SINGAPORE — The first batch of athletes under the new Sports Excellence Scholarship (spexScholarship) programme was unveiled yesterday, with 66 athletes from 15 sports tapped for funding and other ancillary support under the S$40-million scheme.

Announced in March, the spexScholarship provides talented Singaporean athletes with an enhanced level of support to attain sporting success. It is part of the new High Performance Sports (HPS) System, which replaces the S$6.5-million Olympic Pathway Programme.

The four-tier scholarship will see athletes receiving stipends ranging from S$24,000 to S$90,000, as well as additional support that includes training and competition costs, coaching fees, equipment, sports medicine and sports science.

The Singapore Sports Institute received 218 nominations across 28 sports by the end-April deadline, from which 152 athletes from 20 sports were shortlisted for interviews.

These applicants were subsequently reviewed by the HPS Selection and Performance Sub-Committee, and the HPS Steering Committee chaired by Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Lawrence Wong, before the final list was confirmed.

Among the 66 athletes are household names such as bowlers Jazreel Tan and Shayna Ng, snooker player Peter Gilchrist, shooter Jasmine Ser, swim sensation Joseph Schooling and Olympic medallist Feng Tianwei.

Also included for high-level funding for the first time are six disabled athletes, including Paralympian Laurentia Tan. Fifteen-year-old gymnast Ashly Lau is the youngest recipient and disabled bowler Thomas Yong, 59, the oldest.

“What we’re doing is a major and significant enhancement to our High Performance system,” said Wong yesterday when meeting selected spexScholars at the Singapore Sailing Federation pontoon at Marina Bay.

“It’s putting in more investment and improved what we have done before, bringing in disabled athletes into this system and giving them the same support we give to able-bodied athletes. (It’s also) more extensive in coverage across the entire pipeline of athletes — previously, we would prepare only the group of athletes ... training for the upcoming Olympics, now we are starting at the national level and identifying athletes who have the potential to go further in the future.

“And it’s more comprehensive in terms of the level of support we’re giving each athlete, not just stipend and coaching but also providing educational support for student-athletes, career development for adults, and personal and life-skill development for everyone.

“We hope this will give our athletes the motivation to train full-time, to commit themselves to their sports and achieve excellence over time.”

Apart from the 66 spexScholars, 26 other athletes from nine sports were also identified for targeted support, such as overseas training camps, competitions and equipment, above their current grants.

Said Wong: “We had so many good applications that we felt we ought to identify those with potential to be spexScholars in the next round. We wanted to give them the signal that we are tracking them and hope that they will continue to train hard and get the scholarship the next round.”

Sailor Kimberly Lim, who won the Optimist World Championship in 2010, is among the recipients and she felt the scholarship is an acknowledgment of her achievements in the past and a boost for the future.

Said the 17-year-old from Raffles Institution (Junior College): “It’s a good holistic support for me as I aim for the Olympics in 2016 and beyond.”

Box:

spexScholars 2013

Badminton

1. Danny Bawa Chrisnanta

2. Vanessa Neo

3. Liang Xiaoyu

Bowling

4. Jazreel Tan

5. Shayna Ng

6. Cherie Tan

7. Daphne Tan

8. Bernice Lim

9. Muhd Jaris Goh

10. New Hui Fen

Canoeing

11. Geraldine Lee

12. Suzanne Seah

13. Sarah Chen Jiemei Sarah

14. Stephanie Chen

15. Wilona Lee

16. Annabelle Ng

Cuesports

17. Peter Gilchrist

Disability Sports

18. Laurentia Tan

19. Nurulasyiqah Mohammad Taha

20. Mohd Ismail Hussain

21. Maximillian Tan

22. Gemma Foo

23. Thomas Yong

24. Toh Sze Ning

Fencing

25. Ann Lee

26. Cheryl Wong

27. Joshua Lim

28. Lim Wei Wen

29. Willie Khoo

30. Liane Wong

Golf

31. Jonathan Woo

Gymnastics

32. Joey Tam

33. Nicolette Lim

34. Charmaine Yeo

35. Zeng Qiyan

36. Ashly Lau

37. Janessa Dai

38. Michelle Teo

Sailing

39. Colin Cheng

40. Elizabeth Yin

41. Scott Glen Sydney

42. Kimberly Lim

43. Savannah Siew

44. Victoria Chan

45. Ryan Lo

Shooting

46. Jasmine Ser

47. Lim Yee Xien

48. Yang Shuet Hwei

49. Teh Xiu Yi

Silat

50. Muhd Shakir Juanda

51. Muhd Iqbal Abdul Rahman

52. Muhd Nur Alfian Juma’en

Swimming

53. Joseph Schooling

54. Quah Zheng Wen

55. Tao Li

56. Amanda Lim

57. Danny Yeo

58. Samantha Yeo

Table Tennis

59. Feng Tian Wei

60. Yu Meng Yu

61. Gao Ning

62. Yang Zi

63. Zhan Jian

64. Li Hu

Waterski

65. Sasha Christian

Wushu

66. Samuel Tan

Athletes with Future Potential for spexScholarship 2013

Archery

1. Tan Si Lie

2. Justin Ng

Athletics

3. Gary Yeo

4. Calvin Kang

Badminton

5. Yeo Jia Min

Canoeing

6. Lucas Teo

7. Clarence Chua

8. Muhd Syaheenul Aiman Nasiman

9. Tay Zi Qiang

10. Brandon Ooi

11. Benjamin Low

12. Bill Lee

Disability Sports

13. Benson Tan

14. Theresa Goh

Football

15. Hariss Harun

16. Izwan Mahbud

Sailing

17. Bertha Han

18. Ryan Teo

19. Koh Yi Kun

20. Samuel Neo

21. Fathin Rasyiqah Firdaus

Swimming

22. Lynette Lim

23. Mylene Ong

Table Tennis

24. Zhou Yi Han

25. Isabelle Li

26. Lin Ye