SEA Games

Template:Short description Template:EngvarB Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox recurring event Template:Infobox sporting event organization

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.

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.<ref>Games page of the website of the Olympic Council of Asia; Template:Webarchive; retrieved 2010-07-09.</ref>

HistoryEdit

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.<ref name="charter"/>

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).

SymbolEdit

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 NOCsEdit

Nation	Code	National Olympic Committee	Created	Debuted
Template:Flag	BRU	Brunei Darussalam National Olympic Council	1984	1977
Template:Flag	CAM	National Olympic Committee of Cambodia	1983	1961
Template:Flag	INA	Indonesian Olympic Committee	1946	1977
Template:Flag	LAO	National Olympic Committee of Laos	1975	1959
Template:Flag	MAS	Olympic Council of Malaysia	1953	1959
Template:Flag	MYA	Myanmar Olympic Committee	1947	1959
Template:Flag	PHI	Philippine Olympic Committee	1911	1977
Template:Flag	SGP	Singapore National Olympic Council	1947	1959
Template:Flag	THA	National Olympic Committee of Thailand	1948	1959
Template:Flag	TLS	National Olympic Committee of Timor-Leste	2003
Template:Flag	VIE	Vietnam Olympic Committee	1952	1959Template:Efn

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TimelinesEdit

Nation	Code	as SEAP Games									as SEA Games																									Total
Nation	Code	59	61	63	65	67	69	71	73	75	77	79	81	83	85	87	89	91	93	95	97	99	01	03	05	07	09	11	13	15	17	19	21	23	25	Total
Template:Flag	BRU			scope="col" rowspan="12" Template:Vert header							•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	26
Template:Flag Template:Efn	CAM		•	•			•	•					•	•	•				•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	23
Template:Flag	INA									•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	26
Template:Flag Template:Efn	LAO	•	•	•	•	•	•	•								•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	26
Template:Flag Template:Efn	MAS	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	33
Template:Flag Template:Efn	MYA	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	33
Template:Flag	PHI									•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	26
Template:Flag	SGP	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	33
Template:Flag	THA	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	33
Template:Flag	TLS									part of Template:Flagicon Indonesia													•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	12
Template:Flag Template:Efn	VIE	•	•	•	•	•	•	•								•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	26
Total		6	7	7	6	6	7	7	4	7	7	7	8	8	8	9	9	9	10	10	10	10	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	297

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EditionsEdit

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} List of SEA Games host cities

