Mystery handprints on girl after swim at Siloso Beach

According to an eerie email STOMPer MH received, this girl returned from a swim at the Siloso Beach with mysterious handprints all over her back.

Apparently, they were caused by a child-ghost who was trying to push her into the water.

This STOMPer wonders whether there is any truth to this story.

Read the email MH received and post your views.

"Mum's friend's daughter went to Siloso Beach to frolic in the sun and sea and returned home with not just the sports bra tanline but a set of child's handprints and one more on the shoulder, a bigger hand.

"If you look carefully at the first photo, you'll see the really long nails on the bigger hand.

"So they went to the Chinese temple and checked and apparently a child-ghost tried to push her into the water.

"But it didn't work, so the adult-ghost tried pushing her on her right shoulder.

"That didn't work as well.

"Turns out that as Buddhists, the god they were praying to at home was protecting her.

"Freaky. I guess this explains the one-drowning-incident-a-year problem at Siloso Beach.

"Avoid deep waters or late nights there if you can."

BATTLE ON THE BEACH

BRAIN and brawn. You'll need both for the AYG beach volleyball tournament, which starts today at Siloso Beach, Sentosa.

TNP GRAPHIC: FADZIL HAMZAH

You'll need guile and genius - for knowing when and where to run, and for predicting the opponents' moves, as you defend a 8m x 8m area with one other team-mate.

You'll need muscle and speed - for sprinting on sand, jumping for blocks and spikes, and for doing all this under the sun.

'It's not a sport where you can afford to be a pedestrian,' said Mr Teo Chiek Shan, 29, the Singapore team coach.

Compared to an indoor volleyball court, which measures 9m x 18m, a beach volleyball court is smaller at 8m x 16m.

But an indoor volleyball team has six players. A beach volleyball team has two.

The rules are straightforward: Each match consists of three sets, and each set is won by the first team to reach 21 points, with a minimum lead of two points.

The first team to win two sets wins. If necessary, a third tiebreaker set is played.

If just thinking about this makes you want to lie down with a Pina Colada, fret not. Here's our guide to playing (and looking) like a pro.

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HAND signals are used by players to indicate the kind of block they intend to make.

In this sense, it is actually the non-serving player, whose back faces the team-mate who's serving, who dictates play.

Block signals differ from team to team, but there are a few basic ones.

But first of all, a couple of things to remember.

Each hand represents one opponent.

So a player's left hand represents how he intends to block the opponent on his left, and his right hand indicates how he intends to block the opponent on his right.

A '1' represents a straight block. A '2' represents an angled block.

HAND signals are used by players to indicate the kind of block they intend to make.

In this sense, it is actually the non-serving player, whose back faces the team-mate who's serving, who dictates play.

Block signals differ from team to team, but there are a few basic ones.

But first of all, a couple of things to remember.

Each hand represents one opponent.

So a player's left hand represents how he intends to block the opponent on his left, and his right hand indicates how he intends to block the opponent on his right.

A '1' represents a straight block. A '2' represents an angled block.

Here's how it works:

IN A 1-1 combination, the player is saying: I'm going to make straight blocks for both opponents.

The left half of the diagram above shows what happens when the opponent on the left spikes.

The player will make a straight block, i.e. he will block the area directly in front of the opponent. To cover the hole, his team-mate will position himself to the right.

The right half of the diagram shows what happens when it is the opponent on the right who spikes.

As before, the player will block the area directly in front of the opponent, but this time his team-mate will have to cover the hole on the left.

IN THIS 2-2 combination, the player is saying: I'm going to make angled blocks for both opponents.

If the opponent on his left is spiking, as shown in the left half of the diagram, he will block the area diagonally to the right.

His team-mate will position himself to the left.

Now look at the right half of the diagram. Here, it's an instance where it's the opponent on the right who is spiking, and the player will block the area diagonally to the left.

His team-mate will have to move to the right.

YOU CAN also combine the signals.

In this 1-2 combination, the player is saying: I'm going to make a straight block for the opponent on the left, and an angled block for the opponent on the right.

Either way, his team-mate will have to position himself on the right.

TICKET PRICES:

Tickets for all matches from today to Saturday cost $4.

Tickets for the semi-finals and final on Sunday will cost $8.

