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Borneo Bulletin Yearbook 2019
PROMOTING AN ACTIVE LIFESTYLE
Car-free zone on Sundays
Bandarku Ceria began in October 2016 to
promote physical activity. Every Sunday from
6am to 10am, the roads around Taman Haji
Sir Muda Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien are closed and
turned into a car-free zone.
Through Bandarku Ceria, the public is
encouraged to use spaces available in the capital
for recreation, cultural, family and community
activities. The initiative transforms Bandar Seri
Begawan into a vibrant urban park enjoyed by all
through activities such as jogging, cycling and
aerobics.
Bandarku Ceria has seen an increasing number of
public participation including people cycling on
the streets safely without cars, joining morning
exercise as well as hunting for bargains at the
stalls set up around the city.
Connecting everyone through sports
BruActiv is an online sports portal. Their mission
is to become Brunei Darussalam’s first online
destination for all sports, promote a healthy
lifestyle and build a stronger community. In
August 2018, BruActiv collaborated with the
Health Promotion Centre (HPC) at the Ministry
of Health and organised an interactive fitness
seminar titled ‘Now is the New When’. The
seminar aimed to increase awareness on the
importance of being active and working out
regularly in the right way, while preventing
injuries to live a healthy lifestyle.
In January 2019, BruActiv held Cabaran BSB,
a series of local game challenges with 12
checkpoints within a total route of 5 kilometres.
Participants scanned QR codes at checkpoints
to overcome various local quiz challenges and
played traditional games and sports activities.
Upon successful completion of each checkpoint’s
activity, participants proceeded to the next
checkpoint. The event rode on the Bandarku Ceria
initiative, further promoting an active nation.
First swim academy
Brunei Amateur Swimming Association (BASA) is
set to launch their first swim academy this year.
BASA is the country’s national federation for
aquatic sports. They are responsible for events
including artistic swimming (formerly known as
synchronised swimming), platform diving, open
waters, and water polo.
The Swim Academy will offer high quality
swimming instruction programmes. All swim
instructors are required to obtain swim instructor
certifications. The programmes range from
beginner swimming lessons to intermediate and
advanced training. Splash balls (mini water polo),
artistic swimming, and lifeguard programmes
will be introduced progressively.
In order to have a team of qualified swim
instructors, BASA sought out Australia’s national
organisation AUSTSWIM. The Australian
organisation will assist BASA with water safety
and swimming lessons. In November 2018,
BASA organised AUSTSWIM courses. A total of
22 participants completed the training to become
internationally accredited swimming instructors.
In the long run, BASA hopes the Swim Academy
will be recognised by AUSTSWIM to provide
certification courses to local swim instructors.