The Southeast Asian Games owes its origins to the South East Asian Peninsular Games or SEAP Games. 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 Nayaoradit, 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, Kampuchea, Laos, Malaya, Thailand and the Republic of 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. The first SEAP Games were held in Bangkok from 12–17 December 1959, more than 527 athletes and officials from Burma, Laos, Malaya, Singapore, South Vietnam and Thailand participated in 12 sports. At the 8th SEAP Games in 1975, 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, and the games were known as the Southeast Asian Games. East Timor was admitted at the 22nd Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam. The 2009 Southeast Asian Games was the first time Laos has ever hosted a Southeast Asian Games. Running from 9–18 December, it has also commemorated the 50 years of the Southeast Asian Games, held in Vientiane, Laos.
Logo
The Southeast Asian Games logo was introduced during the 1959 edition 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
Host nations and cities
The 1963 Southeast Asian Peninsular Games were canceled. As the designated host, Cambodia was not able to host the event due to unsettling in-country conditions, 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.
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, in addition to a minimum of 14 sports from Category 2, 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. 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.
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.
- 2017 Southeast Asian Games medal counts are not yet included in these medal standings due to ongoing doping cases during those games
– Competed as Malaya in the inaugural games until 1961.
– The Republic of Vietnam was dissolved in July 1976 when it merged with the Democratic Republic of Vietnam to become the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, also known as Vietnam. Therefore, the medal counts for this country are considered to be as until 1975. In the 1989 edition, a unified Vietnam rejoined the games with a new name and flag. Medals won by South Vietnam are already combined here. The InternationalOlympic Committee does not use codes for South Vietnam anymore after the unification with North Vietnam.
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. She reached this milestone during the 2005 Games, overtaking the previous record of 39 gold medals set by another Singaporean swimmer Patricia Chan.
Criticism
The games are unique in that it has 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. 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. Examples of these include:
In the 2005 Southeast Asian Games, the Philippines added arnis, a demonstration sport in 2003, with six sets of medals, and it won three golds. Also added were baseball, dancesport, and softball.
At the 2007 Southeast Asian Games, Thailand added new categories of sepak takraw However,the thai sepak takraw federation decided to exchange the traditional ball made of rattan for a rubber ball, which was not common in other participating countries, causing great controversy and motivating the boycott of Malaysia, its great rival in the sport and by athletes from another countries in anothers. Consequently, the country won all the 8 events,the local organizers also added futsal.
In the 2013 Southeast Asian Games, Myanmar introduced its indigenous sport Chinlone. The host won six of eight gold medals in the event.They also introduced board games with events on Sittuyin, a traditional burmanese board game and chess.