List of SEA Games
No.	Year	Host cities	Opened byTemplate:Efn	Date	Sports	Events	Na.	Com.	Top-ranked	Ref.
SEAP Games
1	1959	Template:Flagicon Bangkok, Thailand	King Bhumibol Adulyadej	12–17 December 1959	12	67	6	518	Template:FlagIOC2team	[1]
2	1961	Template:Flagicon Rangoon, Burma	President Win Maung	11–16 December 1961	13	86	7	623	Template:FlagIOC2team	[2]
3	1965	Template:Flagicon Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	Yang di-Pertuan Agong Ismail Nasiruddin	14–21 December 1965	14	134	7	963	Template:FlagIOC2team	[3]
4	1967	Template:Flagicon Bangkok, Thailand	King Bhumibol Adulyadej	9–16 December 1967	16	144	6	984	Template:FlagIOC2team	[4]
5	1969	Template:Flagicon Rangoon, Burma	Prime Minister Ne Win	6–13 December 1969	15	145	6	920	Template:FlagIOC2team	[5]
6	1971	Template:Flagicon Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	Yang di-Pertuan Agong Abdul Halim	6–13 December 1971	15	156	7	957	Template:FlagIOC2team	[6]
7	1973	Template:Flagicon Singapore	President Benjamin Sheares	1–8 September 1973	16	161	7	1,632		[7]
8	1975	Template:Flagicon Bangkok, Thailand	King Bhumibol Adulyadej	9–16 December 1975	18	172	4	1,142		[8]
SEA Games
9	1977	Template:Flagicon Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	Yang di-Pertuan Agong Yahya Petra	19–26 November 1977	18	188	7	N/A	Template:FlagIOC2team	[9]
10	1979	Template:Flagicon Jakarta, Indonesia	President Soeharto	21–30 September 1979	18	226		N/A		[10]
11	1981	Template:Flagicon Manila, Philippines	President Ferdinand Marcos	6–15 December 1981	18	245		≈1,800		[11]
12	1983	Template:Flagicon Singapore	President Devan Nair	28 May – 6 June 1983	18	233	8	N/A		[12]
13	1985	Template:Flagicon Bangkok, Thailand	King Bhumibol Adulyadej	8–17 December 1985	18	251		N/A	Template:FlagIOC2team	[13]
14	1987	Template:Flagicon Jakarta, Indonesia	President Soeharto	9–20 September 1987	26	372		N/A	Template:FlagIOC2team	[14]
15	1989	Template:Flagicon Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	Yang di-Pertuan Agong Azlan Shah	20–31 August 1989	24	302	9	≈2,800		[15]
16	1991	Template:Flagicon Manila, Philippines	President Corazon Aquino	24 November – 3 December 1991	28	327		N/A		[16]
17	1993	Template:Flagicon Singapore	President Wee Kim Wee	12–20 June 1993	29	318		≈3,000		[17]
18	1995	Template:Flagicon Chiang Mai, Thailand	Crown Prince VajiralongkornTemplate:Efn	9–17 December 1995	28	335	10	3,262	Template:FlagIOC2team	[18]
19	1997	Template:Flagicon Jakarta, Indonesia	President Soeharto	11–19 October 1997	36	490		5,179	Template:FlagIOC2team	[19]
20	1999	Template:Flagicon Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei	Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah	7–15 August 1999	21	233		2,365	Template:FlagIOC2team	[20]
21	2001	Template:Flagicon Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	Yang di-Pertuan Agong Salahuddin	8–17 September 2001	32	391		4,165	Template:FlagIOC2team	[21]
22	2003	Template:Flagicon Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam	Prime Minister Phan Văn KhảiTemplate:Efn	5–13 December 2003	32	442	11	≈5,000	Template:FlagIOC2team	[22]
23	2005	Template:Flagicon Manila, Philippines	President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo	27 November – 5 December 2005	40	443		5,336	Template:FlagIOC2team	[23]
24	2007	Template:Flagicon Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand	Crown Prince VajiralongkornTemplate:Efn	6–15 December 2007	43	475		5,282	Template:FlagIOC2team	[24]
25	2009	Template:Flagicon Vientiane, Laos	President Choummaly Sayasone	9–18 December 2009	29	372		3,100	Template:FlagIOC2team	[25]
26	2011	Template:Flagicon Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia	President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono	11–22 November 2011	44	545		5,965	Template:FlagIOC2team	[26]
27	2013	Template:Flagicon Naypyidaw, Myanmar	Vice President Nyan TunTemplate:Efn	11–22 December 2013	37	460		4,730	Template:FlagIOC2team	[27]
28	2015	Template:Flagicon Singapore	President Tony Tan	5–16 June 2015	36	402		4,370	Template:FlagIOC2team	[28]
29	2017	Template:Flagicon Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	Yang di-Pertuan Agong Muhammad V	19–30 August 2017	38	404		4,709	Template:FlagIOC2team	[29]
30	2019	Template:Flagicon Philippines Template:Efn	President Rodrigo Duterte	30 November – 11 December 2019	56	530		5,630	Template:FlagIOC2team	[30]
31	2021	Template:Flagicon Hanoi, Vietnam Template:Efn	President Nguyễn Xuân Phúc	12–23 May 2022	40	523		5,467	Template:FlagIOC2team
32	2023	Template:Flagicon Phnom Penh, Cambodia	Prime Minister Hun SenTemplate:Efn	5–17 May 2023	37	580		6,210	Template:FlagIOC2team
33	2025	Template:Flagicon Bangkok, Chonburi, and Songkhla, Thailand	King Vajiralongkorn (expected)	9–20 December 2025	50	574	Future event
34	2027	Template:Flagicon Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Sarawak, MalaysiaTemplate:Efn	Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar (expected)	Future event
35	2029	Template:Flagicon Singapore<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Future event
36	2031	Template:Flagicon TBA, Laos<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Future event
37	2033	Template:Flagicon TBA, Philippines<ref name=":0" />	Future event

