Corporate support for Team Singapore

Mr Teo Ser Luck

Minister of State for Manpower; and Chairman of the High Performance Sports Selection & Performance Sub-Committee

Ms Tan Yen Yen

Chairman, spexBusiness Network Advisory Panel

Mr Richard Seow

Chairman, Sport Singapore

Partners and Athletes

Ladies and Gentlemen

1. A very good afternoon to all. I am most delighted to join you today as we recognise the contributions of our partners in the Sports Excellence (spex) Business and Education network.

Sports excellence helps build national pride

2. Our Team Singapore athletes have done Singapore proud over the past years. Through hard work and determination, they pushed their physical limits to break records and achieve international success. Last year, we won our very first ever Olympic Gold and attained our best ever result at the Paralympics with two Gold and one Bronze medals. Singaporeans from all walks of life united with pride to celebrate the achievements of our Olympians and Paralympians.

3. Our success at such pinnacle sporting events has the power to rally the entire nation. We came together as one nation to celebrate these moments of glory. That is why we must continue to give our athletes the fullest support. By helping our athletes realise their aspirations, we are also creating shared experiences and memories for fellow Singaporeans.

Continued support from spexBusiness and spexEducation partners is critical

4. The support from our spexBusiness and spexEducation partners has been invaluable. You open up career and education opportunities that provide our athletes the flexibility to focus on their training as they develop academically and professionally. I think all our athletes will agree wholeheartedly that this is a crucial aspect of the High Performance system, and has enabled our Team Singapore athletes to raise their game. My sincere thanks to our partners for your robust support through the years, and for believing in our aspiring athletes!

5. Today, we welcome 9 companies and 3 Institutes of Higher Learning on this journey with our athletes. Together, you will create new opportunities for them. They can devote their time and energy to train, knowing that their career and educational aspirations are being supported by you. To date, more than 90 Team Singapore athletes and 400 student-athletes have benefitted from the spexBusiness and spexEducation schemes respectively. With the expanded network, we will be able to support even more athletes in their pursuit of sporting excellence.

Support for 29th SEA Games and 9thASEAN Para Games

6. 2017 is an exciting year ahead with the coming 29^th SEA Games and 9^th ASEAN Para Games in Kuala Lumpur. Training and competition will intensify over the next few months, as Team Singapore strives towards achieving our best-ever overseas performance at both Games.

7. Our spexBusiness partners are leading the way in rallying Corporate Singapore behind Team Singapore. Beyond providing job or education opportunities and sponsorships in kind, giving them time off to train, to compete overseas, partners including Adidas, Deloitte and OSIM International, have pledged $70,000 in donations in support of our athletes' pursuit for success at such Major Games. First of all, thank you to all three of you. I hope that more partners will come on board and support generously.

8. As in past Major Games, the Government will also be supporting our athletes' journey towards the Games. SportSG will set aside $2.0m to support our Team Singapore athletes and para-athletes in their campaign. 

9. To support our athletes in achieving sporting successes on the world stage, the Government is studying how we can provide further support through our comprehensive High Performance Sports system. Our performances in the various sports and events in the recent Major Games – the 2015 SEA Games and ASEAN Para Games, as well as the Rio 2016 Olympics and Paralympics – have given us many learning points and experiences. We will look into ways to strengthen our partnerships with all stakeholders. We will also continue to rally Singaporeans behind as One Team Singapore, through increased community outreach and engagement efforts to build greater affinity with our athletes.

Concluding remarks

10. I would like to conclude by expressing my heartfelt appreciation to all partners, and encourage all of you to continue to work hand in hand with us in supporting our athletes as One Team Singapore. Your encouragement and support is invaluable and crucial, and goes a long way in helping our athletes excel at the highest level and bring glory to Singapore.

11. I'm especially motivated by what I've heard from Mr Wong, that this excellence in sports is a long journey for all of us. It takes successive generations for athletes to build the ground knowledge and ground support for our young athletes, coming forward to learn the game, to train for competitions, to push themselves and eventually, reach the podium of major Games and while we dedicate our congratulations and our appreciation to the current batch of athletes, let's not forget the contribution of past generation of athletes, coaches and NSA leadership and so on.

12. I think it is the whole ecosystem over the last few decades that have brought us to where we are today. So let's give everyone a round of applause and remember that many people have helped blaze the trail for the next generation as well.

13. Thank you and have a great evening.