Southeast Asian Games

The Southeast Asian Games, also known as the SEA 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).

Southeast Asian Games
The Southeast Asian Games Federation logo
AbbreviationSEA Games
First event1959 Southeast Asian Peninsular Games in Bangkok, Thailand
Occur every2 years (every odd year)
Next event2023 Southeast Asian Games in Phnom Penh, Cambodia
PurposeMulti sport event for nations on the Southeast Asian subcontinent
HeadquartersBangkok, Thailand
PresidentCharouck Arirachakaran
WebsiteSEAGFOffice.org

The Southeast Asian Games is one of the five subregional Games of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA). The others are the Central Asian Games, the East Asian Youth Games, the South Asian Games, and the West Asian Games.[1]

History

The Southeast Asian Games owes its origins to the South East Asian Peninsular Games or SEAP Games. 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), Kampuchea (now 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 12–17 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 Southeast Asian Games in 2003 Hanoi–Ho Chi Minh City.

The 2009 Southeast Asian Games was the first time Laos has ever hosted a Southeast Asian Games (Laos had previously declined to host the 1965 Southeast Asian Peninsular Games citing financial difficulties). Running from 9–18 December, it has also commemorated the 50 years of the Southeast Asian Games, held in Vientiane, Laos. The South-East Asian Games were originally called the Southeast Asian Peninsular Games, and changed its name after the inclusion of Brunei, the Philippines and Indonesia in 1977. The first SEA Games were held in Bangkok in 1959, comprising more than 527 athletes and officials in 12 sports.

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 has 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. The official logo is a combination of five fingers holding the 10-circle chain Southeast Asian Games Federation logo, shaping an image of a dove, which is a symbol of peace. There were almost 1,000 entries for the logo. The organisers also revealed “For a Stronger Southeast Asia” as the slogan for the competitions.

Participating NOCs
NOC NamesFormal NamesDebutedIOC codeOther codes used
 BruneiBrunei Darussalam1977BRUBRN (ISO)
 CambodiaKingdom of Cambodia1961CAMKHM (1972–1976, ISO)
 IndonesiaRepublic of Indonesia1977INAIHO (1952), IDN (FIFA, ISO)
 LaosLao People's Democratic Republic1959LAO
 MalaysiaMalaysia1959MASMAL (1952 − 1988), MYS (ISO)
 MyanmarRepublic of the Union of Myanmar1959MYABIR (1948 – 1988), MMR (ISO)
 PhilippinesRepublic of the Philippines1977PHIPHL (ISO)
 SingaporeRepublic of Singapore1959SGPSIN (1959 – 2016)
 ThailandKingdom of Thailand1959THA
 Timor-LesteDemocratic Republic of Timor-Leste2003TLSIOA (2000)
 VietnamSocialist Republic of Vietnam1959[lower-alpha 1]VIEVET (1964), VNM (1968–1976, ISO)
  1.  South Vietnam had competed in 1959-1973.  North Vietnam had never competed. Unified  Vietnam has competed since 1989.

