SEA Games

The Southeast Asian Games, commonly known as 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 and the Olympic Council of Asia.

SEA Games
Games
1959 1961 1965 1967 1969 1971 1973 1975 1977 1979 1981 1983 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 2017 2019 2021 2023 2025 2027 2029 2031 2033

SEA Games

Abbreviation	SEA Games
First event	1959 Southeast Asian Peninsular Games in Bangkok, Thailand
Occur every	2 odd-numbered years
Next event	2025 Southeast Asian Games in Bangkok, Chonburi, and Songkhla, Thailand
Purpose	Multi sport event for nations on the Southeast Asian subcontinent
Headquarters	Bangkok, Thailand
President	Charouck Arirachakaran

The SEA Games is one of the five subregional Games of the Olympic Council of Asia, the others being South Asian Games, West Asian Games, East Asian Games, and Central Asian Games.^[1]

History

The SEA Games owes its origins to the South East Asian Peninsular Games or SEAP Games (abbreviated as SEAPG). 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), 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 to 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, while South Vietnam was fallen and no longer existed, 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. The unified Vietnam (Socialist Republic of Vietnam) returned to the games' 15th edition in 1989. East Timor, one year after gaining independence from Indonesia, was admitted at the 22nd SEA Games in 2003.

The 2009 SEA Games was the first time Laos has ever hosted a SEA Games (Laos had previously declined to host the 1965 SEAP Games citing financial difficulties). Running from 9–18 December, it has also commemorated the 50 years of the SEA Games, held in Vientiane, Laos. The 2023 SEA Games, held from 5–17 May, was the first time Cambodia has ever hosted a SEA Games (Cambodia was awarded the 1963 SEAP Games, which was cancelled due to domestic political situation).

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 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.

Participating NOCs

Nation	Code	National Olympic Committee	Created	Debuted
Brunei	BRU	Brunei Darussalam National Olympic Council	1984	1977
Cambodia	CAM	National Olympic Committee of Cambodia	1983	1961
Indonesia	INA	Indonesian Olympic Committee	1946	1977
Laos	LAO	National Olympic Committee of Laos	1975	1959
Malaysia	MAS	Olympic Council of Malaysia	1953	1959
Myanmar	MYA	Myanmar Olympic Committee	1947	1959
Philippines	PHI	Philippine Olympic Committee	1911	1977
Singapore	SGP	Singapore National Olympic Council	1947	1959
Thailand	THA	National Olympic Committee of Thailand	1948	1959
East Timor	TLS	National Olympic Committee of Timor-Leste	2003
Vietnam	VIE	Vietnam Olympic Committee	1952	1959[lower-alpha 1]

1. Debuted as  South Vietnam, which competed from 1959–1973.  North Vietnam never competed. Unified Vietnam has competed since 1989.

