Individual Physical Proficiency Test (IPPT) Format

To encourage personal ownership of fitness, the simpler 3-station IPPT system was implemented on 1 Apr 2015, superseding the 5-station IPPT format. The new format comprises push-up and sit-up stations, and a 2.4km run. These 3 stations measure the strength and cardiovascular fitness of our servicemen. This new and simpler format was designed to allow servicemen to train and maintain their fitness, without the need for specialised technique or equipment. Fitness is a personal responsibility. This simpler test format will further motivate our servicemen to take greater ownership of their fitness, and incorporate these exercises into their daily routine to maintain their fitness.

Servicemen will be allocated points for their performance in each of the three stations. The maximum points servicemen may earn for each station are 50 points for the 2.4km run station, and 25 points each for the push-up an and sit-up stations. The maximum points a serviceman can achieve in the IPPT is 100. The points will be added to form a final score, which will determine the serviceman’s individual fitness standard. Similar to the current IPPT, servicemen will need to score the requisite points to Pass, Pass with monetary incentive, and to achieve the Silver and Gold IPPT awards. Due to onerous job nature, higher physical fitness is required for NS personnel serving in the following vocations: Fire Station Fire & Rescue Officer, Fire Station Fire & Rescue Specialist, Fire Station Fire Fighter, Marine Fire Fighting Officer, Marine Fire Fighting Specialist, Marine Fire Fighter, Police Tactical Troop, Public Order Troop; as such, they will be held to a higher Gold IPPT standard.

National Servicemen Full-time (NSFs)

The IPPT requirements for medically-fit NSF will take reference from their Date of Enlistment (DOE), i.e. if an NSF is enlisted on 1st Sep 2014, his 1styear IPPT requirement is to take and clear his IPPT by 31st Aug 2015, and his 2nd year requirement will be from 1st Sep 2015 to 31 Aug 2016.

Operationally Ready NSmen (ORNSmen)

All medically-fit NSmen are required to take their annual IPPT up till the completion of their ORNS training cycle, or until the ages of 40 and 45 years for Junior Officers and Senior Officers, respectively, whichever is earlier.  As stipulated in the Enlistment Act 1970, an NSman must take the IPPT for any IPPT year by the last day of that IPPT year. In relation to an NSman enlisted in SCDF or SPF, the IPPT year means the period starting on 1st April in any year and ending on 31st March the next year. IPPT-eligible NSmen must pass their IPPT in the IPPT Year, herein also referred to as work year (WY), to qualify for promotion in that WY or the following WY, where applicable. NSmen who are eligible for promotion but are exempted from IPPT in the WY will have to complete additional ICT to be considered for promotion. Wef 10 October 2017, IPPT-eligible NSmen who have yet to pass their IPPT for the work year are mandatorily required to attempt the IPPT during their ICT-IPPT session as per the ICT training programme. Eligible NSmen who fail or refuse to attempt the IPPT during the ICT without valid reasons shall be liable for disciplinary actions under Section 35(1) of the CD Act Chap 42.

Fitness Test Options based on Age and PES Status

IPPT Monetary Incentives

As an incentive to motivate participants to do well in the IPPT, the following monetary awards are put in place:

A monetary award based on the best standard achieved by the officer in the work year will be given, regardless of the number of attempts made. For example, if an officer has attained a silver standard, he will be given the respective monetary award and should he achieve a gold standard subsequently, the difference in monetary award between the silver and gold will be credited to him. The monetary incentives will only apply to those completing the full 3-station IPPT with the 2.4km taken in a single attempt, and attaining the points shown in the table below:

Participants with Partial Exemptions

All uniformed personnel may be medically exempted for a maximum of 2 out of 3 stations. The pass standards for participants with partial exemptions are provided in the table below:

Remedial Training (RT) for NSFs who do not attempt or fail IPPT

NSFs who do not attempt or fail IPPT by the end of their respective IPPT windows are required to comply to the RT requirement as shown below:

A = 1st year of enlistment > (Period NSF is required to clear IPPT)

B = first 2 months of 2nd year of enlistment. > (NSF who fail to clear IPPT during period ’A’ will be required to attend 10-session RT during period ‘B’.)

C = 3rd month of 2nd year of enlistment to 2 months before ORD. > (NSF is required to clear IPPT at least once for 2nd year of enlistment, during period ‘B’ to ‘C’, or ‘C’ if on RT during period ‘B’.)

D = last 2 months of enlistment before ORD. > (NSF who fail to clear IPPT during period “B’ to ’C’ will be required to attend 10-sessions of RT during period ‘D’.)

