To develop our local softball talent and support our aspiring athletes, the SBSA Women’s Softball Team will start off this coming new year with a significant boost of $80,000 to prepare for their major games in the years ahead. The donation will comprise $30,000 donation for the team’s development and $50,000 towards the launch of the inaugural SBSA-Community Athlete Scholarship (Women Softball).

Supported by our community crowdfunding from generous individual donors, we have a committed pledge of up to $50,000 towards this scholarship. Spanning across five years, as part of the team’s roadmap towards the major games like Asia Cup 2025, SEA Games 2025, Asian Games 2026 and SEA Games 2029 held in Singapore, the scholarship aims to award up to $10,000 annually to deserving candidates with the goal to empower the next generation of softball players.

This initiative seeks to provide opportunities for our players to gain exposure through overseas training and development, alleviate financial barriers and a way to recognise the players’ commitments and contributions to the sport – in the hope of enabling them to excel both on the field and in their work or studies.

Open to our national team athletes who are tertiary level student-athletes or adults, the scholarship will be awarded based on a combination of athletic performance and their demonstration of the commitment to personal and team growth. The funds can be used to cover travel or training expenses, equipment, tournament fees, academic-related costs or other needs, providing holistic support to scholarship recipients. In addition, recipients can benefit from mentorship opportunities and access to developmental programmes (e.g. coaching clinics and other programmes) aimed at enhancing their athletic and personal potential.

The scholarship reflects a growing recognition of the importance of balancing sports and education/work in fostering well-rounded individuals. By investing in softball, the programme also contributes to the broader goal of strengthening Singapore Women Softball’s presence in regional and international competitions.

Ivan Ng, the visionary behind this initiative, emphasised the importance of long-term investment in sports development. “Softball is more than just a game. It’s a platform for building resilience, teamwork, leadership, time management and many life skills. Through this scholarship, we aim to nurture and expand the talent pool and ensure that financial constraints do not hinder the growth of our promising athletes,” Ivan said.

He added, “Inspired by the Singapore Olympic Foundation-Peter Lim Scholarship and spexScholarships, we recognised the potential of how a scholarship programme can provide a boost to our budding athletes. Currently, as a non-core team sport, the association has always had to fundraise at the different levels for our high-performance teams. In past years, many of our athletes from all three disciplines (Men’s Softball, Women’s Softball and Men’s Baseball) have ventured overseas to Japan, Australia and Taiwan (just to name a few), joining local state teams or club teams for intensive training and competitions. In the process, these players have improved their individual technical skills exponentially and they often bring back new knowledge, training methods, positive culture and energy, which in turn elevates the rest of the team. However, much of these expenses have been self-funded out of their own pockets. This scholarship will help our athletes and a form of recognition .”

The anonymous donor shared that, “Inspired by Ivan’s passion for the sport and his vision to strengthen the sporting ecosystem, the decision to sponsor this initiative was an easy one to make. I hope this initiative will help our local women softball players to develop their potential and capabilities."

Ms. Foo Pei, President of SBSA, shared that, “This is a significant milestone and a huge step in the right direction. The success of the recent collaboration with Ang Ku Kueh Girl, coupled with the birth of our SBSA-Community Athlete Scholarship (Women Softball), we are very encouraged by the overwhelming support given by our community-at-large for our talent development programmes. These are two victories that will continue to pave the pathway for our athletes in their milestones towards our major games and the development of Softball in Singapore. So, I would like to extend a big THANK YOU to our community for your generous contributions and support for our athletes.”

Applications for the first year of scholarship will open on 1 April 2025 and close on 31 August 2025. For more information about the scholarship criteria and application, please visit here or contact SBSA staff at admin.ops@sbsa.org.sg.