Editions

Main article: List of SEA Games host cities

1959, 1967, 1975, 1985, 2025

1961, 1969

1965, 1971, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2017, 2027

1973, 1983, 1993, 2015

1979, 1987, 1997, 2011

1981, 1991, 2005

1995

1999

2003, 2021

2003

2007

2009

2011

2013

2019

2023

2025

2025

2027

2027

Location of the Southeast Asian Games host

List of SEA Games

Games	Year	Host cities	Opened by[lower-alpha 1]	Date	Sports	Events	Nations	Competitors	Top-ranked team	Ref
SEAP Games
1	1959	Bangkok, Thailand	King Bhumibol Adulyadej	12–17 December 1959	12	67	6	518	Thailand (THA)
2	1961	Yangon, Burma	President Win Maung	11–16 December 1961	13	86	7	623	Burma (BIR)
3	1965	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	Yang di-Pertuan Agong Ismail Nasiruddin	14–21 December 1965	14	134	7	963	Thailand (THA)
4	1967	Bangkok, Thailand	King Bhumibol Adulyadej	9–16 December 1967	16	144	6	984
5	1969	Yangon, Burma	Prime Minister Ne Win	6–13 December 1969	15	145		920	Burma (BIR)
6	1971	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	Yang di-Pertuan Agong Abdul Halim	6–13 December 1971	15	156	7	957	Thailand (THA)
7	1973	Singapore	President Benjamin Sheares	1–8 September 1973	16	161		1,632
8	1975	Bangkok, Thailand	King Bhumibol Adulyadej	9–16 December 1975	18	172	4	1,142
SEA Games
9	1977	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	Yang di-Pertuan Agong Yahya Petra	19–26 November 1977	18	188	7	N/A	Indonesia (INA)
10	1979	Jakarta, Indonesia	President Soeharto	21–30 September 1979	18	226		N/A
11	1981	Manila, Philippines	President Ferdinand Marcos	6–15 December 1981	18	245		≈1,800
12	1983	Singapore	President Devan Nair	28 May – 6 June 1983	18	233	8	N/A
13	1985	Bangkok, Thailand	King Bhumibol Adulyadej	8–17 December 1985	18	251		N/A	Thailand (THA)
14	1987	Jakarta, Indonesia	President Soeharto	9–20 September 1987	26	372		N/A	Indonesia (INA)
15	1989	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	Yang di-Pertuan Agong Azlan Shah	20–31 August 1989	24	302	9	≈2,800
16	1991	Manila, Philippines	President Corazon Aquino	24 November – 3 December 1991	28	327		N/A
17	1993	Singapore	President Wee Kim Wee	12–20 June 1993	29	318		≈3,000
18	1995	Chiang Mai, Thailand	Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn [lower-alpha 2]	9–17 December 1995	28	335	10	3,262	Thailand (THA)
19	1997	Jakarta, Indonesia	President Soeharto	11–19 October 1997	36	490		5,179	Indonesia (INA)
20	1999	Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei	Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah	7–15 August 1999	21	233		2,365	Thailand (THA)
21	2001	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	Yang di-Pertuan Agong Salahuddin	8–17 September 2001	32	391		4,165	Malaysia (MAS)
22	2003	Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam	Prime Minister Phan Văn Khải [lower-alpha 3]	5–13 December 2003	32	442	11	≈5,000	Vietnam (VIE)
23	2005	Manila, Philippines	President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo	27 November – 5 December 2005	40	443		5,336	Philippines (PHI)
24	2007	Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand	Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn [lower-alpha 2]	6–15 December 2007	43	475		5,282	Thailand (THA)
25	2009	Vientiane, Laos	President Choummaly Sayasone	9–18 December 2009	29	372		3,100
26	2011	Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia	President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono	11–22 November 2011	44	545		5,965	Indonesia (INA)
27	2013	Naypyidaw, Myanmar	Vice President Nyan Tun [lower-alpha 4]	11–22 December 2013	37	460		4,730	Thailand (THA)
28	2015	Singapore	President Tony Tan	5–16 June 2015	36	402		4,370
29	2017	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	Yang di-Pertuan Agong Muhammad V	19–30 August 2017	38	404		4,709	Malaysia (MAS)
30	2019	Philippines[lower-alpha 5]	President Rodrigo Duterte	30 November – 11 December 2019	56	530		5,630	Philippines (PHI)
31	2021	Hanoi, Vietnam[lower-alpha 6]	President Nguyễn Xuân Phúc	12–23 May 2022	40	523		5,467	Vietnam (VIE)
32	2023	Phnom Penh, Cambodia	Prime Minister Hun Sen [lower-alpha 7]	5–17 May 2023	37	584		6,210
33	2025	Bangkok, Chonburi, and Songkhla, Thailand	King Vajiralongkorn (expected)	9–20 December 2025	42	567[3]	Future event
34	2027	Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Sarawak, Malaysia[lower-alpha 8]	Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar (expected)	Future event
35	2029	Singapore[6]	Future event
36	2031	TBA, Laos[7]	Future event
37	2033	TBA, Philippines[7]	Future event

