Southeast_Asia_Games

SEA Games

SEA Games

Biennial multi-sport event in Southeast Asia

SEA Games, officially known as the South East Asian Games, is a biennial multi-sport event involving participants from the current 11 countries of Southeast Asia. The games are under the regulation of the Southeast Asian Games Federation with supervision by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA). The SEA Games is one of the five subregional Games of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA).[1]

Quick Facts Abbreviation, First event ...

History

The SEA Games owes its origins to the South East Asian Peninsular Games or SEAP Games (abbreviated as SEAPG). On 22 May 1958, delegates from the countries in Southeast Asian Peninsula attending the Asian Games in Tokyo, Japan had a meeting and agreed to establish a sports organization. The SEAP Games was conceptualized by Luang Sukhum Nayapradit, then vice-president of the Thailand Olympic Committee. The proposed rationale was that a regional sports event will help promote co-operation, understanding, and relations among countries in the Southeast Asian region.

Six countries, Burma (now Myanmar), Cambodia, Laos, Malaya (now Malaysia), Thailand and the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) were the founding members. These countries agreed to hold the Games biennially in June 1959 and the SEAP Games Federation Committee was formed thereafter.[2]

The first SEAP Games were held in Bangkok from 12 to 17 December 1959, with more than 527 athletes and officials from 6 countries; Burma (now Myanmar), Laos, Malaya, Singapore, South Vietnam and Thailand participated in 12 sports.

At the 8th SEAP Games in 1975, the SEAP Federation considered the inclusion of Brunei, Indonesia, and the Philippines. These countries were formally admitted in 1977, the same year when SEAP Federation changed their name to the Southeast Asian Games Federation (SEAGF), and the games were known as the Southeast Asian Games. Despite its location closer to the Pacific archipelago than the Asian continent and not being a member of ASEAN, East Timor was admitted at the 22nd SEA Games in 2003 Hanoi–Ho Chi Minh City.

The 2009 SEA Games was the first time Laos has ever hosted a SEA Games (Laos had previously declined to host the 1965 SEAP Games citing financial difficulties). Running from 9–18 December, it has also commemorated the 50 years of the SEA Games, held in Vientiane, Laos. The 2023 SEA Games, held from 5–17 May, was the first time Cambodia has ever hosted a SEA Games (Cambodia was awarded the 1963 SEAP Games, which was cancelled due to domestic political situation).

Symbol

The Southeast Asian Games symbol was introduced during the 1959 SEAP Games in Bangkok, depicting six rings that represent the six founding members and was used until the 1997 edition in Jakarta. The number of rings increased to 10 during the 1999 edition in Brunei to reflect the inclusion of Singapore, which was admitted into the Southeast Asian Games Federation in 1961, and Brunei, Indonesia, and the Philippines, which joined the organization in 1977. The number of rings was again increased to 11 during the 2011 Games in Indonesia to reflect the federation's newest member, East Timor, which was admitted in 2003.

Participating NOCs

More information NOC Names, Debuted ...
  1. While  South Vietnam competed from 1959–1973,  North Vietnam never competed. Unified  Vietnam has competed since 1989.

List of SEA Games

Main article: List of SEA Games host cities

Since the SEA Games began in 1959, it has been held in 15 cities across all Southeast Asian countries except East Timor.

Location of the Southeast Asian Games host
More information Games, Year ...
  1. Names & offices in italics reflect an opener who was not head of state when opening the Games. If the office is partially italicized, the non-italicized portion is the office & name of the head of state being represented.
  2. Representing his father, Bhumibol Adulyadej, King of Thailand.
  3. Representing Trần Đức Lương, President of Vietnam.
  4. Representing Thein Sein, President of Myanmar.
  5. The 2019 Southeast Asian Games was officially decentralized. Events were held in various cities around the Philippines, mostly in the Clark City, the Metro Manila region, and the Subic Bay areas, however there was no single designated host city. The games were known as "Philippines 2019".
  6. Many events were held in various cities over the country to give support to the Hanoi, who was the main host of the event. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the games were delayed to May 2022.
  7. Representing Norodom Sihamoni, King of Cambodia.

The 1963 SEAP Games were cancelled. As the designated host, Cambodia was unable to host the event due to instability in the country, along with a disagreement with the International Amateur Athletic Federation. The 3rd SEAP Games then passed to Laos as hosts, but they begged off the 1965 event citing financial difficulties.[6]

Sports

Main article: SEA Games sports

According to the SEAGF Charter and Rules, a host nation must stage a minimum of 22 sports: the two compulsory sports from Category 1 (athletics and aquatics), in addition to a minimum of 14 sports from Category 2 (Olympics and Asian Games mandatory sports), and a maximum of 8 sports from Category 3. Each sport shall not offer more than 5% of the total medal tally, except for athletics, aquatics and shooting (the shot was elevated for this category in 2013). For each sport and event to be included, a minimum of four countries must participate in it. Sports competed in the Olympic Games and Asian Games must be given priority.[2][7]

In 2023, the charter was modified, bringing the number of minimum sports a host must stage up to 36. The compulsory Category 1 now comprises two subcategories: 1A, which consists of aquatics and athletics, and 1B, a minimum of 10 Olympic sports from the Summer Olympic Games. Under Category 2, the host must include a minimum of 10 other sports from the Olympic Games (summer/winter), Asian Games, and Asian Indoor & Martial Arts Games. Category 3 is now capped at a maximum of four sports.[8][9] The first games with the new charter in effect will be held in 2025.[10]

More information Category 1, Category 2 ...
  1. Traditional or regional sports that are not part of Asian Games nor Asian Indoor & Martial Arts Games.
  2. Sports that previously appeared in some SEA Games editions but are not an Olympic, Asian Games, nor Asian Indoor & Martial Arts Games sport.

