Top athletes join first-ever $90k club

A group of about 10 of Singapore's best athletes are now part of a ground-breaking $90,000 club, after being selected for the top tier of the inaugural Sports Excellence Scholarship (spexScholarship).

The amount - the median annual stipend awarded - is the highest ever handed out to national athletes and is more than double the monetary support top athletes previously received.

The Straits Times understands that world No. 4 paddler and Olympic medallist Feng Tianwei, world champions Shayna Ng (bowling) and Shakir Juanda (silat) as well as four-time Paralympic equestrian medallist Laurentia Tan are in this elite group.

They are among the 66 athletes across 15 sports announced by the Singapore Sports Council yesterday

. The scholarship, backed by a $40 million war chest over five years, is part of a revised High Performance Sports (HPS) scheme.

The aim of the added investment is to provide Singapore's finest with the tools to do the country proud, said Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Lawrence Wong yesterday. It comes at a time when Singapore athletes have been winning regularly at the Asian and Olympic level.

"Overall, we want to be among the top few sporting nations in Asia," Mr Wong told reporters at Marina Bay, where he spent a day out sailing with national athletes.

Apart from financial support, athletes will also get education support and assistance in career preparation, as well as help in personal and life skills development.

The athletes were selected by an 11-member steering committee headed by Mr Wong, following a selection process which started in April. "We're putting in more investments," added Mr Wong. "It's more extensive in scope and covers more athletes."

Athletes in the exclusive $90,000 group were selected based on them having proven their ability internationally at the very top level in their sport.

Those who have not yet made their mark at the top qualify for annual grants of $60,000 (for those with proven records on the continental stage) and $24,000 (regional stage).

Unlike previous high performance support schemes, the HPS system takes into consideration both able-bodied and disabled athletes across all performance levels.

Athletes from sports with a traditionally lower profile, such as canoeing and gymnastics, as well as non-Olympic sports like bowling and silat, will now find parity with the bigger boys.

The scholarship will go a long way in persuading young athletes to continue pursuing sport as a viable career option.

Said Olympic shooter Jasmine Ser, 23, who will train full-time after graduating from the National University of Singapore in December: "Now I can focus on training and see where the next three years lead me. It makes the next Olympics more realistic."

maychen@sph.com.sg

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