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First "Surviving the Sky" Challenge

Surviving the Sky, Singapore's and Asia's first multi-national reality event, took place from 16 to 22 March 2004. The event was held in conjunction with Singapore Cable Car's (SCC) 30th anniversary. Participants had to endure living in cable car suspended 90 m above the air, for a total of seven days. The winning team received a grand prize of S$50,000 in cash and prizes.

Background
To commemorate Singapore Cable Car's 30th anniversary in 2004, the company organised various activities throughout the year. One of the planned activities is the first "survivor" type event of its kind in Singapore and the world: "Surviving the Sky" challenge. The challenge is open to participants from six countries: Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Hong Kong and South Korea.

A press release on 6 January 2004 announced the SCC's event to the public. Following this press release, the challenge sparked worldwide interest, with SCC receiving email enquiries from non-eligible countries, such as Switzerland, South Africa and the United States, prompting SCC to consider extending future challenges to these countries. SCC also received approximately 80 applications and over 350 emails and telephone calls from interested Singaporeans. Successful applicants were chosen after going through the selection committee's interviews.

Description
In order to emerge as the eventual winner, participants, in two-member teams, were expected to endure a gruelling challenge, living in a moving cable car for a total of 168 hours or seven days. The challenge began at 12 noon on 16 March 2004 for 33 participating teams.

There were strict rules and regulations that participating teams had to comply with if they did not want to be disqualified. Each team must consist of a male and female participant. Teams were allowed only a 10 minute break every 24 hours, of which they can take multiple breaks, as long as they do not exceed the total of 10 minutes break given to them. Three meals and three litres of drinking water were provided daily. There were minimal personal comforts: only one blanket and one pillow for each team. In addition, participants were required to perform standard and surprise tasks that the organisers had planned for them. Points awarded upon completion of the given tasks were taken in consideration in the event of a tie. Teams would be disqualified once members were deemed medically unfit or if members failed to comply with any of the stipulated rules and regulations.

By the time the contest ended on 22 March, 19 out of the original 33 teams remained, which the organisers did not anticipate. Thus they had to decide on the winning team based on the one that took the least time on toilet and other breaks throughout the competition. Based on this criteria, the team of Abdul Rahman Selamat, 29, and his teammate Zaiton Majeed, 22, emerged as the winners of the challenge. They accumulated a total break time of only 22 minutes for the entire duration of the challenge, that is, three minutes a day. They won the top prize of S$20,000 and a Mediterranean cruise worth S$30,000. The second prize of S$3,000 went to Indonesians Rachmat Karsono, 40, and Tense Manalu, 32, while another three runners-up received personal digital assistants and printers. In addition, teams that lasted at least three days were each given a S$500 shopping voucher from the organiser.



Author
Nureza Ahmad



References 
Chan, C. l. (2004, March 24). They took the shortest breaks, and came out tops. The Straits Times, Prime news, p. 6.

Outwit, outplay, outlast - in a cable car. (2004, January 7). The Straits Times, Prime news.

Singapore Cable Car. (2004). Surviving the sky. Retrieved March 24, 2004, from www.cablecar.com.sg/surviving_the_sky.html  

Singapore Tourism Board. (2004). Calendar of events. Retrieved March 9, 2004, from www.visitsingapore.com/calendar/details/0,1431,245%201844,00.html 

The information in this article is valid as at 2004 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history on the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.

Subject
Recreation>>Sports
Event>>Historical Periods>>Independence and Nation-Building (1965-)
Special events--Singapore
Survival skills--Singapore
Sports, recreation and travel>>Outdoor life>>Survival