ssc_marcomms posted on March 26, 2009 18:34
It was a night of celebration and pride when the POSB Everyday Champions were recognised for their meaningful contributions to the local sporting arena. These heroes come from all walks of life. There was a food merchant, a statistician, a fencing coach and even a home-maker amongst the winners. They might not have seen each other before, but they all had two things in common: passion and commitment to sports participation, and they are your undisputed champions for sport.
Fifty-seven individuals and organisations were honoured at the inaugural POSB Everyday Champions Award ’09 on 26 February. Gracing the event were guests-of-honour President S.R. Nathan and Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports, who presented the prestigious award to these 57 deserving champions. Smiles were aplenty as each took their moment in the limelight on stage together with our personable President Nathan and Minister Vivian.
The POSB Everyday Champions were selected for their outstanding contributions from over 3,000 nominations received since the launch of the Award in October last year.
A mother of two, 52 year-old Joyce proves that age and gender are no barriers as she leads a team of cyclists on a daily basis from as early as 5 a.m. The youngest award recipient, Jason Chen, makes waves in the dragon boat community when he started Naga Merah - a dragon boat team for the visually-handicapped, a first of its kind in Asia. There were a total of 14 winners in the Individuals category, 25 in the Coaches category and 18 in the Organisations category, all outstanding in their own ways.
An amalgamation of two previous awards - the Sporting Singapore Inspiration Award and the Coaches Recognition Awards - the POSB Everyday Champions Award continues to cast the spotlight on individuals and organisations that go the extra mile to help others play and grow through sports. Organised by the Singapore Sports Council and sponsored by POSB, the award is the nation’s highest accolade for honouring individuals, coaches and organisations that foster greater participating in sports.
Even though the award ceremony and champagne-popping are over, their efforts to promote sports do not stop. Quietly, but persistently, these seemingly ordinary folks who are in fact your extraordinary champions for sport, will continue to make a difference to our lives, and to the sporting community.
Said an ex-trainee of one of the winners of the Coaches category, Wang Xiao Ke: “Coach Wang is not only my coach but also my mentor and best friend. He is someone I can always confide in, even though I’m no longer under his wings, he is still there for me.”
Kudos to the POSB Everyday Champions!
* The ‘Vote for your Favourite POSB Everyday Champions’ contest has ended. Results of your top three favourite champions for each category and the lucky draw results will be released on 6 April ’09! Keep an eye on www.singaporesports.sg/posbchampions for more details!
* Catch the champions in action here in these fun and quirky clips.