Host nations and cities

Since the Southeast Asian 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
List of Southeast Asian Games
Games Year Host country Opened by Date Sports Events Nations Competitors Top-ranked team Ref
Southeast Asian Peninsular Games
1 1959 Bangkok, Thailand King Bhumibol Adulyadej 12–17 December 1959 12 N/A 6 518  Thailand (THA)
2 1961 Yangon, Burma President Win Maung 11–16 December 1961 13 N/A 7 623  Burma (BIR)
1963 Awarded to Cambodia, cancelled due to domestic political situation
3 1965 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Yang di-Pertuan Agong Ismail Nasiruddin 14–21 December 1965 14 N/A 7 963  Thailand (THA)
4 1967 Bangkok, Thailand King Bhumibol Adulyadej 9–16 December 1967 16 N/A 6 984  Thailand (THA)
5 1969 Yangon, Burma Prime Minister Ne Win 6–13 December 1969 15 N/A 6 920  Burma (BIR)
6 1971 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Yang di-Pertuan Agong Abdul Halim 6–13 December 1971 15 N/A 7 957  Thailand (THA)
7 1973 Singapore President Benjamin Sheares 1–8 September 1973 16 N/A 7 1632  Thailand (THA)
8 1975 Bangkok, Thailand King Bhumibol Adulyadej 9–16 December 1975 18 N/A 4 1142  Thailand (THA)
Southeast Asian Games
9 1977 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Yang di-Pertuan Agong Yahya Petra 19–26 November 1977 18 N/A 7 N/A  Indonesia (INA)
10 1979 Jakarta, Indonesia President Suharto 21–30 September 1979 18 N/A 7 N/A  Indonesia (INA)
11 1981 Manila, Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos 6–15 December 1981 18 N/A 7 ≈1800  Indonesia (INA)
12 1983  Singapore President Devan Nair 28 May – 6 June 1983 18 N/A 8 N/A  Indonesia (INA)
13 1985 Bangkok, Thailand King Bhumibol Adulyadej 8–17 December 1985 18 N/A 8 N/A  Thailand (THA)
14 1987 Jakarta, Indonesia President Suharto 9–20 September 1987 26 N/A 8 N/A  Indonesia (INA)
15 1989 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Yang di-Pertuan Agong Azlan Shah 20–31 August 1989 24 N/A 9 ≈2800  Indonesia (INA)
16 1991 Manila, Philippines President Corazon Aquino 24 November – 3 December 1991 28 N/A 9 N/A  Indonesia (INA)
17 1993  Singapore President Wee Kim Wee 12–20 June 1993 29 N/A 9 ≈3000  Indonesia (INA)
18 1995 Chiang Mai, Thailand Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn 9–17 December 1995 28 N/A 10 3262  Thailand (THA)
19 1997 Jakarta, Indonesia President Suharto 11–19 October 1997 36 490 10 5179  Indonesia (INA)
20 1999 Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah 7–15 August 1999 21 233 10 2365  Thailand (THA)
21 2001 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Yang di-Pertuan Agong Salahuddin 8–17 September 2001 32 391 10 4165  Malaysia (MAS)
22 2003 Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Prime Minister Phan Văn Khải 5–13 December 2003 32 442 11 ≈5000  Vietnam (VIE)
23 2005 Manila, Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo 27 November – 5 December 2005 40 443 11 5336  Philippines (PHI)
24 2007 Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn 6–15 December 2007 43 475 11 5282  Thailand (THA)
25 2009 Vientiane, Laos President Choummaly Sayasone 9–18 December 2009 29 372 11 3100  Thailand (THA)
26 2011 Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono 11–22 November 2011 44 545 11 5965  Indonesia (INA)
27 2013 Naypyidaw, Myanmar Vice President Nyan Tun 11–22 December 2013 37 460 11 4730  Thailand (THA)
28 2015  Singapore President Tony Tan 5–16 June 2015 36 402 11 4370  Thailand (THA)
29 2017 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Yang di-Pertuan Agong Muhammad V 19–30 August 2017 38 404 11 4709  Malaysia (MAS)
30 2019 Philippines[lower-alpha 1] President Rodrigo Duterte 30 November – 11 December 2019 56 530 11 5630  Philippines (PHI)
31 2021 Hanoi, Vietnam[lower-alpha 2] President Nguyễn Xuân Phúc 12–23 May,2022 40 526 11 5467  Vietnam (VIE)
32 2023 Phnom Penh, Cambodia King Norodom Sihamoni (expected) 5—16 May 2023 Future event
33 2025 Bangkok, Thailand[3] King Vajiralongkorn (expected) TBD 2025 Future event
34 2027 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia[4] Yang di-Pertuan Agong Ibrahim Ismail (expected) TBD 2027 Future event
35 2029 Singapore[5] Future event
36 2031 Laos[6] Future event
37 2033 Philippines[6] Future event
  1. The 2019 Southeast Asian Games is the first officially decentralized games. While games were held in various cities around the country, mostly in the Clark City, Metro Manila region and the Subic Bay areas, there is no designated host city for this edition.Due this they are alternately known as "Philippines 2019".
  2. 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 the COVID-19 pandemic,the games were delayed to May 2022.

