Providing better access and opportunities to experience sport

Dr Teo-Koh Sock Miang

President, Special Olympics Singapore

Heads of Delegations from Brunei, Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Thailand

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and gentlemen,

1. A very good evening to all of you. I am so delighted to join you at the Closing Ceremony of the 9^th Special Olympics Singapore National Games. 

Celebrating people of all abilities through Sport

2. I would like to first begin by congratulating all participating athletes that are here in the games. All of you are winners, give yourself a big round of applause.

3. Over the past three days, over 600 athletes competed with great passion and sportsmanship. You have done your countries proud, and inspired many of us with your spirit of determination and perseverance. You are so positive and responsive! Please join me to give everyone, including your coaches, your teachers, all officials a big round of applause!

4. The Special Olympics Singapore National Games is a great way for our special athletes to demonstrate their sporting abilities and talents. More importantly, it is an avenue for us to unite and celebrate people of all abilities through sport.

Appreciation to the team behind the Team and all who have made the Games a success

5. To organise the Games successfully, there is a great team behind it. I would like to recognise the commitment and efforts of the team behind the teams. This includes the athletes' family members, coaches, caregivers and supporters.  It is with your unwavering support, that our athletes are here today.

6. What has made this year's Games extraordinary is the warmth and dedication from over 1,000 volunteers.  Our volunteers consist of students from a diverse range of schools, representatives from our corporate partners, as well as staff of the Special Olympics Singapore. And I must add, Mr Gurmit Singh, as I understand has been volunteering as Emcee for many editions. Thank you so much to all our volunteers. All of you have worked tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure that the Games ran smoothly; In fact, some of you have been involved since the Games was first started in 1988!

7. So to all volunteers and staff, as well as supporters and sponsors such as Procter & Gamble, thank you for your enthusiasm and dedicated support.  I hope that you will continue to give back to the community, and build a more inclusive and caring society.

Fostering a more inclusive society through sport

8. Our recent achievements in para sports and Special Olympics are bringing us another step closer to our vision of Sport without Boundaries.

9. The Government encourages people of different abilities to be more active.  Through the Disability Sports Master Plan, we will provide persons with disabilities with better access and opportunities to experience sport. We will also continue to forge closer partnerships with organisations, including Special Olympics Singapore, to reach out to more persons with special needs.   

10. Through these efforts, we hope that more persons with disabilities will adopt active and healthy lifestyles. In time to come, we want people with different abilities playing and training together, and forging lifelong friendships through the power of sport.

Closing remarks

11. It has been Singapore's honour to host the 9th Special Olympics Singapore National Games. Thank you all once again for making the Games a great success.

12. To friends from our neighbouring countries, have a safe journey home. I hope that the memories created and friendships forged at the Games will last for many more years to come.

13. Thank you very much and have a great time.