1. Names & offices in italics reflect an opener who was not head of state when opening the Games. If the office is partially italicized, the non-italicized portion is the office & name of the head of state being represented.
2. Representing his father, Bhumibol Adulyadej, King of Thailand.
3. Representing Trần Đức Lương, President of Vietnam.
4. Representing Thein Sein, President of Myanmar.
5. The 2019 SEA Games was officially decentralized. Events were held in various cities around the Philippines, mostly in the Clark City, the Metro Manila region, and the Subic Bay areas, however there was no single designated host city. The games were known as "Philippines 2019".
6. Many events were held in various cities over the country to give support to Hanoi, who was the main host of the event. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the games were delayed to May 2022.
7. Representing Norodom Sihamoni, King of Cambodia.
8. Apart from Kuala Lumpur, two Malaysian states – Penang and Sarawak – have agreed to co-host the 2027 SEA Games.^[4] Sabah had also planned to co-host, but they pulled out.^[5]

The 1963 SEAP Games were cancelled. As the designated host, Cambodia was unable 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.^[8] In 2023, Cambodia was finally able to host the sports event for the first time at its newly built sports complex.^[9]

Sports

Main article: SEA Games 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. 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][10]

This charter was modified in 2023, these new rules will guide the Games starting in 2025. Each edition will have a minimum of 36 sports, composed as follows: The compulsory Category 1 now comprises two subcategories: 1A, which consists of aquatics and athletics, and 1B, a minimum of 10 Olympic sports from the Summer Olympic Games. Under Category 2, the host must include a minimum of 10 other sports from the Olympic Games (summer/winter), Asian Games, and Asian Indoor & Martial Arts Games or Beach Games. Category 3 is now capped at a maximum of four sports.^[11][12] The first games with the new charter in effect will be held in 2025.^[13]

