Team Singapore Athletes Rewarded For Medal Haul

Team Singapore Athletes Rewarded For Medal Haul

DPM Teo Chee Hean Issues Rallying Call for Singaporeans to Back Team Singapore Athletes in Preparation for SEA Games 2011 and London 2012

Singapore, 17 February 2011 - In a joint ceremony for both the Commonwealth Games 2010 and Asian Games 2010 contingents, 43 Team Singapore medallists were presented with cash awards totalling S$4.22 million at the Multi-Million Dollar Award Programme (MAP) dinner at the Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel this evening.

2. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Teo Chee Hean, who is also the President of the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC), along with Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Dr Vivian Balakrishnan presented the awards on behalf of the Tote Board and the SNOC.

3. At the 19th Commonwealth Games held in New Delhi, India, Team Singapore achieved an unprecedented record of 11 gold, 11 silver and nine bronze medals, and the 23 athletes from the four sports received S$1.88 million in total for their medal-winning performances. S$2.34 million was awarded to 25 athletes from the 16th Asian Games contingent to Guangzhou in recognition of their haul of four gold, seven silver and six bronze medals.

4. The top earner of 2010 was swimmer Tao Li, who walked away with S$300,000 after successfully defending her reign as the Women's 50m Butterfly champion in Guangzhou. She also improved her bronze finish in the Women's 100m Butterfly event at the 2006 Asian Games with a silver medal in Guangzhou. In close second was shooter Gai Bin whose three gold, two silver and two bronze medals at the Commonwealth Games earned him a total of S$270,000 through the MAP awards.

5. Team Singapore sailors received a total of S$1.1 million having contributed eight medals to Team Singapore's medal tally of 17 at the 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou. The paddlers with their 13 medal contribution (six gold, six silver and one bronze) across both Games, pocketed S$1.08 million for their efforts.

6. "Congratulations to all the MAP award recipients. You did well at the two major games, to bring a solid finale to a very busy sporting 2010. Thank you all for making 2010 a successful and memorable year," said DPM Teo.

7. "Looking forward, I am certain that our athletes and every facet of support behind them - from their coaches, to their sparring partners, to their medical and support teams - are already putting together the final pieces as Singapore gears towards this year's SEA Games and London 2012. It will take a national effort - not just for the athletes, but also for every one of us, to rally together and back our athletes as they aim to do Singapore proud and put us on the podium again. It is thus important that everyone, every agency - the NSAs, the SSC, the SNOC, our media partners and Singaporeans - rally around each other as our athletes begin their sporting journey," he added.

8. The sponsors and corporate partners of Team Singapore and the SNOC - Adecco Personnel Private Limited, Canon Singapore Private Limited, Changi Airport Group (Singapore) Private Limited, MediaCorp Private Limited, the National Library Board, Nestle Singapore Private Limited, NTUC FairPrice Foundation Limited, Singapore Press Holdings, Singapore Totalisator Board & Singapore Pools (Private) Limited, Sunrise & Company (Private) Limited, and StarHub Limited - were each presented with appreciation plaques to honour their generous and continued support of Team Singapore.

Annex A: About the Multi-Million Dollar Award Programme (MAP)

In the 1990s, under the direction of then President Dr. Yeo Ning Hong, the Singapore National Olympic Council devised an incentive scheme to reward medal-winning athletes. The Multi-Million Dollar Awards Programme (MAP) provides a cash payout to athletes who win gold medals at the Olympic, Asian, Commonwealth and South East Asian (SEA) Games.

The largest award is $1 million, payable to athletes who achieve a gold medal standing at the Olympic Games. The smallest award is $10,000, for athletes who win a gold medal at the SEA Games. The value of the awards varies with the respective Games, with the Olympic Games providing significantly higher payouts. The awards also vary based on individual versus team events and team sports.

There are ceilings on the awards. Athletes will be entitled to awards up to a maximum of three individual gold medals won at the SEA Games, up to two individual gold medals won at the Commonwealth and Asian Games, and the first gold medal won at the Olympic Games. All awards are presented to the winning athlete, not the national sports association, and are taxable.

The Tote Board/Singapore Pools (Pte) Ltd is the primary sponsor of the MAP awards.

Athletes who break the South East Asian or Asian Games records will be awarded $5,000 and $50,000 respectively. This incentive does not apply to sports with no official records.

It is mandatory for all athletes to plough back 20% of the MAP awards to their National Sports Association for future training and development.

Annex B: 19th Commonwealth Games Delhi 2010 MAP Awards Recipients

Individual Events

Team Events

Total MAP Award: $1,880,000.00

**Annex C: 16th Asian Games Guangzhou 2010 MAP Awards Recipients **

Individual Events

Team Events

Total MAP Award: $2,340,000.00

Annex D: Singapore National Olympic Council and Team Singapore Appreciation

Plaque Recipients