478 student-athletes awarded Singapore Olympic Foundation-Peter Lim Scholarship; record $1.25 million disbursed
The scholarship consists of the primary, secondary, tertiary and high performance under-18 categories.
A total of 478 student-athletes were awarded the Singapore Olympic Foundation-Peter Lim Scholarship on Monday (Jul 10) at Temasek Polytechnic.
First established in 2010, the scholarship aims to help promising young athletes to achieve their goals in sports excellence and support outstanding young athletes from financially challenged backgrounds.
This year, the scholarship was awarded to 107 primary school students, 164 secondary school students, 108 Junior College (JC) / Integrated Programme (IP) / Polytechnic students, and 99 students under the high performance under-18 category. The recipients received $1,000, $2,000, $3,000, and $5,000 respectively.
The amount disbursed totalled to $1,254,000, making it the largest annual pay-out to date. Recipients of the award can use the funds to pay for competition expenses, buying of sport equipment, as well as to cover school-related expenses.
One of the recipients is short track speed skater Ryo Ong. A first-time scholarship recipient, he said that the scholarship will help fund his training and equipment expenses. The 16-year-old also shared that it has helped motivate him to qualify for the Winter Olympic Games one day.
Cayden Loh, the youngest member of the 13-strong men’s water polo winning team at the Cambodia 2023 SEA Games, is a first-time recipient in the high performance under-18 category.
The 18 year-old student from Temasek Polytechnic shared that the intensity of training has increased as they approach major competitions such as the Asian Games.
“As such, recovery is very important and having support from the SOF-Peter Lim Scholarship can help me to cover expenses related to training, competition and academics, thus giving me peace of mind to focus on my goals,” he explained.
The scholarship eligibility differs for each category. Primary, secondary, and JC/IP/Polytechnic categories are required to have good performance at interschool or equivalent competitions. The applicant’s general sports performance and family income are also “key considerations” in order to qualify for the scholarship.
On the other hand, those under the high performance under-18 category would need to land a “commendable performance” at regional or international competitions. Their sports performance and potential will also be closely assessed.
This ceremony marked the return of the full scholarship after COVID-19 had halted in-person ceremonies in the previous years. From 2020 to 2022, the quantum and qualifying criteria for the awards were adjusted to continue to support budding young athletes.
Encouragement Awards were disbursed to 1,110 recipients across 39 sports in 2021 and 2022, while keeping the same goal of encouraging young student-athletes to play and compete in sports, as well as benefit as many recipients as possible from financially challenged backgrounds.
Previous beneficiaries of the SOF-Peter Lim Scholarship include swimmer Joseph Schooling, bowler Shayna Ng, rifle shooter Martina Lindsay Veloso, track-and-field athlete Veronica Shanti Pereira, and footballer Adam Swandi.
