emPOWERJULY 2018 ISSUE 6

spexBusiness eNewsletter

Photos courtesy of Philip Au/ Sport Singapore

In this issue…

Presidential Cheer to Team Singapore

Upcoming Events

New Athlete Life Team Lead

MILO with Joseph Schooling

GetActive! Singapore

Swissotel Vitality Week

OSIM Sundown Marathon

Athletes-In-Action

Update on Job Placements

Athletes-In-Focus

Networking Session

New spexBusiness Partners

spexEducation-In-Focus

Photos courtesy of Eugene Lim/ Sport Singapore

Presidential Cheer to Team SingaporeOn 5 June, President Halimah Yacob paid a visit to Team Singapore athletesfrom swimming (including Olympic champion Joseph Schooling), boccia,pencak silat, water polo and sailing, who were preparing for the 2018 AsianGames to be held in Indonesia from 18 August to 2 September, and the 2018Asian Para Games in Jakarta from 8 to 16 October 2018.

President Halimah also broke fastwith various athletes and officialswho will be travelling to thequadrennial Games in Indonesia.

Before taking her leave, President

Halimah autographed a plaque andencouraged the athletes to bringsporting glory to Singapore.

Sport has the power to bringpeople from all walks of lifetogether, and PresidentHalimah rallied for allSingaporeans, together withher, to cheer on our athletes!

emPOWER (Issue 6) JULY 2018

A total of 213 athletes have been emplaced with ourspexBusiness partners on various employment terms.

Together with our spexBusiness partners, we will continue tosupport our Team Singapore athletes with their careertransition into the workforce.

Update on NEW Job Placements

19 27 24

53 59

23

2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

No. of Athletes Emplaced

Total number of jobs placed from Jan-Jun 2018

Familiar Face at the Athletes’ Centre

New Team Lead for Athlete LifeWith the recent re-organisation, Peggy is now with theEvents and Fans Development team. We thank her for herpassion and commitment in setting up the spexBusinessnetwork, and wish her all the best in her new role!

SSI’s Athlete Life team now welcomes a new team lead –Mark Richmond. A well-recognised personality, Mark hasbeen at the forefront of Singapore’s sports broadcastingand journalism for 31 years now, covering major Gameslike the Olympics and major sporting events like the WorldCup.

Mark hopes his interactions with local and internationalathletes past and present will serve him well in this newrole and that he continues to grow working with thecurrent and next generation of athletes and partners.

Dolly Lo, more affectionately knownas Aunty Dolly, is now working part-time with SSI. Dolly has been a“constant figure” in our sportingscene with her immense support forour Team Singapore athletes. Like amother-figure, she will be attendingto our athletes at the centre toprovide advice and care to them.

Do say hi to her when you see her atthe centre!

NEW spexBusiness PartnersAs of July 2018, a total of 58 partners have joined ourspexBusiness Network to support our athletes in theirpursuit of sporting excellence and prepare them for asuccessful career transition for life after sports.

Please welcome our new partners!

After gathering feedback fromusers, Rightspot has improved itsfeatures and ease of use.

One key feature is Rightspot’sTalentspot, which allowsspexBusiness partners to viewTeam Singapore athletes ranked by

New and Improved Rightspot Features

how well each athletef i t s p e c i f i c j o brequirements.spexBusiness partnerscan headhunt and sendinterview invitations toshortlisted athletes evenbefore they apply.

Get matched now atrightspot.co/signin!

SSI’s Athlete Life Team (L-R) Zulhilmi Karim, Beena Doshi, Apple Tan,Mark Richmond, Sheryl Lim, Alice Wong, Bernard Lim

emPOWER (Issue 6) JULY 2018

With athlete life coaching guidance:

• Athletes will receive timely support inmaking important decisions along their sportdevelopment pathway.

• Athletes will stay longer in the sport and bemore likely to reach their best sportingachievements.

• There will be less talent attrition which willdirectly impact the talent pool available fordevelopment to the higher levels ofachievements.

SSI-RP Certification in Athlete Life Coaching

Republic Polytechnic and Singapore Sport Institute have cometogether to offer the Athlete Life Coaching course that aims toequip sport practitioners with the necessary skill sets to effectivelyand holistically manage athletes whom they mentor and guide.

The course to be launched soon in September is targeted atpersonnel who interact frequently with athletes, usually studentlife officers from institutes of higher education, sport coaches,teachers managing Sport CCAs and NSA staff.

Athlete Life Coaching is a specialised field of counselling that helps athletes proactively plan

for all other areas of their life while they pursue sports. Athletes will be better guided on decisionsfor major timelines and milestones as they continueto progress and develop their best potential in sport.

