Young athletes receive boost from Singapore Olympic Foundation - Peter Lim Scholarship to pursue sporting dreams

Mr Peter Lim
Directors of the Singapore Olympic Foundation 
Athletes, Parents, Officials
Ladies and Gentlemen 

1. A very good morning to you. I'm glad to be here today at this Singapore Olympic Foundation (SOF)-Peter Lim Scholarship Ceremony.
   

2. Today, nearly 300 athletes will be inducted into the SOF-Peter Lim Scholarship roll of honour. So let me start by congratulating all our athletes and I think we should give them a round of applause.
   

3. I also want to appreciate and recognise all the people who have made our athletes' achievements possible. So I thank the teachers, the coaches and mentors who have been providing them support through the schools which they are in, encouraging them and nurturing them in their athletic achievements. Most importantly, I would like to recognise all the  parents who are here, because the parents play an important role behind the scenes, you providing support and commitment, you provide nurturing to all your children, you encourage them when the chips are down. You encourage them never to give up and I think your support for them makes all the difference. So thank you very much to the parents!
   

4. I want to also thank Mr Peter Lim, for his support for Singapore sports. All of us know who Peter is. He is the philanthropist, a sports enthusiast, the new owner of Valencia Club in Europe. It is because of his generous donation which has made this scholarship possible. Since the scholarship started, it has already disbursed close to $3million and the number of athletes who have benefitted from this scholarship today would exceed the 1,000 mark. More than 1,000 athletes would have received this SOF-Peter Lim Scholarship. I think this is an important milestone and certainly an occasion to celebrate. Thank you very much to Mr Peter Lim.
   

5. The funding support from the scholarship has certainly made a difference to our athletes. It enables them to purchase new equipment to sharpen their game, it allows them to go for more training to improve themselves and beyond the sponsorship money itself, it is also about providing role mentors to inspire them to go even further. For example, you heard just now how Saiyidah Aisyah, our gold medallist for rowing in SEA Games last year, was able to achieve success in the SEA Games. The scholarship helped her to do so, by giving her with the resource to attend a training camp in Sydney, where she trained with the best in the world and perfected her techniques.
   

6. Many scholarship recipients have also gone on to achieve remarkable feats. For example, Quah Zheng Wen, was the most medalled swimmer at the 2013 Asian Youth Games with six podium finishes and he also did very well in the SEA Games last year. We wish him all the best in the competitions that he is taking part in this year.
   

7. We also have athletes like Shayna Ng, who is also a scholarship recipient. She is a bowling world champion and she was recently crowned 2014 Sportswoman of the Year. And of course, we have Shooter Martina Veloso, who at the very young age of 14, has already won gold medal at the World Cup in Munich. In doing so, she beat Olympic medallists and other shooting veterans, many more years older than her. So at 14 years old, I think she has a lot of potential to go even further.
   

8. So to all our scholarship recipients, you are in very good company. I hope that you are inspired by the achievements of those who have gone before you, to see how far they have gone with their sporting achievements and be inspired by them and also pursue your sporting dreams.
   

9. Besides the support from the Singapore Olympic Foundation, the government is also investing more to build up our High Performance Sports System for our athletes. For example, we introduced the Sports Excellence Scholarship (spexScholarship) last year and this scholarship provides more comprehensive support to our athletes. It includes a stipend for them to do full-time training and it includes a whole system of Sports Science and coaching, so that they can get the best to achieve potential.
   

10. Indeed, some of the alumni from the SOF - Peter Lim Scholarship have also gone on to receive the spexScholarship. For examples, Jazreel Tan, Tao Li and Amanda Lim. So what we are doing here in Singapore, is not just to give scholarships but to build a whole system of support to help our athletes to reach their potential. There are pathways for them to progress in their various sporting aspirations. I would like to assure the athletes if you work hard and excel, we will be there to support you and enable you to go as far as you can.
    

11. A number of our athletes will be going to be competing in the Commonwealth Games, Youth Olympic Games and Asian Games this year. So this year will be a full calendar of sporting events with three games which we are participating and I wish all the athletes all the very best in the competitions.
    

12. Of course, we are also preparing for a major event next year, and that is the SEA Games which we are holding in June. The athlete selection for the SEA Games is not yet finalised but I'm sure many of our athletes are looking to participate in the Games, especially in the new SportsHub. Many of them have already gone to the SportsHub and they have done the training there. They are very motivated by the new facilities because they are first class. They are very good facilities and more importantly, when they compete at the new SportsHub, they know that they will be competing before a home crowd. So I think it will be something quite special for our athletes next year in the SEA Games, competing in the SportsHub with a home crowd cheering for them.
    

13. So as we approach the final stage of preparation for the SEA Games, I hope all our athletes will continue to train hard to achieve their dreams and make Singapore proud.
    

14. To conclude, let me extend my heartiest congratulations to all recipients and their parents, and also my thanks to Mr Peter Lim and the Singapore Olympic Foundation. There is much to look forward in the Singapore sports scene with the completion of the SportsHub and also the hosting of the SEA Games next year. So let us continue to work together and take Singapore's sporting achievements to a high level.
    

15. Thank you.