Tussling for the ball on a recent Tuesday, two players attempted to wrestle it from Lee Fong Nam. As she gripped it to her chest, she demanded intervention from the coach. “Are you still not going to blow the whistle?”
He chuckled and said: “You all are playing rugby!”
Actually this is Singapore’s Ah Ma Flippa Ball team — Ah Ma is grandmother in several Chinese dialects. They are a group of women mostly in their 60s, 70s and 80s who play a modified version of water polo designed for children. It is also a microcosm of how this wealthy city state is changing.
As Singapore has prospered, life expectancy here has soared to 84 and now nearly a fifth of the population is over 65. In recent decades, the government has raised not only the retirement age but also what it calls the re-employment age, or how long employers are required to extend jobs for people after they reach retirement age.
It is also giving more benefits, like cash payouts, to some older citizens, as well as those in their 50s and 60s, whom it calls “young seniors.” It has dispatched “Silver Generation Ambassadors” to conduct door-to-door visits with seniors who live alone to encourage them to exercise, play games like Rummy-O, and learn robotics and other languages. Older residents are now part of a cheerleading squad, an e-sports team and the flippa ball outfit.
It’s all in a bid to help people age well.
The flippa ball team started in 2016 when a sports official at a swimming complex saw Ting Kum Luen coaching a children’s flippa ball class and asked him if he could do the same for a group of older men and women. He was skeptical.
“They are so fragile,” Mr. Ting told the official. The ball could hit their eyes, he added. Even though the men and women were somewhat active and the game would be played in a 3-foot-deep pool that would not require treading water, it was still fast-paced.
As it turned out, only the women showed up, and they have not stopped coming.
After the first few practices, they complained of bruises and scratches. Still, more than 20 women usually turn up for practice every Tuesday at the Yio Chu Kang Swimming Complex, sometimes with their daughters and granddaughters.
Ms. Lee, 70, the player who implored Mr. Ting to call a foul, said she never found the time to exercise when she was raising her three children, the youngest of whom is now 36. Discovering flippa ball two years ago, Ms. Lee said, has allowed her to feel like she did when she was a little girl, “very cheerful, unrestrained and lively.”
Singaporeans aged 65 and above get free access to all public swimming pools and gyms, and Mr. Ting coaches the team pro bono. They mostly play among themselves because he said he has not been able to find others in the same age group to compete against.
Koh Nguan Keng was preparing for a second knee replacement when, at a neighbor’s suggestion, she first started swimming at the age of 60. A decade and half later, she plays flippa ball and is in the pool about five to six a days a week.
She said she no longer has any pain in her legs and rarely sees doctors. When she does, it is to screen for her cholesterol, blood sugar and hypertension levels, part of the government’s efforts to manage chronic diseases for seniors. Ms. Koh said she pays very little to see a doctor because the government subsidizes her care.
Ms. Koh, a widow, has taken classes that the government has offered to seniors for free, learning how to use an iPhone, apply makeup, make mooncakes, and set a table. She fills her time with swimming, playing mahjong and traveling with her teammates to Malaysia.
“I never feel lonely,” Ms. Koh said.
During a recent practice, the women darted around, pushing through the water as they looked for the ball. Few paid attention to the rules.
At one point, the ball was lobbed toward Li Fang, 82, the goalkeeper. She stretched out her hand to bat it away. Ms. Li started swimming at 71, and her reaction time used to be so slow that she would reach out for the ball long after it had sailed into the goal, according to Mr. Ting.
Suzzen Chua, 55, is the de facto captain and one of the “young seniors.” She looks out for women on the team who are introverted and checks in with them regularly. She understands how easy it is to stay at home in their shells, and prods them to come out and train. She organizes social gatherings like birthday lunches and trips to Malaysia.
Su Yazhi, who has been playing for nine years, works a six-hour shift at a McDonald’s every Saturday. At 74, she is an example of why Singapore has one of the highest labor force participation rate for older people.
“I’ve been doing it for more than 10 years, so I can’t bear to give it up,” Ms. Su said. “And because I work, I’m able to make friends.”
One player on the team, Britta Coombes, is not a grandmother nor a senior. During one play, she and Ms. Lee attacked the ball. Ms. Lee waded through the pool, while Ms. Coombes, 46, executed a swift freestyle. Their teammates shrieked.
Ms. Coombes reached it first, but Ms. Lee wrapped her arms around her waist, in a clear violation of the rules, causing her to stumble. Ms. Coombes said the Ah Mas have inspired her, showing her what it means to grow old with verve.
“You look at them and you think, ‘I want to be like that when I’m that age,’” she said. “Initially, you’re like, ‘I don’t want to throw too hard, or I don’t want to be too rough.’ But then, they come at you.”
Flippa ball has given the women more than just fitness. After the one-hour practice, they gathered for coffee and local favorites like kuay teow soup at a nearby hawker center. The conversation quickly turned to whether they will be buried or cremated when they die.
“We talk about it all the time, we are not afraid of death,” said Choo Chon Giok Neo, 68. “We are just scared of not being able to move.”
Ms. Lee said she enjoys being with her teammates, who call her “crazy cow.”
“No one at home sees my personality here,” she said. “I feel like I’ve found myself again.”
Nicholas Yong contributed reporting.
Sui-Lee Wee is the Southeast Asia bureau chief for The Times, overseeing coverage of 11 countries in the region.
Chang W. Lee has been a photographer for The Times for 30 years, covering events throughout the world. He is currently based in Seoul. Follow him on Instagram @nytchangster.
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