Singapore to Promote Youth Sports Development

The Singapore Sports Council (SSC) and Nestle MILO signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOU) on February 19 at Seng Kang Primary School to officiate a year-long agreement between both organisations in championing youth sports development and learning through play to our young in Singapore. The significant occasion was attended by Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports; Mr Teo Ser Luck, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports and Ministry of Transport Singapore; as well as Team Singapore youth athletes such as Adam Goh (Basketball); Terence Choo (Sailing); Abel Lim (Shooting); Amanda Lim (Swimming) and Chau Hai Qing (Table Tennis). Under the MOU, the SSC and MILO will be working closely on multiple synergistic programmes and platforms, all contributing towards youth sports promotion and development. The MOU will be completed in three phases, beginning from February till December 2010, with Singapore's favourite energy drink, MILO pledging more than S$3 million in cash and kind, with substantial investment in activation programmes. The MOU marks MILO's 60th year in its advocacy on the development of youth sports in Singapore. Expressing his thoughts on the partnership, Mr Oon Jin Teik, CEO of the SSC said, "Singapore's young people under the age of 25 account for about one-third of our population, according to the latest data available. This 1.16 million-strong demographic will be our next generation of elite athletes, coaches, officials, volunteers, administrators and visionaries. They will ensure the expansion and self-sustainability of our sports sector. Hence, we need to prepare them to take on these roles for Singapore. I firmly believe that this partnership with MILO will be a huge step in helping us shape the youth of today for tomorrow's sporting needs." Through MILO and SSC's partnership, both organisations will be rolling out activities under three phases in 2010 - Inspiring Singapore, Cheering Singapore and Legacy Singapore. Inspiring Singapore will start immediately with MILO supporting about 490 athletes across 26 Olympic sports, with all the athletes and NSAs receiving about S$200,000 from this partnership. The second phase, Cheering Singapore will see the launch of activities to rally Singaporeans to cheer on their athletes and support them for the upcoming major games. Finally, Legacy Singapore will celebrate and congratulate the performance of athletes, with plans to launch satellite centres for each of the 26 Olympic sports to promote sports development in youths, further advocating MILO's "Play More, Learn More" campaign this year, championing learning values such as confidence, sportsmanship, respect and other lessons gained from an active sporting lifestyle. Other plans in the pipeline include the production and launch of an 8-episode reality sports programme, featuring youth contestants where they will have to use their wits, skills and physical strength to compete against one another in a series of fun sporting activities. The programme will be broadcasted on Starhub's Super Sports Arena Channel from 23 May 2010. A great supporter and active participant in sports development in Singapore since the 1950s, MILO has consistently contributed to a sporting nation, through the sponsorship of various popular sports such as track and field, swimming, basketball and soccer. The household name has also supported partnerships with the Ministry of Education (MOE), the SSC and People's Association, strengthening its position as a strong advocate of sports and an active and healthy lifestyle. Mr Suresh Narayanan, Managing Director of Nestle Singapore, expressed his enthusiasm for the new campaign, "We firmly believe that an active lifestyle through sports is an excellent avenue for youths to pick up key values and attitudes towards life, equipping them with the mindset and life skills that cannot be picked up from books. As we celebrate about 60 years of MILO's involvement with sports development in Singapore, we are honoured to be able to commemorate our involvement and commitment to the community through this partnership with the SSC. Sports is a wonderful platform for our youths to learn important values such as honesty, teamwork, fair play, respect, adherence to rules, discipline, perseverance, resilience and a strong sense of purpose and we hope this partnership will further engage the youth in Singapore and develop them to their full potential." The VIPs, students from Seng Kang Primary and Team Singapore youth athletes commemorated the MOU with an exciting telematch. Seng Kang Primary is a great believer of learning through play and is the first school to implement daily Physical Education (PE) lessons as part of its curriculum.