1st Asian Youth Games Singapore 2009 To Leverage New Media To Engage Youth

1st Asian Youth Games Singapore 2009 To Leverage New Media To Engage Youth

The 1st Asian Youth Games Singapore 2009 (AYG) is set to break new grounds by employing the use of new media as its main channel of communications. It is the first multi-sport event to receive approval from the Olympic Council of Asia to provide broadcast coverage of all its sports events completely via digital channels.

To kick off this revolutionary move, the first Asian Youth Games Singapore 2009 Organising Committee (SAYGOC) has appointed World Sport Group and its partners Perform Group and Content Craft as its official website developer and web broadcaster. The appointment was marked with a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) Signing Ceremony held today.

World Sport Group, Asia's leading sports marketing, media and event management company, will be working hand in hand with Perform Group to provide the technical expertise in the design, development and maintenance of the official website for AYG Singapore 2009. Content Craft will be looking into developing the necessary content to populate the website, including producing editorial pieces touching on the various participating nations, individual athletes and supporters and managing the live data and statistics from each sport event during the Games period. Besides being a portal for information on AYG, the website will also serve as an avenue to engage the youth community in Asia using new media initiatives.

In addition, the consortium will also be the official web broadcaster for all 90 sports events across nine sports that will be featured during the Games. This 'live' online broadcasting feature will enable supporters from all 45 participating nations to watch and follow the progress of their respective contingents through the official website.

Mr Oon Jin Teik, Co-Chair of SAYGOC and Chief Executive Officer of SSC said, "For the first time in history, a major multi-sports games will be using the new media channels as its main broadcast platform. The internet, a highly used communications medium used by youth, will be the gateway for the world to catch all the live action from their desktops, notebooks, mobile phones, or any other portable device that has a web browser. We are extremely delighted to have World Sport Group, Perform Group and Content Craft as partners in this historical initiative. For the inaugural Asian Youth Games, this will be another first in a long list of achievements as Singapore prepares to welcome Asia's youth. This initiative also provides a boost to Singapore's efforts to develop the sports media industry."

"We are delighted to be a part of the first-ever Asian Youth Games and this historic milestone in Asian sport. With our partners Perform and Content Craft, both market leaders in digital media services, we are committed to delivering a unique and interactive online experience that will educate, entertain and connect youth all across the region. Our goal is to create a web community that is driven by quality sports content and which is accessible throughout Asia. We look forward to helping to make the inaugural Asian Youth Games a huge success," said Mr Seamus O'Brien, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, World Sport Group.

For more details about the 1st Asian Youth Games Singapore 2009, please visit www.ayg2009.sg.

Issued by the Singapore Asian Youth Games Organising Committee

About the 1st Asian Youth Games Singapore 2009
The Asian Youth Games (AYG) is an international multi-sports event held every four years to complement the existing Asian Games. The idea was first mooted as part of Singapore's Youth Olympic Games bid in 2007. On 3 April 2008, the Olympic Council of Asia's (OCA) Executive Board unanimously agreed to award the hosting of the first AYG to Singapore. This decision was backed by all 45 members of the OCA on 6 April 2008. The inaugural AYG which will be co-organised by the Singapore Sports Council and the Ministry of Education aims to gather the youth from around Asia in a celebration of youth, sports and learning where they will engage in friendly competition and imbibe the Olympic sporting values of excellence, friendship and respect. AYG Singapore 2009 will see athletes aged between 14 and 17 from 45 OCA member nations competing in 180 events across nine sports from 29 June to 7 July 2009. Please visit www.ayg2009.sg for more information.

About Singapore Sports Council
The Singapore Sports Council (SSC) is Singapore's lead agency tasked with developing sports in Singapore. Our vision is to create a Sporting Singapore where Sports is a way of life. SSC aims to develop sports champions and create enjoyable sporting experiences for Singapore through the three strategic thrusts of cultivating a sporting culture, achieving sports excellence and creating a vibrant sports industry. Formed on 1 October 1973, SSC is a statutory board under the purview of the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports. Please visit the SSC website at www.ssc.gov.sg for more information.

About Ministry of Education
The Singapore Ministry of Education (MOE) formulates and implements education policies and programmes in consultation with its stakeholders. These policies and programmes aim to help all students discover their talents, realise their potential, and develop a passion for learning that lasts through life. MOE also oversees the development and management of the Government and Government-aided primary schools, secondary schools and junior colleges. Please visit www.moe.gov.sg for more information.

About World Sport Group
Headquartered in Singapore, World Sport Group is Asia's leading sports marketing, media and event management company, with a roster of golf, football and cricket events across the entire region. World Sport Group has been at the forefront of Asian sport since 1993, featuring almost 600 days of sports events and more than 1000-hours of live sports programming annually, across more than 30 countries in the region.

World Sport Group is the exclusive marketing partner of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF), and a major stake-holder in Asian golf as organizers of the Barclays Singapore Open, Hero Honda Indian Open, Singha Thailand Open, Volvo Masters of Asia, the Mercedes-Benz Tour and the Omega China Tour.

The Group also manages global cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar and has formed a partnership with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for the ground and title naming rights for the Indian National Team's domestic matches. Additionally, in partnership with Sony Corporation, the Group was awarded the global media rights for the Indian Premier League in a ten-year deal is valued at over US$1 billion.

The Group is also a member of the Singapore Sports Hub Consortium the group that won the bid earlier this year to build, operate and manage Singapore's first fully integrated and sustainable sports, entertainment and lifestyle hub that is due for completion in 2011. The Singapore Sports Hub is believed to be the first and largest Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) sports infrastructure project in the world.

The World Sport Group is staffed by more than 140 employees in offices in Beijing, Beirut, Delhi, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Singapore and Tokyo.

www.worldsportgroup.com

About Perform
Perform is a world leader in monetising sports and entertainment rights in digital media and has been a consistent and renowned innovator since 2000, and a major driving force in the commercialisation of sport and entertainment rights online, on mobile and on TV.

Perform provides a range of user friendly, end-to-end products and services for businesses involved in sport and entertainment rights:

• Services: We provide the platform and tools that enable rights holders to place, manage and monetise their content online and on mobile.

• Channels: We own and distribute branded and white label sport and entertainment channels for broadcast online and on mobile.

• Sales: We sell advertising, sponsorship and content partnerships around sport and entertainment on a wide network of UK and international web and mobile sites.

Perform operates over 200 websites including those for over 80 UK Football Clubs, Cricket Australia, ITV, Turner Broadcasting, and works with various rights holders, media groups and broadcasters, including The Premier League, Virgin Media, Sony Ericsson Tour and the ATP World Tour, Starhub, Telefonica and Al Jazeera.

www.performgroup.com

About Content Craft
Content Craft is in the business of producing new media programmes that can be delivered over various platforms including PC, TV and Mobile devices. It also specializes in developing viral and interactive media marketing and web 2.0 community activities, events and programmes. Our end-to-end services include conceptualizing, designing and developing Web2.0 projects for social networking and interactive content development in order to produce content relevant for multiple media platforms. The 1st cross-platform content initiative on youth sports, Adrenaline (https://www.adrenaline.sg) was pioneered by us and features content delivered over TV, IPTV, internet, mobile and out-of-home media. www.contentcraft.com.sg