SEA Games: Blackout period over, Singapore athletes can thank personal sponsors on social media again

SINGAPORE — It was a saga that almost cost Singapore a gold medal at the SEA Games. 

Just days before departing Singapore for Kuala Lumpur, national marathoner Soh Rui Yong was told he might be kicked off the team if he did not remove social media posts promoting his personal sponsors.

Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) rules state that Soh and other local athletes could not promote their personal sponsors on social media from Aug 5 to Sep 6, which covers the duration of the SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur, and the immediate period before and after.

Under Clause 7 of the SNOC’s team membership agreement, its Disciplinary Committee also had the right to terminate an athlete’s team membership and exclude him or her from competitions if they flouted these rules.

The issue is not confined to Singapore, as the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio saw the controversial “Rule 40” – a bye law of the Olympic Charter – requiring athletes competing at the Games to sever ties with non-official Games sponsors, and adhering to strict social media guidelines. Errant athletes who flouted the rules risked sanctions and possible disqualification.

But with the SEA Games now over and the blackout period completed, Soh and other local athletes have begun to thank their sponsors in earnest online.

On Thursday (Sept 7), Soh thanked H-Two-O on Facebook for financing his journey to a second SEA Games Marathon gold. “Couldn’t have done it without you!” he said.

A day later, he also plugged his Asics running shoe - the ASICS GEL-Hyperspeed 7.

Other athletes who have thanked their sponsors over the past three days include high-jumper Michelle Sng, swimmer Amanda Lim, squash player Vivian Rhamanan and marathoner Mok Ying Ren.

Addressing the issue after his SEA Games run, Soh said he understood the reasons behind the sponsorship rules. However, he still felt that athletes should have an increased say in some of these rules as it affects them directly.

“It’s just difficult to give your sponsors enough bang for their buck…it’s the one month that you have the most social interaction with your fans. It really hurts the value of the sponsorship.

"I spoke to SNOC and they do understand, but unfortunately that’s the rules. I’m trying my best to play by the rules but I’m trying to give my sponsors enough value for their money."

Soh also said pre-competition that he had been given “the assurance in writing that the issue would be revisited after the SEA Games.

“Hopefully the conclusion will be more supportive of the athletes and the difficulties they face getting funding and sponsorship," he said.

“This definitely diminishes the (sponsorship) value of athletes, especially those competing in sports like athletics and swimming that have no visibility outside of the SEA Games and Olympic Games.

“I’m not fully funded by the government and I’m trying to make it work in Singapore where costs are high … this is making it hard for athletes like me to become full-time athletes.”

Yip Ren Kai, Chair of the SNOC Athletes’ Commission, has since asked him to join the group, and Soh said: “I hope to work together with Ren Kai to create change, I can’t say for sure if it’s going to happen, but it’s not really up to me. 

“Let’s hope for the best, I think that it would really help athletes if this rule was outed in that sense.”