Team Nila Volunteers Recognized At Awards Ceremony

Team Nila, Sport Singapore’s volunteer force, held its annual awards ceremony on 24 February, recognising 397 outstanding volunteers who have earned Gold, Silver and Bronze awards in recognition of their contribution and commitment in 2023.

This is up from 305 awards given out in 2022, with the main increase in the Bronze category, signifying more volunteers coming forward to give back through sport. In 2023, about 5,500 Team Nila volunteers contributed close to 150,000 hours across 126 sporting and community events.

These sport volunteers provided operational support at major sporting events and assisted with selected ActiveSG sport centre programmes. Our sport volunteers supported the National Day Parade (NDP) 2023 show segment and marching contingent, as well as assisting with the NDP air safety teams and was the key workforce at the National Day Heartland Festivals at five sites across Singapore.

New Leadership Programme for Team Nila Volunteers

At the Awards Ceremony, Sport Singapore announced a new leadership programme to identify and groom potential Team Nila volunteer leaders. The programme will provide training to equip suitable volunteers with the essential motivation, skills and competencies needed for effective
leadership. These potential leaders will focus on confidence building and be trained to excel and to lead in functions such as sport competition management, event logistics and manpower coordination. This is to achieve leaders who are competent and confident in rallying and managing effective volunteer teams. The training combines a blend of e-learning and in-person workshops to develop vibrant groups of empowered Team Nila leaders.

Awards criteria – Gold: 360 hours, Silver: 180 hours, Bronze: 90 hours or more

The introduction of the leadership programme is timely, noting the increased number of major sport events announced, namely the World Aquatics Championship in 2025, the Southeast Asia Games and ASEAN Para Games in 2029, which will require support from sport volunteers.

In addition, a new Team Nila Volunteer Training Roadmap was also announced, aimed at equipping all volunteers with the necessary skills set for a diverse range of deployment opportunities. The comprehensive training includes online and in-person sessions that emphasise functional and technical skills, as well as collaborations with partners such as the SGSecure Programme Office and the Singapore Civil Defence Force for the Responders Plus Programme and the Red Cross Academy for Psychological First Aid. Upon completion, volunteers will receive certificates, recognising their commitment to skills development and will have essential skills to respond and assist to emergencies whilst on duty.

Roaring with Pride with Team Nila Beats and New Team Nila Apparel

In 2023, members of Team Nila cheered Team Singapore athletes to victory at the SEA Games and ASEAN Para Games in Cambodia, and at the World Cup 2026 Qualifiers where our Lions took on Guam and Thailand. Members who made up the Team Nila cheer squad played a vital role in creating a home ground atmosphere for Team Singapore athletes.

In supporting our athletes, ‘Team Nila Beats’, a volunteer-led cheering squad was formed as the heartbeat of Team Singapore. Team Nila Beats will rally Singaporeans to unite and passionately cheer Team Singapore athletes towards success. Members will undergo training and cheering practices to curate a lively and positive ambience at selected Major Games and competitions featuring Team Singapore.

Guest-of-Honour, Mr Edwin Tong, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth and Second Minister for Law commended Team Nila volunteers’ commitment to give back: "Team Nila has been a foundation of our sporting community, exemplifying the values of dedication and unity. I am thankful that our sport volunteers are willing to challenge themselves, to lead and also upskill to meet even higher challenges. I am especially proud of the new cheering squad - Team Nila Beats, made up of sport volunteers who have a passion to support Team Singapore and our national football team, The Lions. I am certain that they will become the new heartbeat of Team Singapore, cheering on and rallying our athletes towards greater sporting achievements."

At the Awards event, Team Nila unveiled revitalised uniforms and apparel. The new line will enhance identity, through a standardised volunteer t-shirt design as well as practical apparel items, suitable for use during volunteering activities.

"Team Nila has seen incredible growth over the years, and the suite of new training programmes is an effective way for Sport Singapore to ensure all volunteers have the knowledge and practical skills to support the major games Singapore will be hosting, such as the World Aquatics Championships in 2025. To further strengthen the Team Nila identity, we introduced a new uniform featuring a lion emblem symbolising national pride, courage and resilience, values upheld by both our Team Singapore athletes and by Team Nila volunteers”, shared Mr Tan Hock Leong, Chief ActiveSG, Sport Singapore.

Close To 400 Team Nila Volunteers Recognised at The Awards Ceremony

Among this year’s award winners are gold recipient Lim Hwee Leng, a 53-year-old team leader who volunteered an astounding 525 hours combined. Bronze recipient Sim Shi Dian Pearly, a full time teacher was recognised for her dedication, achieving close to 100 volunteering hours on the weekends. Ms Pearly constantly shares her volunteering efforts with her students and encourages them to give back to the community.

Mdm Rohaniah Mohamed, a 63-year-old Team Nila silver champion is always on the lookout for new volunteering opportunities. She maintains a young-at-heart philosophy and participated in the NDP cycling show segment contingent in 2023. This year, she put her hand up to rally Singaporeans to cheer on Team Singapore with Team Nila Beats. Mr Vijaikumar s/o Rangabashayam, 50 years old, received the silver award. He started only in 2022 but has since been involved with the NDP Marching contingent and volunteered as Team Liaison Officer in 2023.

The awards ceremony was also attended by special guest, Mr Eric Chua, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Culture, Community and Youth & Social and Family Development, accompanied by Mr Kon Yin Tong, Chairman of Sport Singapore and Mr Alan Goh, CEO Sport Singapore.

Volunteer opportunities for 2024 are now available here.  

For more information, click here. 

Photos: Team Nila Content Producers