irenetan

SINGAPORE: This year's National Day celebrations will be showcasing two niche sports – Freestyle Motocross (FMX) and remote control kite-flying.

Audience will be able to catch daring FMX stunts like 'Rock Skid' and 'Ruler Indy' at the pre-parade show.

FMX professional riders enjoy rockstar status in countries like Australia and the US, where the sport has a huge following.

While Singapore has yet to produce FMX riders, an upcoming Motocross site may just change that.

Paul "Spud" Spencer, a professional freestyle rider, said: "We weren't too sure if Singapore riders would be up to scratch, until we met one of the Singaporean riders from Black Unit. His name is Shyam and we said he's got some! He's really good and surprised us. It looks like Singapore has got a bit of a future in the freestyle industry."

But the industry is naturally not for everyone.

Despite using safety gear, injuries like dislocated shoulders, broken arms and ribs are common.

Mr Spencer said: "I've got a lot of metal plates, screws and pins in my body."

Remote control kites – the brainchild of Singaporean Michael Lim, who was inspired by his daughter seven years ago – form a sea of glowing flecks in the night sky.

42 kites will be used to mark the nation's 42nd birthday at the parade and many hope the sport will take off after the performance.