Disciplinary Actions for NSmen who fail to attempt IPPT by end of IPPT year

Wef 10 October 2017, IPPT-eligible NSmen who either did not attempt at least one session of IPPT by the end of the IPPT year or did not participate in at least one session of IPT during the IPPT year shall be liable for disciplinary actions under Section 35(1) of the CD Act Chap 42.

Remedial Training (RT) for NSmen who do not attempt or fail IPPT

As stipulated in the Enlistment Act 1970 IPPT Gazette No 2239 Section 5, “An NSman must attend and complete a remedial training (RT) programme if he fails to pass, or fails to take, the IPPT within the IPPT year.”

NSmen who did not complete the 10 sessions of the IPT programme or pass IPPT by 31 Mar of the work year will be required to book and attend the (20-minus-D)[1] –session Remedial Programme between 1 April to 31 March of the following work year conducted at NSTI or ITE College East . NSmen who pass their IPPT any time during the RT programme will be considered to have completed their RT programme. NSmen are encouraged to book and take their IPPT on the 8th, 14th and 20th sessions of their RT, and whereby a failed attempt here to pass IPPT will be deemed as a corresponding RT session attend.

NSmen who fail to complete the (20-Minus-D)-session RT by 31 March of the following work year shall be liable for disciplinary actions under Section 35(1) of the CD Act Chap 42. The punishment will be in accordance to the SCDF Discipline Instruction Manual (DIM) 4B. In addition to the disciplinary action, the defaulters will also be required to complete another 20 sessions of RT in the following work year.

IPPT Preparatory Training (IPT)

NSmen may opt to participate in the IPPT Preparatory Training (IPT) Programme, which is a 10-session physical training programme conducted at HTA and NSTI. NSmen signing up for the IPT programme will have up to end of the WY to complete the 10 sessions of IPT. The 10-session IPT is a voluntary programme. NSmen who complete the 10-session IPT programme will be deemed to have completed the IPPT requirement for the WY, even if they did not meet their Personal Performance Target (PPT).

Personal Performance Targets (PPT): The PPT standards chart the expected incremental fitness standards. PPT levels will be raised automatically to the next level each year for NSmen who can meet their PPTs in the current IPPT cycle. NSmen who complete the 10 IPT sessions without meeting their PPTs will not have their PPT raised to the next level until they are able to meet their current PPTs. NSmen who are ready for a higher PPT level can consult the Fitness Specialists to accelerate their training regime.

Determination of PPT: PPTs will be based on test results from the 1st IPT session or results from the previous year, whichever is higher. Under the new IPPT format, the total points to be achieved from all the stations will be used as the entry level to derive the PPT. The PPT standards and requirements are appended in Table 5 and Table 6 below.

Table 5: PPT Standards

Table 6 gives an illustration on the determination of PPT for an officer who makes incremental progress yearly.

Table 6: Determining PPT

These NSmen can sign up and continue with another 10-session IPT programme the following WY. NSmen will be taken out from the IPT programme anytime they pass their IPPT. NSmen who did not complete the 10 sessions of the IPT programme or pass IPPT by 31 Mar of the WY, will be required to book and attend the 20-D session RT programme between Apr and Mar of the following WY conducted at HTA and NSTI. NSmen who pass their IPPT during the RT programme will be considered to have completed their RT programme. NSmen are to book and take their IPPT on the 8th, 14th and 20th sessions of their RT programme, and whereby a failed attempt to pass IPPT will be deemed as a corresponding RT session attended.

Attendance at RT / IPT sessions

NSmen will be required to place their booking through NS Portal for the RT or IPT sessions. Any change of a particular RT or IPT session has to be made more than 48 hours prior to the session booked. NSmen will be paid half-day service pay for each of the RT or IPT sessions. As registration will close promptly before the stipulated start time of test, NSmen who report late or who turn up but do not attempt the session will be asked to go home immediately. Service pay will not be paid to NSmen who report late or fail to attempt the session. Disciplinary actions will be taken against NSmen who contravene the above requirements. The punishment for defaulters will be in accordance with SCDF Discipline Instruction Manual (DIM) 4B.

Conduct of IPPT at SAF and Home Team FCCs

All eligible NSmen are allowed to take their IPPT at any of the 4 SAF Fitness Conditioning Centres (FCC) namely Bedok, Khatib, Kranji and Maju Camps as well as at the Home Team FCCs (SPS Bedok Sports Complex until March 2018, SUTD Sports Complex wef April 2018 and NSTI). NSmen can have multiple attempts of IPPT in a work year at the SAF FCCs. Up to three of these attempts will count towards the NSmen’s NS liability and they will be paid a maximum of half day Service Pay for each of these attempts. The IPPT venues, dates and slots for booking will be made available sometime in the middle of each month for the following month’s test sessions through the NS Portal on a 'first-come-first served' basis.