The SSC Calls For The Public To Ignite Their Support For Team Singapore

The SSC Calls For The Public To Ignite Their Support For Team Singapore

The SSC Partners ITE, McDonald's and NLB to Gather Support for Team Singapore from the Heartlands

Singapore, 1 June 2012 - The Singapore Sports Council (SSC) in partnership with the Institute of Technical Education (ITE), McDonald's and the National Library Board (NLB) launched a three-month long campaign today to gather 200,000 well-wishes from the public for Team Singapore to take to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

2. The campaign was launched with the unveiling of a mural of seven athletes designed by students from ITE to commemorate Team Singapore's participation at the London 2012 games. After unveiling the mural, the guest-of-honour, Madam Halimah Yacob, Minister of State for Community Development, Youth and Sports, penned her well-wishes for Team Singapore alongside Ms Jessie Phua, Chef de Mission (CDM) for the London 2012 Olympic Games, Mr Frankie Thanapal Sinniah PBM BBM, CDM for the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

3. The theme of this year's national well-wishing campaign, "Ignite your Support", centres around the Team Singapore well-wishing mobile portal www.supportteamsingapore.sg. It is at this portal where Singaporeans will be able to find out more about our athletes headed to London, send in their well-wishes, as well as win 'I Love Team Singapore' travel packages for two to London, limited edition 'I Love Team Singapore' merchandise, and other attractive prizes. The public will also be able to access the website from QR codes that will be available at our partner outlets across Singapore.

4. The campaign aims to rally Singaporeans from all walks of life to show that Team Singapore athletes are not alone in their pursuit for national glory. This is in line with Vision 2030, which aims to forge stronger connections between communities and our national athletes, and for Singaporeans to develop a greater sense of national pride and identity. The campaign will end on 10th September 2012.

5. "The Olympic and Paralympic Games are the biggest and most prestigious sporting platforms that our athletes will be taking part in. They will be facing stiff competition from the best athletes in the world. They will need the strength and support of all Singaporeans in this high pressure environment." said Mr Lim Teck Yin, CEO of SSC. "The well-wishing campaign is an opportunity for Singaporeans to show our athletes that they are not alone and that we are united behind them the entire way. We are very lucky to have dedicated partners, to help us reach out to all Singaporeans."

6. Living up to its long standing support of the Olympic Movement, McDonald's has come onboard to help collect well-wishes for Team Singapore. The public will be able to pen their words of encouragement for Team Singapore at 20 McDonald's outlets across the island.

7. "At McDonald's, we are proud to show our support for the inspirational athletes of Team Singapore. We join with millions of other Singaporeans in wishing them well." said Judy Harman, Managing Director, McDonald's Restaurants.

8. NLB and ITE, the SSC's community outreach partners, are making a combined effort to reach out to Singaporeans in the heartlands. The mural that was unveiled at the launch today will be showcased at eight selected libraries around Singapore: Jurong Regional Library, Woodlands Regional Library, Ang Mo Kio Public Library, Queenstown Public Library, Central Public Library, Sengkang Public Library, Cheng San Public Library and Clementi Public Library.

9. Mrs Elaine Ng, Chief Executive Officer of NLB said, "We are delighted to be part of this effort to unify people, public and private sectors to support Team Singapore. Singaporeans are welcome to spur on our athletes by dropping their well-wishes into boxes at our libraries. They can also enjoy the cheerful graffiti murals designed by ITE students at selected libraries. We have a collection of more than 216,800 books and over 17,600 audio-visual materials on sports and related topics to fuel the interest of our visitors."

10. Echoing Mrs Ng's sentiments, Mr Bruce Poh, Director and Chief Executive Officer, ITE said, "ITE is pleased to partner SSC to support Team Singapore for the London 2012. Besides creating the mural depicting seven athletes, ITE students will be actively engaging the community by garnering well-wishes from the members of public in eight public libraries throughout the campaign. This will provide opportunities to build a greater sense of national identity and help strengthen the community bonds among Singaporeans. In addition, our students from the Community Sport and Recreation Management programme can apply what they?ve learned in the classroom to a real world setting."

11. Venue partner Velocity will also be decorating its sports themed mall with larger than life images of Team Singapore athletes. They will also be hosting a meet and greet session with our nation's paddlers Feng Tianwei, Wang Yuegu, Li Jiawei, Gao Ning, Yang Zi and Zhan Jian on 2 June 2012 from 2:30pm - 4:00pm.

30 Days to Win Tickets to London

12. The SSC is also giving away three 'I Love Team Singapore' travel packages for two to London. To win the travel package, the public has 30 days to submit their well-wishes for their favourite athletes. The contest will close on 30th June 2012.

13. Two winners will be picked from the well-wishes collected from the well-wishing boxes islandwide at McDonald's, NLBs, ITEs and Velocity; and one winner will be chosen from the well-wishing mobile portal at www.supporteamsingapore.sg.

14. The 2012 Olympic Games will be held in London, from 27 July to 12 August 2012 and the 2012 Paralympic Games will take place between 29 August and 9 September 2012.