To mark the Golden Jubilee for the DBS Marina Regatta, the seventh edition of the annual event is back, bigger and better than ever. 

For instance, the weekend will extend over two editions rather than one, taking place on 26 & 27 May as well as 2 & 3 June at The Promontory @ Marina Bay. 

This event will have free admission and will be open to anyone, including urban athletes and adventure junkies to families looking for some fun by the Bay.

Said Sim S. Lim, DBS Singapore Country Head, “The DBS family looks forward to hosting Singaporeans from all walks of life at the DBS Marina Regatta every year. This year’s Regatta is especially significant for us, as we are also celebrating our Golden Jubilee.”

To cater to the sports buffs, the DBS Marina Regatta will also be partnering together with sports brand Under Armour to introduce the most technically challenging obstacle course in South East Asia, the Battle Bay Extreme. This will be one of the key highlights of this year’s event.

Members of the media had been invited to a sneak preview of the DBS Marina Regatta prior to its opening this weekend. We were taken on a tour of the Battle Bay Extreme obstacle course as well as brought through some of the other attractions. 

Taking place on both land and water, the obstacles will test not only your physical strength but also your mental mettle, endurance and speed. It includes obstacles such as a six foot wall, inverted ladders, rope climbs, quintuple steps and more. And there are three levels to cater to sports enthusiasts of various abilities – Beginner, Intermediate and Extreme.

During my time at the DBS Marina Regatta, I saw some athletes taking on a few of the obstacles. They appeared to be doing a circuit training type session that consisted of a few types of obstacles including the tyre flips and monkey bars, and they looked to be pretty good and strong!

For myself, I didn’t manage to give the Battle Bay Extreme a go yet though, but I hope to be able to do so sometime later this weekend, even if I have no idea if I will be able to train my upper body strength in time to be able to pass through all of the obstacles. This is because my usual marathon training unfortunately focuses more on maintaining lower body strength in the core and the legs!

Nevertheless, in an attempt to get members of the public battle-ready, DBS is holding a series of complimentary fitness classes around the bay and registrations for these are open at www.dbsmarinaregatta.com. The classes range from intense CrossFit and HIIT (High Intensity Training) sessions to more relaxing classes like yoga.

If you want to give the Battle Bay Extreme a go, anyway, the prices start from SGD 8, making it the most affordable sporting event in Singapore. 

Participants will also receive a goodie bag with exclusive DBS Marina Regatta branded products and TripleFit discount passes too. For an early bird price of SGD 38, participants can test their strength and resilience at all of the stations.

As well, DBS Bank will also donate all registration fees from Battle Bay Extreme to the Thye Hua Kuan in support of their adoption of innovative solutions for Active Ageing seniors.

And as a bonus, Olympic Games swimming gold medallist Joseph Schooling, along with national sailors Griselda Khng and Olivia Chen will lead a Celebrity Challenge of the Battle Bay Extreme on 3 June, to raise funds for charity, too.

Said Lim, “We are pleased to welcome Schooling to the DBS Marina Regatta. He is an inspiration to everyone and embodies the spirit of excellence that also drives Singaporeans to reach for greater heights.”

But for those who prefer to sit back and relax instead, the DBS Marina Regatta will also host a DBS Creators’ Market, a space that holds a communal kitchen, an open area for wellness activities and a bazaar where healthy snacks and drinks can be enjoyed.

The Creators’ Market is brought to you in partnership with Mahorta, which is an all-in-one organic food market, a restaurant, a cafe, a lifestyle studio, a DIY wood-workshop, a clinic and a Traditional Chinese Medicine wellness clinic located in one common space at Kitchener Complex.

Members of the media had been given a taste of a few types of these healthy foods available and these had included Açaí sorbet bowls, cheese toast, chicken wings, chicken satay, tacos and some Kombucha fermented drink.

I had particularly enjoyed the Açaí sorbet bowls, which are from Poppy & Co. According to the company, these are healthy, consisting of premium, organic Açaí berry harvested from the Amazonian rainforest, and is also free from preservatives, stabilisers, additives, sweeteners, allergens and emulsifiers.

