By May Chen

AN ALREADY jam-packed schools sports calendar is under greater pressure because of heavy rain in the past two weeks.

Football, softball, tennis, netball and hockey were some of the sports which had seen match postponements, in some cases, more than once.

According to the National Environment Agency, rainfall had been unusually high in the past two weeks, with northern Singapore, for instance, experiencing the highest rainfall of 310mm to 350mm.

This is 290 per cent above the usual average.

K. Thanaraj, Seng Kang Secondary's head of physical education, said: 'The weather has been very unpredictable. It's inconvenient, and it's also a safety issue.'

Training sessions had been irregular because of water-logged pitches and the threat of lightning.

The school's football team had to postpone at least two matches during the group stages.

While the team have qualified for the North Zone soccer final, the match now has to be played next week. It was initially scheduled for before this week's school holidays.

Several schools officials have voiced concerns over whether the bulk of the sports calendar, which has been condensed to accommodate the June 29-July 7 Asian Youth Games, can be completed before the Games.

Schools sports competitions typically end in July.

The Straits Times put these concerns to the Co-Curricular Activities Branch, but it was unable to respond by press time.

Even without the rain, sports such as softball are already finding it tough to accommodate the calendar squeeze.

Softball powerhouse Tanjong Katong Girls' School - winners of five consecutive B Division titles - are having problems putting together a competitive C Division team.

The C Division competition usually starts in July, but for this year, the tournament was brought forward to March.

And with only a limited number of seniors in the team, the school are struggling to get their rookies up to the mark in the short period of time.

Said TKGS softball teacher-in-charge Tay Yea Bih: 'We don't even have enough Secondary 2 players to make up a complete team.

'The Secondary 1 students don't have any background in the sport. It's hard to train and prepare them in time for competition.

'Our chances of winning the title will most likely be affected.'

This article was first published in The Straits Times.