KEY FIXTURES TODAY:

BOYS

9am: Singapore v Sri Lanka

2pm: India v China

3pm: Singapore v Japan

GIRLS

10am: Thailand v Japan

11am: Singapore v Mongolia

2pm: India v China

BEACH, (having a) BALL, BABES

987FM's Life's A Beach party draws 10,000 of all ages, including families

FOR many youngsters, this was their first opportunity to take part in a beach party.

A youthful crowd of more than 10,000 attended the 12-hour Life's A Beach party at Sentosa's Siloso Beach yesterday.

It was no ZoukOut - but that may be no bad thing.

There was no sign of any drunken antics, of partygoers so sloshed they're passed out or vomiting.

No alcohol was sold at any of the many booths at the event, which was organised by radio station 987FM and Sentosa, though if they wanted to drink they could go out to one of the nearby restaurants.

Unlike ZoukOut, which has a minimum age limit of 18 and an entrance fee, Life's A Beach was open to all ages and free.

This was clearly a more family and teenager-friendly affair.

AUDIENCE: The crowd goes wild at the concert featuring local bands. TNP PICTURES: NG XI JIE

987FM DJ Daniel Ong, 33, said they had wanted to organise a beach party for a long time, until this opportunity arrived.

They were aiming for people aged 12 to 25 years old.

He said: 'Basically, Singapore lacks a major beach festival for the younger crowd.'

And he felt there was a need for something like that.

The reason for the lack of alcohol was basically to avoid licensing problems.

Trina Lim, 17, who was with her group of 12 friends, gave two thumbs up for more youngster-friendly parties.

She rarely goes to parties as she is underaged.

FAMILY : Adam Goh with his mother, brother Aaron and father Mr Sebastian Goh. TNP PICTURES: NG XI JIE

'It's happening!' she said.

The lack of alcohol was a plus for her, as she said drinkers tend to get violent.

Highlight

Like most of the others interviewed, Trina said the highlight was the concert, which started at 5pm, and featured homegrown bands like Electrico, A Vacant Affair and The Fire Fight.

Other attractions included booths with games (like hoop toss), beach games in the afternoon, and the Siloso Hotbods 2009 contest, which featured participants in their swimwear.

FIERY SHOW: Jonathan Lai, personal trainer, demonstrating a Maori dance involving the twirling of a torch. TNP PICTURES: NG XI JIE

But does sober mean tame?

There was no shortage of babes and hunks in swimwear, and the music was suitably loud.

But for the crowd pressed against the stage with arms aloft, most of the partygoers seemed content to stand around in groups, silently enjoying the music, or sit in groups on the sand.

Mr Claudio Soares, 27, a Brazilian who teaches Brazilian martial arts here, said the event was 'quite cool'.

'But I expect that they would dance more, because if this was in Brazil, everyone would be jumping around,' he said.

Beach party first-timer Adelina Eliza, 17, a student, was screaming her lungs out - but not because she was having fun.

'We're just screaming because no one is moving,' she said.

Her friend, Nur Kamariya, 17, a student, said: 'We'd like better dancing music, like R&B, hip-hop or reggae.'

Another partygoer, Nur Khatijah, 20, a part-time student, complained that there were too many youngsters around.

'It defeats the purpose of a party. I feel there should be an age limit,' she said.

Ms Maria Kassova, 42, who has been to two ZoukOuts, said she loved the beach as a venue for dancing, and she loved Electrico.

But she was disappointed Life's A Beach wasn't as crowded as ZoukOut, which saw about 25,000 participants last year.

'It's a shame because it's a wonderful event,' she said.

Mr Sebastian Goh, 45, an IT manager, was quite glad it had no age limits.

Life's A Beach was a family event for him - he was there with his wife, and his two sons, Adam, 15, and Aaron, 10.

It was Adam who wanted to be there to listen to the music. But why go with his parents?

'Because my father wanted to come,' he said.

Said Mr Goh: 'It's a good day to get the family together, we wanted to do it together.'

Little Aaron was no less enthusiastic.

'I wanted to get autographs from the DJs,' he said.

What did he love most about the event?

'The games!' he replied.

DJ Daniel Ong said he was happy to see parents bringing their children along.

He hoped it will be an annual affair, he added, and said it will certainly happen again next year.

He's planning to bring in bigger acts, even overseas bands, and turn Life's A Beach into a international music festival.

And it will remain free, he promised.

'This is an event that's open for all. Music should be enjoyed by everyone, like how a radio station is enjoyed by everyone,' he said.