The 1963 Southeast Asian Peninsular Games were canceled. As the designated host, Cambodia was not able 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.[7]

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 (shaded grey in the table below). 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][8]

SportYears
Archery1977–1997, since 2001
Arnis1991, 2005, 2019
AthleticsAll
BadmintonAll
Baseball2005–2007, 2011, 2019
Basketball1979–2003, 2007, since 2011
Billiards and snookerSince 1987
Bodybuilding1987–1993, 1997, 2003–2007,
2013, since 2021
Bowling1977–1979, 1983–2001,
2005–2007, 2011, since 2015
BoxingAll
Canoeing1985, 1995, 2001, 2005–2007,
2011–2015, since 2019
Chess2003–2005, 2011–2013,
since 2019
Chinlone2013 only
Contract bridge2011 only
Cricket2017 only
Cycling1959–1979, since 1983
Dancesport2005–2009, since 2019
DivingSince 1965
DuathlonSince 2019
EsportsSince 2019
Equestrian1983, 1995, 2001, 2005–2007,
2011–2017
Fencing1974–1978, since 1986
Field hockey1971–1979, 1983, 1987–1989,
1993–2001, 2007, 2013–2017
Figure skating2017–2019
Fin swimming2003, 2009–2011, since 2021
Floorball2015, 2019
FootballAll
Futsal2007, 2011–2013, 2017, since 2021
Golf1985–1997, 2001, since 2005
Gymnastics1979–1981, 1985–1997,
2001–2007, 2011, since 2015
Handball2005–2007, since 2021
Beach handballSince 2019
Ice hockey2017–2019
Indoor hockey2017–2019
Ju-jitsuSince 2019
Judo1967–1997, since 2001
Karate1985–1991, 1995–1997,
2001–2013, since 2017
Kenpō2011–2013
KickboxingSince 2019
KurashSince 2019
Lawn bowls1999, 2001, 2005, 2007,
2017–2019
Modern pentathlon2019
Muaythai2005–2009, 2013, since 2019
Netball2001, 2015–2019
Obstacle racing2019
Paragliding2011 only
Pencak silat1987–1989, 1993–1997,
since 2001
PétanqueSince 2001
Polo2007, 2017–2019
Roller sports2011 only
Rowing1989–1991, 1997, 2001–2007,
2011–2015, since 2019
Rugby union1969, 1977–1979, 1995, 2007
Rugby sevens2015–2019
Sailing1961, 1967–1971, 1975–1977,
1983–1997, 2001, 2005–2007,
2011–2019
Sambo2019
Sepak takraw1967–1969, since 1973
ShootingAll
Short track speed skating2017–2019
Shuttle cock2007–2009
Skateboarding2019
Sport climbing2011 only
Softball1981–1983, 1989, 2003–2005,
2011, 2015, 2019
Soft tennis2011, 2019
Squash1991–2001, 2005–2007,
2015–2019
SwimmingAll
Surfing2019
Synchronized swimming2001, 2011, 2015–2017
Table tennisAll
TaekwondoSince 1985
Tennis1959–2011, since 2015
Traditional boat race1993, 1997–1999,
2003–2007, 2011–2015
Triathlon2005–2007, since 2015
Volleyball1959–1997, since 2001
Vovinam2011–2013, since 2021
Water polo1965–2017
Water skiing1987, 1997, 2011, 2015–2017
WakeboardingSince 2019
Weightlifting1959–1997, 2001–2013, since 2017
Wrestling1987, 1997, 2003–2013, since 2019
Wushu1991–1993, 1997, since 2001
XiangqiSince 2021

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.[9][10][11][12][13][14][15]

All-time Southeast Asian Games medal table
RankNOCGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 Thailand (THA)2345203120966472
2 Indonesia (INA)1893179618615550
3 Malaysia (MAS)[1]1342131817754435
4 Vietnam (VIE)[2]113399211073232
5 Philippines (PHI)1122126015873969
6 Singapore (SGP)994104814363478
7 Myanmar (MYA)[3]57375910272359
8 Cambodia (CAM)[4]78128299505
9 Laos (LAO)71100352523
10 Brunei (BRU)1556164235
11 Timor-Leste (TLS)392840
Totals (11 entries)956994971173230798
  • ^[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. Therefore, the medal counts for this country are considered to be as until 1975. In the 1989 edition, a unified Vietnam rejoined the games with a new name and flag. Medals won by South Vietnam are already combined here. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) does not use codes for South Vietnam anymore after the unification with North Vietnam.
  • ^[3] – Competed as Burma until 1987.
  • ^[4] – Competed as Kampuchea, and Khmer Republic.

