Bonus story at SEA Games 33

SEA Games 33 has not yet taken place but the story of the reward is already bustling. This is seen as a way to motivate the athletes of the Vietnamese Sports Delegation to compete in this familiar playground.

Various ways of reward

At the ceremony to send off the Vietnamese Sports Delegation to the 33rd SEA Games, the Vietnam Sports Department also announced the bonus at the 33rd SEA Games. Accordingly, athletes who won gold medals received a bonus of 10 million VND, silver medals - 5 million VND, bronze medals - 3 million VND. Having this bonus is a great effort of the Vietnam Sports Department because with the estimate that the Vietnamese Sports Delegation will win hundreds of medals of all kinds at the 33rd SEA Games, the total bonus will also reach billions.

Athlete Dinh Phuong Thanh of the Vietnamese gymnastics team attending the 33rd SEA Games. Photo: Quy Luong

Not only the Vietnam Sports Administration, many national sports federations and associations have also announced bonus levels for athletes and coaches at the 33rd SEA Games.

SEA Games 33 is considered a challenge for gymnastics teams. Therefore, the Vietnam Gymnastics Federation has just decided to directly award all medals to motivate athletes. According to the announcement of the Vietnam Gymnastics Federation, athletes who win gold medals will receive 10 million VND, silver medals 6 million VND and bronze medals 4 million VND in the two categories of Gymnastics and Aerobics. This is considered a timely source of material and spiritual encouragement in the context of many changes in the regulations of SEA Games 33 that greatly affect the competition strategy.

The Vietnamese gymnastics team will compete in the 33rd SEA Games with 7 athletes, including familiar faces such as Nguyen Van Khanh Phong, Dang Ngoc Xuan Thien, Dinh Phuong Thanh and Nguyen Thi Quynh Nhu. However, the 33rd SEA Games will not have the all-around and team events, which are the strengths of the men's team, forcing the team to adjust its goals. The athletes will focus on their strong individual events to aim for 2-3 gold medals.

In Aerobics, Vietnam won all 5 gold medals at the most recent Games, but SEA Games 33 has been reduced to 2 events, making it impossible to repeat the feat. However, with a team of 7 quality athletes, the Vietnam Aerobics team is still determined to defend its leading position in the region.

The Vietnam Mixed Martial Arts Federation (MMA) announced a bonus of 100 million VND for the Vietnamese MMA team that won the gold medal. At the 33rd SEA Games, with 6 fighters, the Vietnamese MMA team set a target of winning 1 gold medal. This is considered an achievable goal for the team and winning the gold medal is not easy.

Meanwhile, the Vietnam Taekwondo Federation (VTF) has announced the bonus for athletes and coaches who achieved results at the 33rd SEA Games. Accordingly, athletes who won gold medals will receive a bonus of 700 USD, while coaches whose athletes won gold medals will receive a bonus of 350 USD. Athletes who won silver and bronze medals will receive bonus of 500 USD and 300 USD, respectively. Coaches whose athletes won the corresponding achievements will receive bonus of 250 USD and 150 USD, respectively.

This is a higher bonus than the 32nd SEA Games in Cambodia. At the 32nd SEA Games, athletes who achieved results were awarded by the Vietnam Taekwondo Federation with 500 USD (gold medal), 300 USD (silver medal) and 200 USD (bronze medal).

In particular, SEA Games 33 is also the first time the Vietnam Taekwondo Federation has offered an additional bonus for coaches, something that was not present in the previous SEA Games. The target of the Vietnam Taekwondo team registered with the Vietnam Sports and Physical Training Department is to win 3 gold medals at SEA Games 33, but will strive to win 4 gold medals (2 sparring, 2 forms). At SEA Games 32, Vietnam Taekwondo won 4 gold medals (2 sparring), ranking 3rd overall after Thailand (7 gold medals) and the Philippines (6 gold medals).

Meanwhile, more than a month ago, the Vietnam Athletics Federation announced a bonus of 1 billion VND if the team reaches the target of 12 gold medals.

Recently, the Vietnam Badminton Federation also announced the reward levels for medal achievements at the 33rd SEA Games.

Accordingly, each gold medal will be awarded 100 million VND by the Vietnam Badminton Federation, 50 million VND for silver medals and 30 million VND for bronze medals.

At the 33rd SEA Games, the badminton team will compete in 4 out of 7 events. The goal of the Vietnamese badminton team is to win 1 bronze medal. The Vietnamese badminton team still has familiar faces participating in the 33rd SEA Games such as Nguyen Hai Dang, Le Duc Phat (men) or Nguyen Thuy Linh, Vu Thi Trang (women)...

Add rewards to create motivation and encouragement

Offering a bonus is often meant to encourage athletes to give them more motivation. From there, they can surpass the threshold of completing the goal. Although the SEA Games playground is not highly appreciated in terms of expertise, the general level in many sports is still a challenge for Vietnamese sports. For example, in badminton, the Vietnam Badminton Federation offers such a high bonus but it is really difficult to win.

Many badminton players from Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia have long reached the continental and world level, so the fact that Vietnamese badminton aims to win a bronze medal at the 33rd SEA Games is also a matter of "knowing yourself and knowing your opponent". If Vietnamese athletes win a gold or silver medal at the 33rd SEA Games, it will be a real miracle. At that time, certainly not only the Vietnam Badminton Federation but also many businesses and individuals will offer bonuses.

General Secretary of the Vietnam Badminton Federation Le Thanh Ha also said that the level of reward for achievements that the Federation set is to encourage the players so that all will achieve the best professional results. And of course, the managers at the Vietnam Badminton Federation also want to be rewarded for the gold and silver medals, not just the bronze medals at the SEA Games.

Although not yet announced, the Vietnam Volleyball Federation has also considered rewarding medal achievements for national teams at the 33rd SEA Games.

Two years ago, at the 32nd SEA Games in 2023 in Cambodia, the Vietnamese volleyball team won three medals, including one silver medal in women's volleyball (indoor), one bronze medal in men's volleyball (indoor) and one bronze medal in women's beach volleyball.

At that time, each team received a "hot" incentive bonus. The Vietnamese women's volleyball team received a "hot" bonus of 200 million VND from the Vietnam Volleyball Federation and 100 million VND from the accompanying socialized unit. The Vietnamese men's volleyball team received a bonus of 100 million VND from the Federation. The women's beach volleyball team also received a bonus from the Vietnam Volleyball Federation.

Apart from the bonuses prescribed by the State and localities, the medal-winning athletes at the 33rd SEA Games are receiving great spiritual encouragement. This is necessary for them to help Vietnamese sports achieve the goal of winning 90 to 110 gold medals at the 33rd SEA Games. This is also the best way to demonstrate the social role and support of the sports industry of national sports federations.

SEA Games medals come with benefits

According to Resolution 13/2023/NQ-HDND dated December 6, 2023 issued by the Hanoi People's Council, Hanoi athletes who win SEA Games gold medals will receive 15 million VND/month during a SEA Games cycle; silver medals are 8.5 million VND/month and bronze medals are 7 million VND/month. 45 million VND for gold medals, 25 million VND for silver medals and 20 million VND for bronze medals. This is also considered a spiritual motivation for Hanoi athletes to be part of the Vietnamese Sports Delegation participating in the 33rd SEA Games. (Minh Khue)

Source: https://cand.com.vn/Tieu-diem-van-hoa/chuyen-thuong-o-sea-games-33-i790036/