10/18/2021

Parathletes cash incentive doubles. Why no cash incentive for Masters Athletes?

 

SINGAPORE: Five-time Paralympic gold medallist Yip Pin Xiu will receive S$800,000 for the two gold medals she won at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games in August, said the Singapore National Paralympic Council (SNPC) on Saturday (Oct 16)....

SNPC announced on Saturday that DBS will match the council's Athletes Achievement Awards (AAA), the cash incentive scheme for Singaporean athletes who win medals at major para games....

"(DBS') initial commitment will span two Paralympic Games cycles, until the Paralympic Games 2024 in Paris," said SNPC. The funding by DBS will also cover the Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Para Games, Asian Para Games and the Commonwealth Games. 

The move comes in the wake of public discussion over the disparity in cash awards. Joseph Schooling received S$1 million for the gold medal he won at the 2016 Rio Games.

Yip was originally awarded S$200,000 for each gold medal won at the Paralympic Games. She was presented with two cheques amounting to S$800,000 at the 2021 Athletes Achievement Awards and Appreciation Ceremony on Saturday.   CNA

It is most welcome to reward the parathletes for their devotion and contribution to the sports, for their time, effort and training to win medals for the country. This is a small step towards recognising sports men and women as winning international events did not come easy. The athletes must put in a lot of time, effort, pain and financial resources to be competitive at international level.

For so long, the recognition has been only for normal athletes and parathletes. There is completely no support for Masters athletes, no mention of their existence, silence, as if they did exist. Aren't Masters athletes also athletes, also humans that can make do with some kind of govt support to keep them going? Is this some kind of discrimination against oldies, or the Masters athletes do no deserve any support from the govt?

Who are the Masters athletes? They are the Pioneers and Merdeka Generations. They built this country from scratch. Their contributions were the foundation to the success the present generation are enjoying today. Why is the govt ignoring their existence as if they are garbage that is best left in some unknown corners, not to be seen or heard? Used items need to be discarded and forgotten?

No one shall be left behind? 

'DBS Singapore Group Executive and Country Head Shee Tse Koon said DBS "readily agreed" when the council approached DBS to ask if they would consider sponsoring the AAA. 

"All of us can do our part to create a more inclusive Singapore. As a Singapore brand, we also believe in supporting and nurturing homegrown talent," said Mr Shee.'

Is it ok to exclude the Masters, the senior citizens in all inclusive Singapore?

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

It is very clear the gahment is only paying lip service for the oldies. Two things stand out during this pandemic in the unfair treatment of older people:

1. Older were not given top priority in Covid-19 treatment. That's why 90% of those who were killed by the Indian Delta Virus are older people.

2. The extreme discrimination against the unvaccinated is mainly aimed at the oldies whose existing health conditions make it very unsafe and stupid to take vaccination.

3. As vaccination is said to be on a voluntary basis, there should be no force, intimidation, coercion or indirect pressure being used to dishonesty victimise those who have voluntarily chosen not to be vaccinated by the mRNA vaccines, approved for Emergency Use ONLY.

Anonymous said...

Disinformation against old people who are poor is very obvious and very rampant. No doubt about it. You can see it everywhere in Singapore, from the government offices to the streets.

Anonymous said...

Correction: Should be "Discrimination" instead of "Disinformation", Sorry.

Anonymous said...

Cause master is not linked to Olympic or other recognized regional sports rents ust some oldies get together to have some fun. It's better to be kept that way for enjoyment

Anonymous said...

The Masters compete in Asian Masters and World Masters events run by international organisations just like the regional games and Olympics.