Ng Meng Poh (3rd from right), executive vice president of Sembcorp, presenting the sponsorship cheque to Tang Weng Fei, president of SAA at the press conference. From left to right: James Wong (SAA, Chief, Sports Development & Performance), William Wong (SAA, Vice President, Finance), Alexander Charles Louis (SAA, Secretary General), Tang Weng Fei, Ng Meng Poh, Loh Chan Pew (SAA, Vice President, Competitions), and Ong Yeok Phee (SAA, General Manager). (Photo courtesy of Singapore Athletic Association)
Singapore, Wednesday, March 27, 2012 — The Singapore Athletic Association (SAA) have secured Sembcorp Industries as a major sponsor for the upcoming 7th South-east Asian (SEA) Youth Athletics Championships. Sembcorp will provide $150,000 in sponsorship funds for SAA to organise the event.
Some 400 athletes, aged 16 to 17 years, from 11 countries, will take part in the championships scheduled to be held in Singapore from April 28th to 29th at the Bishan Stadium. This is the second time Singapore is hosting the championships.
Said the secretary general of the Singapore Athletic Association, Alexander Charles Louis: “SAA is very grateful for Sembcorp’s sponsorship to help make the 7th SEA Youth Athletics Championships a successful event, following their prior efforts in other sports. It is an important event for all participating athletes who are using the competition as a platform to compete and train to succeed on bigger stages which is a dream for many of our athletes.”
“As a home-grown company, we are very pleased to support our national youth athletes and the 7th SEA Youth Athletics Championships,” said Sembcorp’s executive vice president, Ng Meng Poh. “This event is all the more significant as it helps SAA identify potential athletes who will go on to make Singapore proud. We are glad that, through our sponsorship, we are contributing towards SAA’s efforts to groom the future of Singapore’s athletic talent.
“This sponsorship also marks Sembcorp’s ongoing commitment to contribute to Singapore’s effort in nurturing young sportsmen and sportswomen to represent the nation.”
Another sponsor, Stamford Tyres, is providing an additional $30,000 for the meet.
SAA is set to send its biggest contingent for the competition, with two male and two female athletes expected for each of the 36 events. The final squad for the SEA Youth Athletics Championship will be announced in April.
The youth championships played a part in developing some of our current national athletes. National long jumper Matthew Goh was a two-time SEA junior champion in 2008 and 2009. Hurdler Dipna Lim-Prasad, who won three medals at the 2007, 2008 and 2009 SEA junior meet, is another such athlete.
“The competition gave me the exposure as a youth athlete. It gave me a preview of my closest competition, some whom I’ve competed against again at the SEA Games,” said Matthew.
16-year-old jumper Benjamin Ong of Singapore Sports School is expected to make his debut at the upcoming championships.
“My target is to beat last year’s first place result. This is my biggest competition ever and I’m very excited for what is to come,” said Benjamin.
The association will monitor the performance of the athletes at the youth championships with the 2015 SEA Games in mind.
Said SAA’s secretary general, Alexander Louis: “As the national sport association for athletics, it is important that we continue to develop our talent pool and prepare these young athletes for bigger regional meets. We are confident that there will be youth athletes who will move up the ranks like their seniors, and do Singapore proud at SEA Games 2015.”
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