, 90 High Fives), Intan Sarah and National Women Futsal teammates (80, Ball-juggling 80 times), Aminemo and the Royal Malaysian Police Personnel (70, 70 times push-ups in 7 different ways), Superpandy, Farhan Kapoor and the scouts (60, Building a tower of bottles in 60 seconds using 100 Plus bottles), Joseph Germani and Malaysia Basketball Association trainees (50, score 50 basketball shots), Olivia Shyan and the SK Taman Megah students (40, plant 40 plants), Ahmad Aiman and 30 locals (30, 30-people teh tarik relay), Muhammad Rezza, Akwa Ariffin and 20 tai-chi practicioners (20, doing Tai Chi with 20 practicioners) and Joseph Germani and the Fire and Rescue Department of Malaysia personnel (10, doing 10 times burpees).

Security

The principal agency to ensure the security of the games is the Royal Malaysian Police Force. Six drills were held to prepare the police force to face any unpredicted situations.^[19]

Medals

Similar to the 2017 Southeast Asian Games, the medals of the games were designed by Royal Selangor, which is also the designer company for the torch and the baton. They were announced on 30 May 2017, the same day Royal Selangor announced as one of the games main sponsor which made MASOC's sponsorship total RM82.6 million, exceeded its sponsorship target of RM80 million.^[20][21][22] The medals have subtle curved surfaces, rims and edges, and are made of pewter with a disc of kempas wood integrated into the design. They featured the ASEAN Para Sports Federation logo on the obverse, and the games logo on the reverse.

Baton relay

The games baton relay shares the same route as the baton relay of the 2017 Southeast Asian Games and is the first of its kind in the history of ASEAN Para Games. It covered a distance of 10 kilometers on average in the 10 capital cities of the Southeast Asian Region countries, excluding the host country, passing through the landmarks of each countries' capital city. The baton relay began with Brunei on 5 March 2017,^[23] followed by the Philippines on 12 March,^[24] Laos on 18 March,^[25] Myanmar on 25 March,^[26] Thailand on 1 April,^[27] Vietnam on 9 April,^[28] Timor-Leste on 17 April,^[29] Cambodia on 22 April^[30] and Indonesia on 30 April^[31] and ended with Singapore on 13 May 2017.^[32][33] The games baton was designed by Royal Selangor which sold the baton to the public at MYR 1480 and its design was inspired by the games' theme, rising together. Its design depicts shards that represent every Southeast Asia nation and make up the Games' logo and a triangular cross section based on the geometric shape that represents strength in unity. Overall, the design of the Baton represents dynamism, confidence and new beginnings and the aspirations of the Southeast Asia community. The baton has a length of 400 mm, a width of 44 mm, weighs approximately 600g and made up of materials which are a stave in kempas, a tawny wood native to Southeast Asia, and a satin-finished pewter finial.

Torch relay

The same day the baton relay ended in Singapore, the torch relay was held across the country began with the state of Johor until 18 May 2017,^[34] followed by Malacca from 18 to 21 May 2017,^[35] Negeri Sembilan from 22 to 25 May, Labuan from 3 to 4 June, Sabah from 5 to 8 June, Sarawak from 8 to 13 June, Perlis from 15 to 17 June, Kedah from 17 to 20 June, Penang from 3 to 6 July, Perak from 7 to 12 July, Kelantan from 13 to 17 July, Terengganu from 17 to 23 July, Pahang from 24 to 30 July, Selangor from 31 July to 5 August, Putrajaya on 6 August and ended with the host city Kuala Lumpur on 12 August 2017. The games torch has a length of 125 mm, width of 86 mm and a height of 850 mm and weighs 2 kg with fuel and 1.8 kg without fuel. Like the baton, the torch was designed too by Royal Selangor. It has a sleek custom-milled combustion chamber and a triangular cross section which symbolises strength in unity and has the games logo and motto, the SEA Games and the ASEAN Para Games logo emblazoned on it.^[36]

Marketing

Motto

Similar to the 2017 Southeast Asian Games, the official motto of the 2017 ASEAN Para Games is "Rising Together" or "Bangkit Bersama" in Malay.^[37] It was chosen to highlight unity between the nations in Southeast Asia as well as to signify the Kuala Lumpur games as the first ASEAN Para Games to be held after the formation of the ASEAN Community in 2015.^[38]