All-time medal table

Corrected after balancing the data of the Olympic Council of Asia and other archived sites which had kept the previous Southeast Asian Games medal tables. Some information from the aforementioned sites are missing, incorrect and or not updated.[11][12][13][14][15][16][17]

More information Rank, NOC ...
  • ^[1] Competed as Malaya in the inaugural games until 1961.
  • ^[2] The Republic of Vietnam was dissolved in July 1976 when it merged with the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) to become the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, also known as Vietnam. In the 1989 edition, a unified Vietnam rejoined the games with a new name and flag. Medals won by South Vietnam until 1975 and by Vietnam after 1989 are combined here.
  • ^[3] Competed as Burma until 1987.
  • ^[4] Competed as Kampuchea, and Khmer Republic.

List of multiple Southeast Asian Games medalists

Main article: List of multiple Southeast Asian Games medalists

Various individuals have won multiple medals at the Games, including the preceding Southeast Asian Peninsular Games.

As of 2019, Singaporean swimmer Joscelin Yeo has won the most Southeast Asian Games medals with 55 (40 gold, 12 silver, 3 bronze). She reached this milestone during the 2005 Games, overtaking the previous record of 39 gold medals set by another Singaporean swimmer Patricia Chan.

Criticism

One unique characteristic of the event is that there are no official limits to the number of sports and events to be contested, and the range can be decided by the organizing host pending approval by the Southeast Asian Games Federation. Aside from mandatory sports, the host is free to drop or introduce other sports or events (See SEA Games sports).[18] This leeway has resulted in hosts maximizing their medal hauls by dropping sports disadvantageous to themselves relative to their peers and the introduction of obscure sports, often at short notice, thus preventing most other nations from building credible opponents.[19][20][21] Several nations have called for amending the charter of the games to address the issue.[22][23] In 2023, the SEA Games charter was modified in an effort to make the number of sports in each edition more standardized, reducing the host's leeway to remove several sports, maximize medal hauls by introducing obscure local sports, and tamper with the competition's rules.[8][24]

See also

References

  1. [1]
    Games page of the website of the Olympic Council of Asia; Archived 2010-12-11 at the Wayback Machine; retrieved 2010-07-09.
  2. [2]
    "South East Asian Games Federation: Charter and Rules" (PDF). SEAGF. 30 May 2010. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  3. [3]
    "Malaysia to host 2027 SEA Games". The Star. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  4. [4]
    "Singapore to host 2029 SEA Games". Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  5. [5]
    Cua, Aric John Sy (13 July 2022). "PH to host SEA Games in 2033". The Manila Times. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  6. [6]
    "History of the SEA Games". www.olympic.org.my. Archived from the original on 17 December 2004. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
  7. [7]
    Ian De Cotta (5 June 2015). "A cool addition to the SEA Games". Today Online. Archived from the original on 20 June 2015. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  8. [8]
    Lee, David (17 May 2023). "SEA Games sports programme to be standardised from 2025 to 2029". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  9. [9]
    "ยกเครื่องซีเกมส์! เลิกเน้นกีฬาพื้นบ้าน-เริ่มที่ไทยหนหน้า" [Overhaul the SEA Games! Stop focusing on local sports – start in Thailand next]. Naewna (in Thai). 5 May 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  10. [10]
    Navarro, June (17 May 2023). "Bambol assurance: Drastic reduction of indigenous games in next SEA Games calendar". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  11. [11]
    "South East Asian Games Medal Count". Archived from the original on 3 September 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  12. [12]
    SEAP Games Federation Archived 13 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  13. [13]
    Medal Tally 1959-1995
  14. [14]
    Medal Tally
  15. [15]
    History of the SEA Games
  16. [16]
    SEA Games previous medal table
  17. [17]
    SEA Games members
  18. [18]
    Pattharapong Rattanasevee (21 July 2017). "Southeast Asian Games yet to win gold for sporting spirit". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 4 August 2017.
  19. [19]
    Mariadass, Tony (24 November 2019). "Sea Games morphing into a monster-cum-circus". New Straits Times. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  20. [20]
    Mariadass, Tony. "Sea Games reduced to a carnival". Free Malaysia Today. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  21. [21]
    "The SEA Games Contain the Seeds of Their Own Irrelevance". thediplomat.com. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  22. [22]
    "Indonesian NOC calls for amendment to Southeast Asian Games Federation Charter on sports programme". Inside the Games. 20 September 2022. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  23. [23]
    ""พลตรีจารึก" เตรียมเสนอปรับธรรมนูญสหพันธ์กีฬาซีเกมส์". Thai PBS (in Thai). 13 March 2013. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  24. [24]
    Henson, Joaquin. "Bambol reveals new SEA Games order". Philstar.com. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
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