List of SEA Games sports

Category 1		Category 2		Category 3
1A	1B	Olympic sports	Asian Games / AIMAG / ABG sports	Traditional[lower-alpha 1]	Other or ABG Sports[lower-alpha 2]
Athletics	Archery 1977–1997, 2001–2021		Billiards and snooker Since 1987	Arnis 1991, 2005, 2019, 2023	Aquathlon 2023
Diving Since 1965	Badminton		Bowling 1977–1979, 1983–2001, 2005–2007, 2011, 2015–2021	Bokator 2023	Baseball5[14] 2025
Artistic swimming 2001, 2011, 2015–2017	Baseball 2005–2007, 2011, 2019		Chess 2003–2005, 2011–2013, since 2019	Chinlone 2013	Bodybuilding 1987–1993, 1997, 2003–2007, 2013, 2021
Swimming	Basketball 1979–2003, 2007, since 2011		Cricket 2017, 2023	Muay Thai 2005–2009, 2013, 2019–2021	Beach handball 2019–2021
Water polo 1965–2019, 2023	Boxing		Dancesport 2005–2009, since 2019	Traditional boat race 1993, 1997–1999, 2003–2007, 2011–2015, 2023	Contract bridge 2011
	Canoeing 1985, 1995, 2001, 2005–2007, 2011–2015, 2019–2021		Esports Since 2019	Kenpō 2011–2013	Duathlon Since 2019
	Cycling 1959–1979, since 1983		Finswimming 2003, 2009–2011, since 2021	Kun Khmer 2023	Floorball 2015, 2019, 2023
	Equestrian 1983, 1995, 2001, 2005–2007, 2011–2017		Futsal 2007, 2011–2013, 2017, 2021	Vovinam 2011–2013, since 2021	Lawn bowls 1999, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2017–2019
	Fencing 2003–2007, 2011, since 2015		Indoor hockey 2017–2019, 2023		Obstacle racing 2019, 2023
	Field hockey 1971–1979, 1983, 1987–1989, 1993–2001, 2007, 2013–2017, 2023		Ju-jitsu Since 2019		Paragliding 2011
	Football		Kickboxing Since 2019		Pétanque Since 2001
	Golf 1985–1997, 2001, since 2005		Kurash 2019–2021		Polo 2007, 2017–2019
	Gymnastics 1979–1981, 1985–1997, 2001–2007, 2011, since 2015		Netball 2001, 2015–2019		Shuttle cock 2007–2009
	Handball 2005–2007, 2021		Pencak silat 1987–1989, 1993–1997, since 2001		Soft tennis 2011, 2019, 2023
	Judo 1967–1997, since 2001		Roller sports 2011		Waterskiing 1987, 1997, 2011, 2015–2019
	Karate 1985–1991, 1995–1997, 2001–2013, since 2017		Rugby union 1969, 1977–1979, 1995, 2007
	Modern pentathlon 2019		Sambo 2019
	Rowing 1989–1991, 1997, 2001–2007, 2011–2015, since 2019		Sepak takraw 1967–1969, since 1973
	Rugby sevens 2015–2019		Squash 1991–2001, 2005–2007, 2015–2019
	Sailing 1961, 1967–1971, 1975–1977, 1983–1997, 2001, 2005–2007, 2011–2019, 2023		Wushu 1991–1993, 1997, since 2001
	Shooting 1959–2021		Xiangqi Since 2021
	Skateboarding 2019
	Softball 1981–1983, 1989, 2003–2005, 2011, 2015, 2019
	Sport climbing 2011
	Surfing 2019
	Table tennis
	Taekwondo Since 1985
	Tennis 1959–2011, since 2015
	Triathlon 2005–2007, since 2015
	Volleyball 1959–1997, since 2001
	Weightlifting 1959–1997, 2001–2013, since 2017
	Wrestling 1987, 1997, 2003–2013, since 2019
		Figure skating 2017–2019
		Ice hockey 2017–2019
		Short track speed skating 2017–2019

1. Traditional or regional sports that are not part of Asian Games, Asian Indoor & Martial Arts Games or Asian Beach Games.
2. Sports that previously appeared in some SEA Games editions but are not an Olympic, Asian Games, nor Asian Indoor & Martial Arts Games sport.

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.^{[15][16][17][18][19][20][21]}

All-time Southeast Asian Games medal table

Rank	NOC	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Thailand (THA)	2,453	2,127	2,204	6,784
2	Indonesia (INA)	1,980	1,876	1,970	5,826
3	Malaysia (MAS)[1]	1,376	1,363	1,872	4,611
4	Vietnam (VIE)[2]	1,269	1,097	1,221	3,587
5	Philippines (PHI)	1,180	1,346	1,702	4,228
6	Singapore (SGP)	1,045	1,090	1,500	3,635
7	Myanmar (MYA)[3]	594	784	1,095	2,473
8	Cambodia (CAM)[4]	159	202	425	786
9	Laos (LAO)	77	122	412	611
10	Brunei (BRU)	17	57	170	244
11	East Timor (TLS)	3	9	39	51
Totals (11 entries)		10,153	10,073	12,610	32,836

• ^[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. In the 1989 edition, a unified Vietnam rejoined the games with a new name and flag. Medals won by South Vietnam until 1975 and by Vietnam after 1989 are combined here.
• ^[3] Competed as Burma until 1987.
• ^[4] Competed as Kampuchea, and Khmer Republic.

