Singapore Swimming launches S$600k fund to boost high performance

SINGAPORE – National athletes looking to make the leap from amateur status to a professional aquatics career will now be able to tap into a new S$600,000 fund launched by the Singapore Swimming Association (SSA) on Friday (June 8).

The SGP Fund is aimed at enhancing the development of Singapore’s high performance eco-system across its four disciplines: swimming, diving, waterpolo and artistic swimming.

It will kick off with an S$600,000 war chest courtesy of Olympic champion Joseph Schooling – who had to pay a compulsory 20 per cent of his S$1 million prize money from the Multi-Million Dollar Awards Programme to the SSA – and donations from the SSA’s golf fundraiser in November 2016.

Schooling said: “The SGP Fund is essential for the continuous growth of the aquatics scene as it takes into account the different components that are necessary to develop an eco-system that will help all athletes go further in their career.

“I am fortunate to have had a great support network and I hope more athletes will be given an opportunity to pursue their dreams.”

While the fund was first mooted in 2016 after Schooling’s gold medal win in Rio, the SSA explained that more time was required to sort out the administration and governance of the fund.

“We wanted to make sure that the governance was foolproof and account for every single cent,” said SSA secretary general Oon Jin Teik.

“We took time to assess what’s missing (in the eco-system), and what is required.”

The fund will support athletes and programmes across three areas: sustaining success for athletes who have achieved results at the Olympics, world championships and Asian or Commonwealth Games; generating growth of athletes via the clubs and affiliates’ high performance programmes and initiatives; and upgrading the abilities of athletes who have broken national records or won gold medals at the SEA Games.

SSA staff, coaches, clubs and affiliates – who were briefed on the fund on Friday morning – can also apply for grants and funding from the SGP Fund.

Under this fund, an Olympic gold medallist can get up to S$70,000, or up to S$15,000 if he or she achieves a top-eight ranking at the Olympics, world championships, or won a medal at the Asian or Commonwealth Games. The money can be used for programmes or initiatives that help athletes sustain sporting success, transition from an amateur to a professional, or prepare for their post-retirement career.

Athletes who have won a gold medal at the SEA Games, or hold a national record, are eligible for grants of up to S$15,000, while clubs and affiliates – as well as coaches and staff – can also apply for funding of up to S$15,000 for high performance programmes and initiatives.

However, money from the SGP Fund can only be disbursed for high performance, and only if the applicant or programme/initiative is not covered by Sport Singapore’s annual grant to the national sports association, or the SpexScholarship.  

An SGP Fund Advisory Committee comprising six members, including Mr Oon and former Sport Singapore chairman Alex Chan, was convened from March 2017 to May 2018 to establish a set of eligibility criteria for the fund. The fund will be administered by the SSA via a two-tier evaluation and approval process, which is expected to take up to three months from the time of the application.

Donors who wish to contribute to the SGP Fund can visit giving.sg/singapore-swimming-association/sgp_fund or send a cheque to the Singapore Swimming Association.