Press Release by Singapore Sports Council

vision 2030 live better through sports

Singapore, Wednesday, May 28, 2013 — Some of Singapore’s best sports talent, event organisers and journalists move one step closer to bagging the title in their respective nominated categories of the 2013 Singapore Sports Awards (SSA).

Starting out from humble beginnings, the SSA had just four categories when it was first introduced in 1967. Today, the Awards has evolved to become Singapore’s most highly coveted honours for sporting achievements, covering 12 award categories that cut across various facets of the sporting ecosystem – from athletes and coaches to event organisers and media. Recent additions include the “Best Sports Event (International)”, “Best Sports Event (Local)”, and the “Most Inspiring Sports Story”, which will continue to be part of the award category mix this year. This progression supports ongoing efforts to foster deeper relationships and collaborations in sport across the people, public and private sectors, as part of the Vision 2030 sporting journey.

“The SSA has come a long way. Today, it has become the event that athletes and sporting partners look forward to every year, and more importantly an accolade that is highly regarded by the industry,” said Mrs Jessie Phua, committee member of the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) who is also the Chairman of the SSA 2013. She added, “We will continue to review and reinvent the SSA periodically, to ensure it remains relevant over the years.”

Chairperson of the “Most Inspiring Sports Story” category Mr Ng Wei Joo, Immediate Past President of the Institute of Public Relations of Singapore and Partner of Tulchan Communications LLP, was heartened by the quality of submissions this year. He said, “The stories submitted this year are of a high standard, and that certainly made the judging process quite challenging. We hope that through the Awards, journalists will be encouraged to continue writing stories that inspire Singaporeans to live better through sports.”

Said Mr Low Teo Ping, Chairperson of the “Best Sports Event of the Year” category and Vice President of the SNOC, “The ‘Best Sports Event of the Year’ award has found traction since it was launched last year. Through the award, we want to recognise the efforts of event organisers and National Sports Associations in making Singapore a vibrant sporting city with the events they stage. These events have also in their own ways, contributed economically in the areas of tourism, infrastructure enhancements and capability development. Singaporeans are now able to participate in and watch different genres of sporting action all year round. Having more international sporting events in Singapore also showcases our offerings as a sporting nation and this will continue to attract world-class entities critical to the development of the sports industry.”

The finalists for the Main Awards were selected by the SSA Selection Committees, following which a secret ballot was carried out to choose the most deserving winners. Auditing firm KPMG has been engaged to tally the votes and results will be made known at the SSA event on 11 June 2013.

Sportsboy of the Year Finalists
Keith Saw Hui Xun – Bowling
Quah Zheng Wen – Swimming
Samuel Tan Wei Han – Wushu

Sportsgirl of the Year Finalists
Elisa Yukie Yokoyama – Sailing
Vera Tan Yan Ning – Wushu

Sportsman of the Year
No finalists

Sportswoman of the Year Finalists
Shayna Ng Lin Zhi – Bowling
Feng Tianwei – Table Tennis

Coach of the Year Finalists
Babella Balazs – Canoeing
Radojko Avramovic – Football
Fernando Javier Alegre Arbulu – Sailing
Mohamad Hidayat bin Hosni – Silat
Zhou Shusen – Table Tennis

Team of the Year (Event) Finalists
Amanda Ng Li Chuen, Cherie Tan Shi Hua, Daphne Tan Shi Jing, Jazreel Tan Shi Hua, New Hui Fen, Shayna Ng Lin Zhi – National Bowling Women’s Team

Rachel Lee Qing, Cecilia Low Rui Qi – National Sailing 420 Women’s Team

Feng Tianwei, Wang Yuegu, Li Jiawei, Sun Beibei – National Table Tennis Women’s Team

Best Sports Event of the Year (Local) Finalists
24th Canon Lion City Cup – Football
OCBC Cycle Singapore 2012 – Cycling
65th Singapore Cricket Club International Rugby Club 7s – Rugby
Singapore Chartered Marathon Singapore 2012 – Marathon

Best Sports Event of the Year (International) Finalists
FINA/ARENA Swimming World Cup 2012 (Singapore) – Swimming
HSBC Women’s Champions 2012 – Golf
HSBC Asian 7s Series, Singapore – Rugby
Li-Ning Singapore Open 2012 – Badminton
ONE Fighting Championship 2012 – Mixed Martial Arts

Most Inspiring Sports Story of the Year Finalists
Gerrard Lin: “30km mark. 12km more. Hell began.” by Leslie Tan – Red Sports, 31 December 2012
There’s Always Another Mountain to Climb by Jeanette Tan – Yahoo! News, 5 June 2012
True Grit by Chan U-Gene – The Sunday Times, 15 April 2012
Victory Lies In Tan’s Duel With Life by Rohit Brijnath – The Straits Times, 4 September 2012

List of award winners next page