Logo

Similar to the 2017 Southeast Asian Games, the logo of the 2017 ASEAN Para Games is an image of a Wau Bulan, a crescent-shaped kite traditionally popular on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia. The combination of stripes and colours were derived from the flags of all countries in Southeast Asia. A nationwide competition was held to select the logo of the games. A total of 174 entries were submitted for the design competition.^[39]

Mascot

Similar to the 2017 Southeast Asian Games, the official mascot of the 2017 ASEAN Para Games is an anthropomorphic Malayan tiger named Rimau. It was unveiled on 14 November 2015, together with the games' logo and theme. The name is an abbreviation of the games' core values, namely: Respect, Integrity, Move, Attitude and Unity. He is described as a gracious, friendly, competitive and athletic athlete.^[40]

Songs

Kuala Lumpur 2017 had a total of 3 official songs including 1 theme song. During the 100 day countdown celebration on 9 May 2017, Malaysians were requested by singer Dayang Nurfaizah and composer Ramli MS to submit their ideas and stories related to the games' theme "Rising Together" to social network websites through a crowdsourcing campaign to enable them to create the games theme song which is also the games main official song. On 8 August 2017, the theme song for the games has been released and is entitled "Rising Together".^[41]

By 2 August 2017 one official song entitled "Tunjuk Belang" was released. It was performed by monoloQue, Lan from the troupe "Azlan and The Typewriter" and maliQue. The song is described as a rock song which merges "traditional and modern sounds".^[42] The composer and producer of the song is maliQue.^[43] The title of the song literally means showing off one's true colors in English and "Belang" means stripes aluding to the mascot of the games, shown above.^[43]

Another official song was released earlier on 13 July 2017 during the release of the Games Mobile phone Application entitled "So many hands" and was performed by Mia Palencia which is the song of the Kuala Lumpur 2017 Promo Video, "It takes a nation to raise a champion".^[44]

Sponsors

Dentsu Sports Asia, a subsidiary of Dentsu and the Sportswork Group are the sponsorship agencies of the 2017 Southeast Asian Games. The partnership of the two firms were announced on January 2016.^[45] Dentsu is responsible for manages sponsorship matters involving international and Malaysian firms while Sportswork manages Malaysian government linked companies^[46]

There are four tiers of sponsorship depending on the amount of funds a company contributes to the games. Bronze sponsors contributed RM1 million or less, Silver sponsors contributed RM1 to 3 million. Gold sponsors contributed RM3 to 7.5 million and Platinum sponsors contributed RM7.5 to 15 million.^[47]

The Malaysia SEA Games Organising Committee secured RM68 million in March 2017. And finally on 30 May 2017, the committee successfully secured RM82.6 million sponsorship for both the Southeast Asian Games and ASEAN Para Games, exceeded its sponsorship target of RM80 million.^[20][47] Tenaga Nasional and Sony later became the sponsor agency on 3 August 2017 and 4 August 2017 respectively as gold sponsor, while Pavillion became the silver sponsor agency on 8 August 2017, further increase the sponsorship fee to an overall total of RM101.5 million.

2017 Southeast Asian Games sponsors
Tier	Sponsoring firms
Platinum	Telekom Malaysia,[47] Naza (Groupe PSA),[48] FBT,[47] Ajinomoto,[49][46] Petronas,[50] Rapid KL[51]
Gold	Malaysia Airports,[47] AirAsia,[52] Traveloka,[53] Grab,[54][55] Tenaga Nasional, Sony (Sony Music)[51]
Silver	100Plus,[47] Milo,[47] SCGM BHD–Benxon,[47] Prudential, McDonald's,[56] Spritzer,[57] Pavilion KL, Royal Selangor,[55] AEON Malaysia[51]
Bronze	Double Happiness, Gloria Jean's Coffees, Kenwood Corporation, La Martina, Maha Mas Medic, Maju Group, Marathon Thailand, Maxwin, Mikasa-Sunrise, MLS-Zimmer-Airflex, Molten Corporation, MRCB, Nittaku, Otto Bock, Sunstar, Trybe, Victor, Wiraka[51]

The games

Participating nations

Sports

16 Para Sports with 479 events have been included in the games.^{[58][59][60][61]} Sailing and shooting, which were competed at the 2015 edition were dropped as they did not meet the ASEAN Para Sports Federation requirement which states that a sport must be participated by at least four countries.^[62]

See also

• 2017 Southeast Asian Games

References

External links

• 2017 ASEAN Para Games Official Website