Singapore Youth Olympic Scholarships awarded

Six young athletes awarded first Singapore Youth Olympic Scholarships « Red Sports. Always Game@YOG2010

Singapore’s Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew presented the first Youth Olympic Games Scholarships today as a legacy of the first-ever Youth Olympic Games, and as part of the country’s commitment to the Olympic Movement.

The scholarships aim to seed the pursuit of excellence and the forging of friendships. Six fully-funded scholarships to the Singapore Sports School were presented to students from Botswana, Guyana1, Malaysia, Peru, Singapore and Thailand.

The scholarship recipients are: Ebineng Seabe Beryl (Botswana, swimming), Jevina Raydon Sampson (Guyana, Athletics), Angeline Tang An Qi (Malaysia, table tennis), Nieto Herrera Janina Sofia (Peru, table tennis), Ang Wan Qi (Singapore, table tennis), and Phiangkhwan Pawapotako (Thailand, swimming). Please see Annex for details.

“Singapore is a small open and cosmopolitan city with no natural resources. The key determinant of our future is our people – in particular, our young people. This is why we invest so heavily in education, transmitting values that have stood the test of time, enabling our young people to reach across cultural boundaries and equipping them to seize opportunities in a rapidly changing world. These Scholarships represent our commitment to share these opportunities with top talented students from the Olympic Movement,” said Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports.

“Singaporean youth will benefit from a more diverse classroom environment and increased opportunities to learn from their new international schoolmates, reinforcing the Olympic values of Excellence, Friendship and Respect,” he added.

Some 30 National Olympic Committees submitted a total of 54 applications for the scholarships between February and April 2010. In May and June, short-listed candidates were invited to Singapore for interviews, and recipients were informed of their selection in July.

The scholarships are funded by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports, with operational support from the Singapore Sports School, the Singapore National Olympic Council, the Olympic Solidarity and the Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee.

About Singapore 2010 – Blazing the Trail
Singapore is hosting the inaugural Youth Olympic Games (YOG) from 14 to 26 August 2010. The Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games will receive some 5,000 athletes and officials from the 204 National Olympic Committees (NOCs), along with estimated 1,900 media representatives, 20,000 local and international volunteers, and 320,000 spectators. Young athletes - aged between 14 and 18 years - will compete in 26 sports and take part in a Culture and Education Programme.

The Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games aims to inspire youth around the world to embrace, embody and express the Olympic values of Excellence, Friendship and Respect. It will create a lasting sports, culture and education legacy for Singapore and youth from around the world, as well as enhance and elevate the sporting culture locally and regionally.

For more information, please visit www.singapore2010.sg