With DBS as new sponsor, cash awards for para-athletes to double for all medal categories until 2024: Paralympic council

• Cash awards for para-athletes who compete in major games will double for all medal categories with DBS bank’s backing
• This means Paralympian Yip Pin Xiu will get S$800,000 for her two Paralympic gold medals in 2021, up from S$400,000
• One-fifth of the prize will go to the national paralympic and disability sports councils to fund training and development, and support Singapore’s participation in para-games
• The move came after a debate on whether Paralympic gold medallists should get the same amount of monetary rewards as their Olympic counterparts

SINGAPORE — The cash awards given out to para-athletes who compete in major games will double across all medal categories with a new sponsor, DBS bank, backing the scheme from this year until 2024, the Singapore National Paralympic Council (SNPC) said.

The prizes are handed out to para-athletes who have attained medals at major para-games. They recognise their achievements and commitment to competing at the highest level of their sport for Singapore.

The latest move means that Paralympic gold medallist and swimmer Yip Pin Xiu will receive S$800,000 for her two Paralympic gold medals this year, up from S$400,000, SNPC said in a statement on Saturday (Oct 16).

Ms Yip described the move as a step in the right direction. 

“I am glad that Singapore is taking active steps towards achieving parity for the cash quantum,” said the former Nominated Member of Parliament, who is setting her sights on the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris, France.

Ms Yip told TODAY that she hoped DBS becoming a sponsor would encourage more entities to step forward in support of Singapore’s para-athletes and para-sports as a whole.

“It is really an entire village that helps to build a champion and, if more people would want to be part of our village, we would be more than happy for it,” she said.

“We are going in the right direction and I hope that this conversation happens all the time, not just every four years.”

As part of the award scheme, one-fifth of cash prizes will go, in equal parts, to SNPC and the Singapore Disability Sports Council to fund future training and development as well as support Singapore’s participation in future para-games.

SNPC's announcement came on the heels of a debate that centred on whether Paralympic gold medallists should receive the same amount of monetary rewards as their Olympic counterparts, who get a S$1 million prize. 

Mr Edwin Tong, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, told Parliament this month that SNPC was working on raising the cash amount and was in talks with a few entities to do so.

SNPC said on Saturday that DBS would match the contributions under the council's existing award scheme, for which the Tote Board is the primary sponsor. 

The bank will support the scheme until the 2024 Paralympic Games. Its funding will cover the Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Para Games, Asian Para Games, as well as the Commonwealth and Paralympic Games. 

At a ceremony at One Farrer Hotel to recognise and award the para-athletes on Saturday, SNPC president Teo-Koh Sock Miang said that the paralympic council had been striving hard to push for greater and equal recognition of Singapore’s para-athletes.

“This is something that the SNPC has always been advocating,” said Associate Professor Teo-Koh.

She called on all Singaporeans to get to know the country’s para-athletes and rally behind them as they prepare for future games on the world stage.

“We are very excited and confident about our athletes’ continued success on the international stage.”

Mr Shee Tse Koon, group executive and country head at DBS Singapore, said that Singapore’s para-athletes exemplified a strong sense of purpose, passion and excellence.

“All of us can do our part to create a more inclusive Singapore.”