List of multiple Southeast Asian Games medalists

Main article: 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

One unique characteristic of the event is that there are 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 SEA Games sports).^[22] 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.^[23][24][25] Several nations have called for amending the charter of the games to address the issue.^[26][27] In 2023, the SEA Games charter was modified in an effort to make the number of sports in each edition more standardized, reducing the host's leeway to remove several sports, maximize medal hauls by introducing obscure local sports, and tamper with the competition's rules.^[11][28]

See also

Events of the OCA (Continental) Asian Games Asian Winter Games Asian Youth Games Asian Beach Games Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games

Events of the OCA (Subregional) Central Asian Games East Asian Games (now East Asian Youth Games) South Asian Games West Asian Games

Events of the APC (Continental) Asian Para Games Asian Youth Para Games

Events of the APC (Subregional) ASEAN Para Games

References

1. Games page of the website of the Olympic Council of Asia; Archived 2010-12-11 at the Wayback Machine; retrieved 2010-07-09.
2. "South East Asian Games Federation: Charter and Rules" (PDF). SEAGF. 30 May 2010. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
3. "The 33rd SEA Games 2025 will feature 44 sports of 567 events". The Nation. 26 October 2024.
4. "2027 SEA Games: Cost of organising estimated at RM700 mln, S'wak agrees to cover half, says Hannah". The Borneo Post. 29 August 2024. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
5. "Sabah withdraws from co-hosting 2027 SEA Games, Parliament told". Malay Mail. 22 October 2024. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
6. "Singapore to host 2029 SEA Games". Retrieved 12 May 2022.
7. Cua, Aric John Sy (13 July 2022). "PH to host SEA Games in 2033". The Manila Times. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
8. "History of the SEA Games". www.olympic.org.my. Archived from the original on 17 December 2004. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
9. "Cambodia celebrates success in first-time hosting of SEA Games - Khmer Times". 18 November 2023. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
10. Ian De Cotta (5 June 2015). "A cool addition to the SEA Games". Today Online. Archived from the original on 20 June 2015. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
11. Lee, David (17 May 2023). "SEA Games sports programme to be standardised from 2025 to 2029". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
12. "ยกเครื่องซีเกมส์! เลิกเน้นกีฬาพื้นบ้าน-เริ่มที่ไทยหนหน้า" [Overhaul the SEA Games! Stop focusing on local sports – start in Thailand next]. Naewna (in Thai). 5 May 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
13. Navarro, June (17 May 2023). "Bambol assurance: Drastic reduction of indigenous games in next SEA Games calendar". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
14. "Men's Baseball, Men's and Women's Softball and Baseball5 to feature in 2025 South East Asian Games". World Baseball Softball Confederation. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
15. "South East Asian Games Medal Count". Archived from the original on 3 September 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
16. SEAP Games Federation Archived 13 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine
17. Medal Tally 1959-1995
18. Medal Tally
19. History of the SEA Games
20. SEA Games previous medal table
21. SEA Games members
22. Pattharapong Rattanasevee (21 July 2017). "Southeast Asian Games yet to win gold for sporting spirit". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 4 August 2017.
23. Mariadass, Tony (24 November 2019). "Sea Games morphing into a monster-cum-circus". New Straits Times. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
24. Mariadass, Tony. "Sea Games reduced to a carnival". Free Malaysia Today. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
25. "The SEA Games Contain the Seeds of Their Own Irrelevance". thediplomat.com. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
26. "Indonesian NOC calls for amendment to Southeast Asian Games Federation Charter on sports programme". Inside the Games. 20 September 2022. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
27. ""พลตรีจารึก" เตรียมเสนอปรับธรรมนูญสหพันธ์กีฬาซีเกมส์". Thai PBS (in Thai). 13 March 2013. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
28. Henson, Joaquin. "Bambol reveals new SEA Games order". Philstar.com. Retrieved 19 May 2023.

External links

• Olympic Council of Asia Regional Hosting List
• SEA Games Federation^[usurped]
• Medal Tally 1959–1995 (archived 11 January 1998)
• Medal Tally (archived 11 October 2008)
• History of the SEA Games (archived 17 December 2004)
• SEA Games previous medal table (archived 4 December 2009)
• SEA Games members (archived 7 December 2001)