In between these, the Troupe sent Southern Lion to perform at the Southeast Asian Sports Meet Opening Ceremony (1983), organized the National Community Chest Charity Performance together with nine other martial arts exponent troupes (1986), and performed in the 1987 Miss World Competition held for the first time in Singapore . To mark its 10 th Anniversary in 1983, the Troupe launched the nation's first Luminous Dragon with the help of the Singapore Dragon & Lion Athletic Association. At the 7th National Martial Arts Competition one year later, which the Troupe competed in for the first time, we won the Competition's highest and most prestigious award in the Dragon Dance Category, the "Golden Model".

Stamford Scouts Cum Dragon & Lion Dance Troupe:
Expansion was rapid and growth expedient. Subsequently, school-based activities were inadequate to support our development needs and the "Stamford Scouts cum Lion Dance Open Troupe" was born in 1984. While still continuing to participate in Tuan Mong High School activities, the Troupe now opened its doors to non-Tuan Mong High School students.

Under the auspice of our new name, our Troupe's Southern Lion participated in the "1986 National Dragon & Lion Dance Competition" , and took home our first Southern Lion "Free Style" Gold Award, as well as the Silver Award in the Dragon Dance category. We participated again in the same Competition in 1988, yet despite achieving the higher top honours in both the Lion and Dragon Dance categories with the highest scores in each class, we only received Silver Awards because the Competition's organizers had decided not to present Gold Awards that year (the first time in the Competition's history), citing "undeserving standards of participating teams" as the reason. After that incident, we decided to permanently withdraw from the Competition.

Our ever-expanding scope and increased activities also grew too wide for us to be sufficiently supported by or contained within the Scout movement. And in 1989, we amicably ended our 17-year association with the Scouts, which we marked with a name change. We were now the " Stamford Dragon and Lion Dance Troupe ". Yet we continued to maintain our Scouting roots and spirit, imbibing - up till today - our members with the "Once a Scout, Always a Scout" belief and training them up in the Scouts method. Our Scouting ancestry is evident too in our current rules and activities, like our Internet classes for members, Diving Club, annual Outdoor Leadership Training Camps, and Vacation Camps which we organize for mentally-challenged children. We were also the first Dragon and Lion Dance Troupe to participate in a Civil Defence Training, and came under the Kim Seng Civil Defence District.

In 1993, our Troupe after having withdrawn from the National Dragon & Lion Dance Competition, represented the Community Club to once again participate in the Competition, and triumphantly walked away with the Southern Lion Gold Award!

Bukit Ho Swee Community Centre Dragon and Lion Dance Troupe: In 1997, the Urban Redevelopment Board mandated the closure of the River Valley Community Centre , and with it our 12-year association. However, before its cessation, The River Valley Community Club Committee arranged for the Troupe to be relocated to the Bukit Ho Swee Community Club, where, as a matter of natural consequence, we subsequently helped start a local Dragon and Lion Dance Troupe.

However, in 1998, just as the Troupe was preparing for its 25 th Anniversary celebrations, we faced our biggest challenge yet when the Community Centre asked that we cancel our Troupe registration alluding to an 'inability to focus' . All our proposals to move the original Troupe away from the ambit of the Community Club in order that Club's local Troupe could continue its activities were turned down.

The closure threatened our proud 25-year history, and with so much at stake, we decided to permanently move away from our home at the Community Club. A season of difficulty followed and the next year was fraught with problems like securing proper practice locations and the burden of rental. But we survived! Our members put their hearts and might together to help the Troupe surmount the biggest challenge it had ever faced since its establishment.

Bukit Panjang Community Club Dragon and Lion Dance Troupe: In 1999, we finally managed to garner the support of the Bukit Panjang Community Club, which allowed us to use of their facilities for practices. In return we helped them establish the Bukit Panjang Community Club Dragon and Lion Dance Troupe. In the same year we represented the Club, helping them win the Southern Lion "Traditional Style" Championship, followed by the 7 th placing in the National Luminous Dragon Dance Competition in 2000, and thereafter to a vastly improved Second Prize and placing in the same competition in 2002.

2002 also saw us receive an invitation to represent Singapore in the China International "Acrobatic Style" Dragon Dance Competition where we won the First Prize as well as the honour of being the first Singaporean team to ever win the International "Acrobatic Style" Competition. Our subsequent achievements included representing Singapore 's People Association at the Midosuji Parade 2002 held in Osaka , Japan ; and winning the Second Prize at the 2003 Luminous Dragon Dance Competition after a 15 year hiatus (the last time the Troupe participated under the Stamford name was 1988). In 2003 also, our other team, the Community Club's Dragon and Lion Dance Troupe, trained up a hard-working group of female members and a Children's Dragon Team, whose diligence paid off where they not only proceeded to the Finals, but took away the Golden Dragon 6 th Prize.

Today, we have a eight-year relationship (1999 - 2006) as an active participant and contributor to the Bukit Panjang Community Club and their local Dragon and Lion Dance Troupe. Meanwhile the original Stamford Troupe has been established for 33 years (1973 - 2006). Our collaborative efforts now mean we have the combined resources of two Troupes which boast a total of 50 members, a Children's Dragon Team, a Chinese Drum Team, a 35 Feet Pole Flag Team and an award-winning Dragon and Lion Dance Team, to name but a few.

We have weathered many storms over the course of our history. But we have successfully overcome - thanks to the initiative of the first generation, the perseverance of the second generation to serve the members, and the hard work of the third generation. We are what we are today, because of what we were before. In order that we continue to be successful, we will, and must, continue to strive on to promote the " Stamford " spirit.