NUS – New spexEducation Partner

“NUS is very supportive of our nation’s athletes. As a world-class university, we embrace the unique talents andaspirations of our student-athletes. We continually strive toprovide them a conducive environment that facilitates themto excel in both their educational and sporting pursuits. Ourstudent-athletes also help to strengthen our increasinglyvibrant sporting community in the university and build aformidable spirit of cohesiveness among our students.”

Mr Lawrenz Sim, Head of Sports & Recreation, NUS

Please welcome NUS as they join our group ofesteemed spexEducation partners who havedemonstrated their unwavering support throughflexibility, understanding and openness!

• take multiple leave of absence to facilitate theirsporting aspirations.

• customise academic study loads that integratewith their major games’ preparation campaigns.

• upload online lectures they missed for accessanytime.

NUS continues their many ongoing athlete friendlypractices, such as facilitating athletes to:

spexBusiness Networking Session: Connecting Athletes with Partners On 20 June 2018, Team Singaporeathletes got to engage with ourspexBusiness partners (Adecco,DBS, Fullerton Health, Grab,KPMG, Rightspot, Robinsons,SMRT and Swissotel) to learnmore about each other.

The networking session wasorganized for Team Singaporeathletes to seek flexible workopportunities (such as internships,

part-time and full-time) fromthe network, and also provideda platform for our spexBusinesspartners to meet athletes fromvarious disciplines to shortlistpotential candidates to jointhem.

from sport into the board room.

Our spexBusiness partners also gainedinsights into each athlete’s sportingaspirations while juggling their sporting,work and study commitments as well astheir own personal life.

Do look out for the next session andjoin us at our networking events!

understand their businessneeds and see how they can fitin and bring useful skills learnt

Athletes get to meet withp o t e n t i a l e m p l o y e r s ,

spexEducation-In-Focus…

• proactively arrange to consult lecturers for missedlessons.

• proactively plan for potential clash of tests/exams withmajor games and arrange to reschedule them.

emPOWER (Issue 6) JULY 2018

Swissotel Vitality Week

OSIM Sundown MarathonTeam Singapore marathoner and Olympian, Neo JieShi, was invited to take part in the OSIM SundownMarathon team challenge alongside three of hertraining mates from the ActiveSG Athletics Club.

Appreciative of Jie Shi’s participation in themarathon, Lynn Tan, Deputy Managing Director ofOSIM, said: “[Jie Shi’s] rise from a recreational runner toOlympic marathoner in five years is one that truly inspiresus, and hopefully, our runners as well, showing them that ahealthy and active lifestyle is within everyone’s reach.”

Taking part in the race as a national athlete, Jie Shishared similar sentiments. She said: “I hope that

Jie Shi (center in yellow) with race organisers and spexBusiness partner OSIM

in a way, motivate them to give their best.”

“It’s always a very fun thing to attend these races, to get tomingle with friends, and others [in the] running community,”Jie Shi expressed. “I was slightly faster and I felt more incontrol compared to the last race I did in April. It actually hasme feeling more motivated to train harder for future races,”Jie Shi shared, discussing how her first race in months hadleft her feeling upbeat on her chances of notching strongperformances soon.

“I’m confident that I will be getting back in shape, andhopefully aim for a better timing [later this year],” shestated. We look forward to Jie Shi’s performance in the nextOSIM Sundown Marathon!

Jie Shi (in yellow) with her running mates from the ActiveSG Athletics Club (L to R) Mary-Lisa Chua,

Belle Tan and Faith Lee

[ T e a m S G ’ s ]

p r e s e n c e a tlocal races likethese can bean inspirationand motivationt o a l l t h eamateur andr e c r e a t i o n a lrunners, [and]

As part of theS w i s s o t e l T h eStamford’s VitalityWeek, a week-l o n g c am p a i g nt h a t a i m s t oadvocate the importance of well-being, health, sportand wellness, our Team Singapore paddlers Aaron Yeoand Jamien Wong were invited for a friendly game oftable tennis at the hotel lobby with the guests andmanagement of Swissotel The Stamford.

Sports has always been and will always be one of thebest ways for people of all walks to connect. Aaron andJamien were such an inspiration, and our paddlers,hotel staff and guests had an enjoyable time sparringwith one another.

(L to R): Team Singapore Paddlers Jamein and Aaron with Swissotel’s GM Marcus Hanna and Hotel Manager Kayta Herting.

MILO Gao Kosong

President Halimah making the first cup of MILO Gao Kosong at the event with

Nestle’s MD Rajiv Deraniyagala

I n s p i r e d b yPresident HalimahY a c o b ( i n h e rprevious query ofw h e t h e r M I L Oexisted in a zero-sugar form), NestleSingapore unveiledon 19 June a newnew variant of local flavour – MILO Gao Kosong – theworld’s first zero added table sugar MILO powder, withhigher level of protein and calcium.

