About 600 Women Took Part in S’pore’s First Mass Women’s IPPT

By
Victor Fong
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Through the history of Singapore, men will always complain about NS and IPPT and women always didn’t understand the hardships that come with it.

Will women eventually understand the pain? Will they stop complaining about men leaving the office earlier for IPPT like it’s a privilege?

I don’t know the answer to that, but it seems like some progress is made on this issue.

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…Or is it?

Great Eastern’s Women’s IPPT on 24 Aug 2019

Image: Great Eastern Women’s Run

According to TNP, the 600 women who attended the IPPT made history as the first women’s mass IPPT, and the record even entered the Singapore Book of Records. The event was held at the Singapore Sports Hub.

Checking Singapore Book of Records website and Facebook didn’t yield any mentions of this as of writing. I can’t really tell you how prestigious this is supposed to be, even though it sounds good on paper.

And the fact that this is organised by Great Eastern means that this is basically a marketing campaign (though I do think this is still for a good cause).

But for the dudes wanting to compare the IPPT system…

IPPT Components and Scoring System

Image: Great Eastern Women’s Run

It’s based on the ones used in NS, so the three stations in the test are bent-knee push-ups, sit-ups and 2.4km run.

Here’s another difference: there are only 2 scores, ≥ 51 is a GOOD grade, and ≥75 is a GREAT grade. The full scoring system can be found here.

One thing is for sure, ‘GOOD’ sounds nicer than ‘Pass’ or ‘Pass with Incentive’. At least this would not be damaging to my self-ego. Though, a certain BuffLord95 in the office will probably never understand this pain…

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To get a minimum of 1 point at the age of less than 22, bent-knee push-ups required 15 counts, sit-ups require 15 counts, and 2.4km is at 20 minutes.

Reminder: It’s Non-Competitive

Unlike our NS where we are actually forced legally obligated to attend the IPPT, there are no obligations for the women attending this. Additionally, they also get a Great Eastern IPPT tote bag and S$10 Starbucks card.

The registration fee was S$5, but they don’t get any other monetary award.

Image: Great Eastern

The good thing though, is that the vibes around this event seemed positive because everybody who was there wanted to be there.

Vanessa Tan, a participant, said, “I used to hate the physical fitness tests in school. They tend to be the beginning of the bullying for those don’t do well, as we get laughed at. The GE Women’s IPPT is different as all the ladies were cheering each other on and we were just motivated to do it together.”

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Cheering? In my IPPT? I feel like we’re in a different world.

Great Eastern Women’s Run on 3 Nov 2019

And in case we focus too much on the IPPT part, this IPPT is still just a part of Great Eastern Women’s Run, which is currently on its 14th year. The main event happens on 3 Nov 2019, which you can check out here.

So, the IPPT event probably doesn’t show women how the actual experience feels like, but hey, at least it’s something.

Here’s what NCMPs are, and what to expect after GE2025:

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Victor Fong
Email: [email protected]