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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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2023, Cambodia was finally able to host the sports event for the first time at its newly built sports complex.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

SportsEdit

Template:Main article The SEAGF Charter and Rules mandate the minimum number of sports to be staged, with sports falling under numerous categories. Prior to 2023, a host nation must have staged 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 (Olympic and Asian Games core sports), and a maximum of 8 sports from Category 3. Each sport would 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.<ref name="charter">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

This charter was modified in 2023, with the first games with this modification in effect will be the 2025 edition.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Amendment3">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

List of SEA Games sports
Category 1		Category 2		Category 3
1A	1B	Olympic sports	Asian Games / AIMAG / ABG sports	TraditionalTemplate:Efn	Other or ABG SportsTemplate:Efn
Athletics	Archery Template:Small		Billiards and snooker Template:Small	Arnis Template:Small	Aquathlon Template:Small
Diving Template:Small	Badminton		Bowling Template:Small	Bokator Template:Small	Baseball5<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> Template:Small
Artistic swimming Template:Small	Baseball Template:Small		Chess Template:Small	Chinlone Template:Small	Bodybuilding Template:Small
Swimming	Basketball Template:Small		Cricket Template:Small	Muay Thai Template:Small	Beach handball Template:Small
Water polo Template:Small	Boxing		Dancesport Template:Small	Traditional boat race Template:Small	Contract bridge Template:Small
	Canoeing Template:Small		Esports Template:Small	Kenpō Template:Small	Duathlon Template:Small
	Cycling Template:Small		Finswimming Template:Small	Kun Khmer Template:Small	Floorball Template:Small
	Equestrian Template:Small		Futsal Template:Small	Vovinam Template:Small	Lawn bowls Template:Small
	Fencing Template:Small		Indoor hockey Template:Small		Obstacle racing Template:Small
	Field hockey Template:Small		Ju-jitsu Template:Small		Paragliding Template:Small
	Football		Kickboxing Template:Small		Pétanque Template:Small
	Golf Template:Small		Kurash Template:Small		Polo Template:Small
	Gymnastics Template:Small		Netball Template:Small		Shuttle cock Template:Small
	Handball Template:Small		Pencak silat Template:Small		Soft tennis Template:Small
	Judo Template:Small		Roller sports Template:Small		Waterskiing Template:Small
	Karate Template:Small		Rugby union Template:Small
	Modern pentathlon Template:Small		Sambo Template:Small
	Rowing Template:Small		Sepak takraw Template:Small
	Rugby sevens Template:Small		Squash Template:Small
	Sailing Template:Small		Wushu Template:Small
	Shooting Template:Small		Xiangqi Template:Small
	Skateboarding Template:Small
	Softball Template:Small
	Sport climbing Template:Small
	Surfing Template:Small
	Table tennis
	Taekwondo Template:Small
	Tennis Template:Small
	Triathlon Template:Small
	Volleyball Template:Small
	Weightlifting Template:Small
	Wrestling Template:Small
		Figure skating Template:Small
		Ice hockey Template:Small
		Short track speed skating Template:Small

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All-time medal tableEdit

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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Usurped</ref><ref>Medal Tally 1959-1995</ref><ref>Medal Tally</ref><ref>History of the SEA Games</ref><ref>SEA Games previous medal table</ref><ref>Template:Usurped</ref>

Template:Medals table

<templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/>^[1]{{#if:Competed as Malaya in the inaugural games until 1961.| Competed as Malaya in the inaugural games until 1961.}}
<templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/>^[2]{{#if: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.| 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.}}
<templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/>^[3]{{#if:Competed as Burma until 1987.| Competed as Burma until 1987.}}
<templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/>^[4]{{#if:Competed as Kampuchea, and Khmer Republic.| Competed as Kampuchea, and Khmer Republic.}}

List of multiple Southeast Asian Games medalistsEdit

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} 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.

CriticismEdit

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. This has seen as many as 50 to 56 sports for the 2025 and 2019 editions, respectively. Aside from mandatory sports, the host is free to drop or introduce other sports or events (See SEA Games sports).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Several nations have called for amending the charter of the games to address the issue.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>