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

The games are unique in that it has 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 Southeast Asian Games sports).[16]

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.[17][18] Examples of these include:

  • At the 2001 Southeast Asian Games, Malaysia introduced pétanque, and netball.
  • At the 2003 Southeast Asian Games, Vietnam added fin swimming and shuttlecock, and wushu offered 28 gold medals instead of the usual 16.
  • In the 2005 Southeast Asian Games, the Philippines added arnis, a demonstration sport in 2003, with six sets of medals, and the Philippines bagged three gold medals. 2005 also saw the addition of baseball, dance sport, and softball.
  • At the 2007 Southeast Asian Games, Thailand added new categories of sepak takraw. In addition, the Thai Sepak Takraw Federation decided to replace the traditional rattan ball for a rubber ball, which was uncommon in other participating countries, causing a great deal of controversy and led to Malaysia boycotting the sport. Consequently, Thailand won all 8 events. Apart from this, local organizers also added futsal in this edition of the games.[19]
  • In the 2011 Southeast Asian Games, Indonesia the organizers decided to cancel the team events in table tennis and reduced the number of events in shooting to 14, following the decisions made by the International Sports Federation to reduce the number of events in the World Championships. At the same time, bridge, kenpō, paragliding, vovinam and wall climbing were introduced.
  • In the 2013 Southeast Asian Games, Myanmar introduced its indigenous sport Chinlone. The host won six of eight gold medals in the event. They also introduced board games with events on Sittuyin, a traditional Burmese board game, and chess.[20]
  • In the 2017 Southeast Asian Games, Malaysia introduced cricket, indoor hockey and three winter sport events, figure skating, short track speed skating and ice hockey.[21]
  • In the 2019 Southeast Asian Games, the Philippines added beach handball, duathlon, e-sports, jiu-jitsu, kickboxing, kurash, sambo, skateboarding, surfing and wakeboarding. Certain events in Modern Pentathlon were made in non-Olympic formats.

See also

References
  1. Games page of the website of the Olympic Council of Asia; retrieved 2010-07-09.
  2. "South East Asian Games Federation: Charter and Rules" (PDF). SEAGF. 30 May 2010. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  3. "OCM: 31st SEA Games to be held from May 12–23 next year". Malay Mail. 12 December 2021. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  4. "Malaysia to host 2027 SEA Games". The Star. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  5. "Singapore to host 2029 SEA Games". Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  6. Cua, Aric John Sy (13 July 2022). "PH to host SEA Games in 2033". The Manila Times. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  7. "History of the SEA Games". www.olympic.org.my. Archived from the original on 17 December 2004. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
  8. Ian De Cotta (5 June 2015). "A cool addition to the SEA Games". Today Online. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  9. "South East Asian Games Medal Count". Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  10. SEAP Games Federation
  11. Medal Tally 1959-1995
  12. Medal Tally
  13. History of the SEA Games
  14. SEA Games previous medal table
  15. SEA Games members
  16. Pattharapong Rattanasevee (21 July 2017). "Southeast Asian Games yet to win gold for sporting spirit". South China Morning Post.
  17. Sea Games morphing into a monster-cum-circus
  18. Sea Games reduced to a carnival
  19. Sports. "VietNamNet - SEA Games or a village festival | SEA Games or a village festival". English.vietnamnet.vn. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  20. HS Manjunath (10 December 2013). "Cambodia eye record medal haul". The Phnom Penh Post. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
  21. "4 new sports we can now watch in 2017 SEA Games". Red Bull. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
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