As well, the taste of the Açaí sorbet is delicious and resembles ice cream. When it is paired with berries and nuts, this makes a nice, healthy breakfast or mid-afternoon snack to curb the hunger pangs.

The Kombucha drink was also surprisingly delicious in my opinion. I admit that I had never heard of Kombucha, which is a type of naturally fermented tea drink. It is surprisingly yummy, light and refreshing, with a mild vinegar taste that subtly reminded me of apple cider.

Kombucha is also commonly known as a healthy drink and it has several benefits according to scientific studies, which include an increased antimicrobial activity, reducing cholesterol levels, reduction of atherosclerosis via the regenerating of the body’s cell walls, reduction in blood pressure, reduction in inflammatory problems and promoting of better liver function.

At the DBS Creator’s Market, children can also take part in fun workshops such as creating their own vegetable art. Other craft and wellness workshops are also available for adults too such as having the opportunity to create your own superfood snacks.

The DBS Creator’s Market is also held a short walk away from the Bayfront Event Space, where the ArtBox market, Thailand’s largest contemporary pop up market, will be located. 

And held in conjunction with the DBS Marina Regatta, the ArtBox is set to feature more than 400 lifestyle, fashion and food, selling unique finds from all around the region. 

I still remember that I visited ArtBox last year and despite the large crowds that had descended upon the event, there had been plenty of things to look at, see and do there, such as trying out the Thai-style mango sticky rice dessert, Thai Milk Tea and the Dragon’s Breath liquid nitrogen desert that had been the talk of the town, during the time. So I can’t wait to see what ArtBox has in store for us, this time around.

Of the ArtBox booths, there will be more than 20 that have been set up by various social enterprises from countries such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, India and Indonesia.

Those who are into music instead, can support budding musicians and performers along the Mist Walk on 1 & 2 June as some 18 buskers will be stationed there to bring music to your ears. They will be competing against each other to win an artist development prize fully paid by DBS.

This prize may include instrument lessons, talent mentorship and other related classes, as well as cash prizes.

As well, not forgetting too, that the DBS Marina Regatta will also play host to the largest DragonBoating competition in the region.

Organised in partnership with the Singapore DragonBoating Association, the DBS Marina Regatta will welcome 90 DragonBoating teams from all over Asia to compete for cash prizes totalling SGD 147,000; this is the largest prize money on offer for the sport in the continent.

So this means that there will be plenty of action, adrenaline and excitement out there in the waters throughout the two weekends, and I can’t wait to see what will be in store for us.

Said Dr. Chia Shi-Lu, President of the Singapore DragonBoating Association, “We are very excited to be part of DBS’ Golden Jubilee celebrations this year.” 

He added, “With the huge support from DBS, the DragonBoating community has grown exponentially both in Singapore as well as regionally, with the DBS Marina Regatta being one of the most anticipated regattas annually.”

However it is not only the top teams who will be competing for the prize money; in fact, the regatta will also feature youths at risk and youths with special needs in the new Community Race category. The youths had earlier undertaken a three week DragonBoating programme organised by DBS ahead of their race during the upcoming weekend.

For those who prefer other water sports, you can also try your hand at sailing in DBS Bank’s 18-metre tall Swedish match sailboats, and have the chance to enjoy the bay from a different point of view. 

Each sailboat can seat four to eight people and these are the same boats as the ones used by the world’s top sailors in competitions such as the America’s Cup.

Having watched a few editions of the America’s Cup and witnessed the excitement and adrenaline of this top notch sailing competition at the Viaduct Basin in Auckland around the turn of the century, this is definitely an opportunity not to be missed, for all of the sailing fans out there.

For more information on the DBS Marina Regatta, Battle Bay Extreme, and more on what you can see and do there, you can go to www.dbsmarinaregatta.com. 

But no matter where your interests lie though, the DBS Marina Regatta is looking forward to welcoming you at the event.

Said Lim, “We have curated a series of activities that best represents what makes DBS special to our customers. We have the Battle Bay Extreme which best demonstrates our tenacious spirit, Asia’s largest DragonBoat race which plays to our spirit of excellence and competition, and a Creator’s Market which represents our spark of creativity and all things fun.”