Opening Speech, SSIA 2007 Ceremony

2007 SPORTING SINGAPORE INSPIRATION AWARDS CEREMONY

Speech by: DR VIVIAN BALAKRISHNAN, MINISTER FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, YOUTH AND SPORTS AND SECOND MINISTER FOR INFORMATION, COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS

MCYS SPEECH NO: 37/2007
DATE OF ISSUE: 25/07/2007
5.00 PM AT JUBILEE HALL, RAFFLES HOTEL

Distinguished guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

We congratulate the 42 individuals and organisations, who through their passion and tireless efforts, in promoting the Sporting Singapore vision, have reached out and enriched the lives of their family members, friends and colleagues.

The recipients of the 2007 Sporting Singapore Inspiration Awards are role models who have helped make Singapore an even more vibrant, resilient and healthy nation.

This year, our individual winners range from a 20-year-old student to a 61-year-old company director; and our organisational winners include schools, banks and hospitals. I am pleased to note that nominations for the awards have almost doubled, from 289 last year to 565 nominations this year. This shows that increasingly, individuals and organisations are seeing the benefits of inspiring others to be active in sports. I hope that this will also encourage other individuals and organisations to join in and reap the countless benefits.

The nominees here today are all worthy of special mention. Unfortunately, because of time constraints, I can only highlight a sample of their achievements with you.

Truly inspiring individual (Adult) - Mr Chen Munn

First, I would like to mention 32 year-old traffic engineer Chen Munn. Besides travelling widely around Asia to take part in triathlons, duathlons and marathons, Chen Munn has personally led his colleagues in weekly runs at Marina Park to prepare them for the 2006 Sheares Bridge Run.

He enthusiastically reaches out to first-time participants in the sport, dispensing advice to novices on proper swimming stroke techniques, as well as cheering and motivating them to complete their races. He regularly leads groups of enthusiasts to attend marathon training sessions held in Malaysia and Indonesia and compete in events like the Triathlon Family Sprint Race.

Always ready to inspire others to take up sports, he has created blogs and contributed significantly to online forums on triathlon-related issues. Chen Munn serves as an inspiration to all, on how each of us can play our part in leading others to take up a sport.

Sport advocate that promoted a strong sporting culture to their employees - SGH

Next I would like to highlight an organisation. Singapore General Hospital has committed itself to build a culture of exercise, fitness and healthy living. SGH has set up a system where appointed health ambassadors from various departments provide steady encouragement to their fellow colleagues to participate in a variety of sporting activities. Last year, SGH even rebuilt its staff gymnasium and dance studio to make it more conducive for staff to exercise.

Many organisations have realised that sport participation programs can reap tangible benefits in terms of happier, healthier and more productive employees. I am encouraged to see more and more corporations promoting sports and fitness in their workplaces.

Sports partners who have helped to promote sports and active lifestyles to the community - NParks

I would also like to congratulate the National Parks Board (NParks) for doing a tremendous job in reaching out to promote sports on a large scale to the community. Last year alone, NParks played a pivotal role in organising 38 sporting events that reached out to an estimated 130,000 people. In conclusion, while we continue to enhance our sporting infrastructure, with the Sports Hub being one major investment in our hardware, it is even more important to nurture our heartware - namely the men and women with the passion and dedication to make Singapore a vibrant sporting nation. I would like to encourage all of you here today to continue your good work in inspiring and enabling others, to help make sports a part of their lives.

Thank you.