March 19, 2002 - The SPH Schools Relay Championships 2002 crosses the 100-mark and we are not referring to the 4x100m race. More than 110 teams signed up for this year's Championship, a record for the event organised by the Singapore Amateur Athletic Association (SAAA) and sponsored by Singapore Press Holdings (SPH).

Defending champion in the boys division "A", Victoria Junior College, will face strong competition from Raffles Junior College which has Lin Zhi Yi, a Singapore representative at the Hong Kong Golden Mile event, in the team. The boys from St Joseph's Institution dominated the field last year, clinching the titles for both divisions "B" and "C", while breaking records for the 4x200m and 4x100m events in division "C", and they are ready to score again.

Competing at this year's event is defending champion for girls division "A", Singapore American School, but hot on their heels are the ladies from Hwa Chong Junior College, which team mates also competed at the Hong Kong Golden Mile event recently. The athletes from Cedar Girls' School are gearing themselves to take back the girls "B" division title after their attempt to secure the title for the eighth consecutive time last year was thwarted by Raffles Girls' School. In the girls division "C", all eyes are on St Nicholas Girls' School to perform a hat-trick to secure the title for the third year running.

"We hope to contribute towards sports excellence by exposing young athletes to competitive games and giving them the confidence to represent Singapore at regional and even international events", said Mr Wee Leong How, Executive Vice President, Human Resources & Corporate Relations, SPH.

A highlight at the SPH Relays this year is the selection trial for the Coca Cola World Juniors Championship to be held this July in Jamaica, where some of Singapore's best young athletes like Poh Seng Song, Mohd Sahmeer and Bobby Wee will attempt to cross the 41-second barrier for the 4x100m event.

Said Mr Sarvindar Singh Chopra, Honorary Secretary of SAAA, "Looking at the tremendous turnout, the SPH Schools Relays has come of age and grown into a much-anticipated event in the school sports calendar for both athletes and supporters."

The cheerleading, best supporter and fancy dress competitions were started last year to engage the spectators while providing off-track excitement to the heat on-track. This year, athletes will be cheered on by members from the Team Singapore cheerleading team, in addition to support from their fans and friends.

The SPH Schools Relay Championships 2002 will take place over two afternoons on March 23 and 24 at the Serangoon Stadium.

SPH has been the sponsor of the SPH Schools Relay Championships since 1992.

Issued by Singapore Press Holdings Limited.

Journalists, photographers and camera crew are invited to cover all the activities on and off track this weekend. For more information and event fixtures, please contact:

Esther Low
Executive, Corporate Communications
Tel: 6319 1280

Main board listed Singapore Press Holdings Limited is the leading news and information provider, offering quality content for print, Internet, TV and radio. It is licensed to publish 11 newspapers in the four official languages and seven lifestyle periodicals. Everyday, SPH newspapers reach 2.68 million individuals or 89 percent of persons above 15 years old in Singapore while online publication of its six main dailies enjoy some 120 million pageviews a month. SPH has ventured into the broadcast medium and in less than five months, Channel U, its Chinese TV channel, became the second most-watched free-to-air channel in Singapore.