News Release

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Winners to receive their awards from President S R Nathan at
award ceremony this Thursday

Singapore, 24 February 2009 - A food merchant with a strong passion for inline hockey. A mother of two who leads a team of cyclists on a daily basis, from as early as 5 a.m. A fatherly Russian fencing coach who makes tea for his students to perk them up. These individuals go beyond their call of duty to motivate and inspire others to play and grow through sports. They are also among the winners of the inaugural POSB Everyday Champions Award.

Today, the Singapore Sports Council (SSC) unveiled the 57 winners of the POSB Everyday Champions Award - 14 individuals, 25 coaches and 18 organisations. Organised by the SSC and sponsored by POSB, the award is the nation's top accolade for honouring individuals, coaches and organisations that foster greater participation in sports. The winners were selected by a nine-member judging panel from organisations that are involved in sports such as the Ministry of Education, National Youth Council, People's Association and Singapore Sports School.

Launched in October last year, the Award received more than 3,000 nominations from members of the public, within a month. This laudable figure is close to a 300% increase from the combined entries submitted for the Sporting Singapore Inspiration Award and the Coach Recognition Award last year.

Commenting on the winners, Mr Oon Jin Teik, Chief Executive Officer of the SSC said: "Broad based sports participation at the grassroots level is a vital component for achieving a vibrant sporting culture in Singapore as well as growing the pipeline of future sports champions. Therefore it's important that we recognise individuals and organisations that play a small but special role in making sports participation easier and more enjoyable at the community level. We hope the POSB Everyday Champions of 2009 will serve as an inspiration to all Singaporeans to get up, get out and play sports!"

Mr Koh Boon Hwee, Chairman of DBS Group Holdings, said: "Having served generations of Singaporeans for more than 130 years, we are proud of the fact that almost every Singaporean is a POSB customer. The POSB Everyday Champions Award demonstrates how POSB, fondly known as the People's Bank, is part of the fabric of Singapore as it recognises everyday individuals and organisations that have consistently gone beyond their call of duty to help fellow Singaporeans enjoy a sporty lifestyle and grow through sports."

All 57 POSB Everyday Champions will receive their awards from President S R Nathan at an award ceremony to be held at the St. Regis Hotel on Thursday, 26 February 2009. Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports, will also grace the event.

Profile of selected POSB Everyday Champions

Among this year's 14 individual award winners is full-time food merchant and part-time inline hockey player, 33-year-old Khu Soon Hin. He spreads his love for the sport by volunteering his time to coach budding hockey players at the Tampines Sports Recreation Centre every weekend. More than just imparting technical skills, he also teaches the team about fair play, discipline and responsibility

Another winner is 52-year-old cyclist Joyce Leong, who is founder and instructor for the Joyriders Club. Since forming the club in 2006, Joyce has been organising daily rides for participants of varying cycling ability, with usually starting as early as 5am. Joyce tries her best to promote camaraderie by organising birthday celebrations and creating special awards for the club members.

Among the 25 wining coaches is 42-year-old Bobok Viacheslav, a Russian fencing coach who is also a Singaporean permanent resident. Affectionately called Slava by his students, Viacheslav is a fatherly figure who takes extra care in looking after the welfare of his athletes. He personally sees to every little detail, from making hot tea with lemon for them, if they feel a little under the weather, to ferrying them home after training.

The 18 winning organisations range from technology companies to government agencies. Many of them stand out for their commitment to making sports an integral part of their corporate culture.

One such company is Huntsman Singapore, a chemical engineering firm that is committed to providing a fun and sporting environment for its employees in the workplace. It has a multitude of activities to interest all employees - from tennis and kickboxing to Hatha Yoga and nature walks - that sees a high participation rate among its employees. Within a period of a year, Huntsman saw the percentage of inactive employees drop by more than 40 percent, making them an exemplary organisation in promoting a healthy work-life balance.

About Singapore Sports Council
 
The Singapore Sports Council (SSC) is Singapore's lead agency tasked with developing sports in Singapore. Our vision is to create a Sporting Singapore where Sports is a way of life. SSC aims to develop sports champions and create enjoyable sporting experiences for Singapore through the three strategic thrusts of cultivating a sporting culture, achieving sports excellence and creating a vibrant sports industry. Formed on 1 October 1973, SSC is a statutory board under the purview of the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports. Please visit the SSC website at www.ssc.gov.sg for more information.

About ‘Let's Play'

'Let's Play' is a nation-wide movement by the Singapore Sports Council to encourage everyone in Singapore to be involved in sports, in all ways, at all times, simply because they enjoy it. Be it playing, watching, cheering, spectating, volunteering, the 'Let's Play' movement seeks to "Energise life through sports' diverse offer of enjoyable moments and shared experiences." For more information on 'Let's Play', please visit www.singaporesports.sg

About POSB

A part of the DBS Group, POSB is the largest local bank in Singapore with more than 3.5 million customers. Having served generations of Singaporeans for the past 131 years, it is known as The People's Bank, and prides itself in being "neighbours first, bankers second".

With a good understanding of Singaporeans through the years, POSB offers products and services that are relevant to the savings, borrowing, investment and insurance needs of all Singaporeans. In expanding its product mix, POSB launched the "POSB Everyday Credit Card" in 2005, offering savings where it matters - petrol, utilities, groceries and more. As part of its 130th anniversary celebrations, POSB refurbished its network of 49 branches in 2007. With the opening of four new full service POSB branches in December 2008, we have a network of 53 branches. With over 900 ATMs and close to 200 Cash Acceptance Machines across the island, POSB's self-service banking network is the largest in Singapore.

POSB acknowledges the passion, commitment and can-do spirit in each of its staff. For more information, please visit www.posb.com.sg