Fans had the chance to get up close with MILOambassador andO l y m p i cc h a m p i o nJ o s e p hSchooling whenhe attended theroadshow eventon 24 June, andtried the zerosugar healthierversion of hisfavorite drinkthat he grew upwith.

emPOWER (Issue 6) JULY 2018

Athletes-In-Action…

Team Singapore Long Jumper, Suhairi Suhani

Photo: Singapore Disability Sports Council

Kudos to our

T e a m S G

Pencak Silat

e x p o n e n t s

o n t h e i r

s u c c e s s f u l

23rd Belgium

Team Singapore Pencak Silat Exponents

Team Singapore Men’s SoftballersFollowing a historic finish at the Asian Men'sSoftball Championship in Jakarta in April, ourTeamSG Men’s Softballers have qualified for theirFIRST-EVER WBSC Men's Softball WorldChampionship in Prague next year!

While the team will work harder to raise their levelof play and put Singapore on the world map forsoftball, their main goal now is to contend for goldat next year's Manila SEA Games.“

We wish them all the best in their training and goal.

Team Singapore Rugby Players

Team Singapore Cuesports Player, Peter Gilchrist

Top notch performance by our Team SingaporeWomen’s Rugby Team as they beat the Philippines 19-10to take the Asia Rugby Women’s Championship Division ICrown. Well done ladies!

It’s a firstplace forour four-time worldchampionand TeamSingaporecuesports

Para Athletics Grand Prix in Italy! Big round ofapplause for his grit & determination!

Our TeamSG LongJumper Suhairi Suhanim a y h a v e j u s trecovered from aninjury, but that did notstop him from puttingo n a s t r o n gperformance to win aBRONZE at the World

Team Singapore Women’s Floorballers

The very first Asia Ocenia Floorball Confederation Cuphas been claimed by TeamSG following our 4-1 winagainst Thailand! Congrats to our floorballers on anincredible performance for #OneTeamSG!

star Peter Gilchrist at the Asian Grand Prix!Finishing strong following a tough fight, he tookhome the title for #OneTeamSG.Congratulations Peter!

Open Pencak Silat Championship 2018!

On top of a haul of 7 gold, 3 silver, and 2

bronze medals, our TeamSG squad was

also named “Best Team” and Shakir Juanda

(pictured right) took home the “Best Male

Athlete” honour.

Three cheers for all!

Photo: Leandro Ngo/Singapore Floorball Association

Photo: Lawrence Loh/Singapore Rugby

Photo: Zack Zaniel/Singapore Silat Federation

Photo: Singapore Baseball and Softball Association

Photo: Alvin Ho

emPOWER (Issue 6) JULY 2018

Athletes-In-Focus…

DBS in their preparation for the Tokyo Olympics 2020. As partof its 50th anniversary, DBS has extended their support to TeamSingapore Sailors Griselda Khng and Olivia Chen, in the hope ofinspiring the next generation of Singaporeans to achieve theirdreams.

The six-figure sponsorship will see DBS and the duo collaborateon a series of community events and social mediaengagements from 2018 to 2020.

“The resilience, passion, and spirit of excellence of the nextgeneration of athletes are an inspiration to all of us. Griselda andOlivia have big ambitions in sailing and they have been workingvery hard despite facing challenges along the way. We are sopleased to support them in their journey towards their biggest goal

– the Tokyo Olympics in 2020,” said Sim S. Lim, Singapore CountryHead, DBS

Griselda represented Singapore at the 2016 Rio Olympics,where she finished 15th overall and was placed the top Asian inthe world. She started sailing when she was 12, and the sport

has moulded her into the person she is today. “Sailing has

taught me to never give up and this journey has been veryrewarding.”

Olivia added that, “Besides passion and hardwork, support from our families and thecommunity is equally important. They keep usmotivated every day. We are glad to have DBS’support and we hope other young athletes will beinspired to pursue what they love.”

Team Singapore Sailors, Griselda Khng andOlivia Chen have recently secured a major support from

Team Singapore BowlerMohamed Ismail Bin Hussaintook part in his first international able-bodied competition earlier this month, andthe experience left him eager for more.

The 34-year-old, who usuallybowls under the TPB3 categoryfor the visually-impaired, was atthe PBF 2nd PhilippinesInternational Open 2018 inManila, where he competedagainst able-bodied bowlers forthe first time in his sportingcareer.

“The plan for me to take parttogether with the able-bodied[athletes] was actually to test mymental strength. so that when Ibowl on the bigger stage in para-competitions, I won’t feel [too]

pressured,” he said.

