News

- With the sponsorship, SAA is using the annual meet to identify the next athletics star for SEA Games 2015

Some 400 athletes from the region will be heading to Singapore next month for the 7th Southeast Asian (SEA) Youth Athletics Championships.

Singapore may be hosting the championship for the second time, but it is still an event of several firsts: for the first time, the Singapore Athletic Association (SAA) has secured close to $200,000 in sponsorship for the event.

As part of its initiatives to give back to the community and support the development of young, local sports talent, Sembcorp Industries is sponsoring $150,000 towards organising the SEA Youth Athletics Championships.

These athletes from Southeast Asia, aged 16 or 17 as of the end of this year, will be competing at Bishan Stadium from 28 to 29 April 2012.

Said Secretary General of SAA, Alex 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.”

Said Sembcorp’s Executive Vice President of Singapore and ASEAN (Utilities), Ng Meng Poh, “As a home-grown company, we are very pleased to support our national youth athletes and the 7th SEA Youth Athletics Championships. 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 expands talent pool with biggest contingent ever for SEA Youth Athletics Championships

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.

As part of the association’s continued efforts to develop the talent pool and identify the next athletics star for SEA Games 2015, performances of all youth athletes at the SEA Youth Athletics Championships will be monitored closely.

Past medalists from junior and youth SEA sporting events such as the long jump national record holder, Matthew Goh, and the top female hurdler, Dipna Lim-Prasad, have gone on to break national records and represent the nation at the SEA Games. Goh was a two-time SEA Junior Champion in 2008 and 2009, while Lim-Prasad won three medals at the 2007, 2008 and 2009 SEA Junior meet.
 
Said SAA’s Secretary General Alex 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.”

The final squad for the SEA Youth Athletics Championship will be announced in April.

Media Contact

For SAA:

Ms Foo Shu Yi
IMSG (appointed PR agency)
Tel: 8499 0749
Email: [email protected]

For Sembcorp:

Ms Melissa Yee
Manager, Group Corporate Relations
Sembcorp Industries
DID: 6723 3326
Fax: 6822 3240
Email: [email protected]

ABOUT SINGAPORE ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION

Founded in 1934, SAA's historic footprints began more than 60 years ago when we opened our doors to Singapore's early athletes at the Farrer Park Stadium. Since then, the SAA has toiled and grown, and is now poised to chart new territories for the future. Under the helm of a new dynamic team of volunteers and full-time secretariat, the association will take bold strides to nurture talents and work towards a holistic athlete development and making competitive athletics a viable career. SAA’s vision is to establish Singapore as South East Asia’s top athletics nation, with a cohesive and successful system to develop and support athletes, coaches and officials.

Boasting a membership of 21 affiliate institutions, the Singapore Athletic Association (SAA) continues to build on its proud history and tradition as Singapore’s governing body in the track and field for the new millennium. SAA is a member of the IAAF and domestically, it is responsible – by its legal status, its recognition from the IAAF and its own constitution – for sanctioning, promoting, expanding, and strengthening athletics in Singapore.

ABOUT SEMBCORP INDUSTRIES

Sembcorp Industries is a leading energy, water and marine group operating across six continents worldwide. With facilities with 5,600 megawatts of gross power capacity and over seven million cubic metres of water per day in operation and under development, Sembcorp is a trusted provider of essential energy and water solutions to both industrial and municipal customers. It is also a world leader in marine and offshore engineering, as well as an established brand name in integrated urban development.

The Group has total assets of over S$11 billion and employs over 9,000 employees. Listed on the main board of the Singapore Exchange, it is a component stock of the Straits Times Index, several MSCI and FTSE indices as well as the Dow Jones Sustainability Asia Pacific Index.