However, he was caught offguard by how quickly thingsunfolded on the day of thecompetition.

“Normally, we get 5 to 10 minutesof practice before we even start[competing]. During that first 10minutes at the Open, I was alreadylosing my breath because the pace

was very fast!” Ismail revealed.Ismail (pictured) won the Gold in the Mixed Singles TP3event at the 2017 ASEAN Para Games in KL.

Ismail managed to get used tothe faster pace by the third dayof the week-long event,eventually even making it intothe finals, which saw himcompete against the top 24 outof the original 60 participants.

The recent experience inManila has helped Ismail torealise that visual impairmentwould not get in the way of apotential bowling career.

Empowered by his experiencein Manila, Ismail will head forh i s s e c o n d a b l e - b o d i e dcompetition (44th Hong KongInternational Open) in lateJune, after which his focus willbe on the Asian Para Games inJakarta, Indonesia this October.As Ismail continues to challengethe limits in his bowlingjourney, let us cheer him on as#OneTeamSG!

Photo: Alfie Lee/SportSG

emPOWER (Issue 6) JULY 2018

Connect with spexBusiness and Team Singapore:All information is correct at time of publication.

A Big Thank You to All Our spexBusiness, spexEducation and TS Card Partners

• Action Community for Entrepreneurship • Adecco • Aladdin Street • Amore Fitness • Banyan Tree • Borneo Motors •• Building and Construction Authority • CapitaLand • Charles and Keith • DBS Bank • DHL Supply Chain • Enterprise Sports Group •• F&N Foods • Fairmont Singapore • Fonterra • Foo Kon Tan LLP • Fox Networks Group • Fuji Xerox • Fullerton Hotel • Fun Toast •• FutuReady Asia • GRAB • HP Inc. • Hyflux • Institute of Technical Education • KPMG • Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth •• MOH Holdings • MSIG Insurance • Islamic Religious Council of Singapore • Nanyang Polytechnic • Nanyang Technological University •• National Arts Council • National Healthcare Group • National Heritage Board • National University of Singapore • National Youth Council •• Nestle Singapore • New Balance • Newport Dental • Ngee Ann Polytechnic • NTUC Fairprice • OCBC Bank • ONE Championship •• Pacific International Lines • Pan Pacific Hotels Group • People’s Association • Polygon Asia Consulting • PSB Academy • Quest Ventures •• Raffles Medical Group • Republic Polytechnic • Resorts World Sentosa • Rightspot • Robinsons • RSH Limited • Sakae Holdings •• SAS Institute • SG Enable • Singapore Institute of Management • Singapore Management University • Singapore Polytechnic •• SMRT Corporation • Singapore Sports Hub • Sports Link Holdings • StarHub • Subway • Tea Tree Café • Volkswagen • Yoguru •

Upcoming Events and Major Games

Come celebrate National Day through sports with us! Click HERE to find out

more.

GetActive! Singapore28 July – 9 Aug 2018

18th Asian GamesJakarta Palembang, Indonesia

18 Aug – 2 Sept 2018

The largest continent ever with 246 athletes, Team Singapore will debut in ju jit-su, paragliding and synchronized swimming.

3rd Youth Olympic Games

Buenos Aires, Argentina

6 – 18 Oct 2018

The first Summer Youth Olympic Games to be held outside of Asia.

3rd Asian Para GamesJakarta Palembang, Indonesia

8 – 16 Oct 2018

With 26 debutant out of a 42-strong contingent, Team Singapore will debut in archery, powerlifting and track cycling.

Launch @ Padang29 July 2018 (Sunday)

7:30am – 11:00am

Finale @ Sports Hub7 August 2018 (Tuesday)

8:30am – 12:30pm

Join us at the Launch and Finale of GetActive! Singapore 2018T h e m e d “ # W e A r e S i n g a p o r e ” ,GetActive! Singapore 2018 will beofficially launched by Ms Grace Fu,Minister of Culture, Community and

Come join in the fun with Nila Run and activities held in conjunction with Car-Free Sunday! Activities are suitable for all ages.

Youth, on Sunday, 29 July 2018 at ThePadang during the Car Free Sundayevent.

The Finale event will be held onTuesday, 7 August 2018 at theSingapore Sports Hub.

We would like to invite all our partnersand their staff/family to come join us atboth the Launch and Finale events forGetActive! Singapore 2018.

RSVP now!(By 15 July)

Take this great opportunity to try out a variety of sports! It is an excellent platform to “Bring

your Kids out” for parent-child bonding as well!

Please take a moment to register with us via the QR code for the Launch event, so we can make the necessary preparations and follow-up to welcome you and your colleagues to the event.