MEDIA ADVISORY 10 JANUARY 2009

Republic Polytechnic Initiates Sports Development Programme for Youths to Pursue Excellence in Sports

RP Partners Three National Sports Associations (NSAs) to Develop Sports Champions through Elite Athlete Development Programmes

Republic Polytechnic (RP) collaborates with Football Association of Singapore (FAS), Singapore Floorball Association (SFA), and Singapore Rugby Union (SRU) in three areas:

• Promotion of floorball, women’s football and women’s rugby to youths via outreach programmes
• Collaboration in sports education and certifications
• Sharing of expertise, equipment and facilities

In developing an elite athlete development programme for youths, RP aims to bring the performance of athletes to a higher plane at the tertiary level. This includes performance testing, strength and conditioning, nutrition workshops and training. With this partnership, RP can tap on the expertise of the NSAs who have their own High Performance programme.

The significance of this Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is its unique potential to nurture sports excellence among youths with a well-rounded programme supported by specialists in the respective sports. As the only polytechnic that offers sports health diploma courses, the NSAs will recommend top youth athletes to pursue further education at RP through this partnership. Key programmes includes free-to-play introductory courses for RP students to learn and play these sports, and secondary schools will be invited to attend such "clinics", which will be conducted by the NSA. These programmes will be conducted during the academic term-break in March.

The partnership also focuses on three areas, specifically rugby and football for women, while floorball is targeted at both sexes. RP has identified these niche sports to promote at a tertiary level, and to raise awareness for youth to lead a healthy lifestyle.

More than 1,000 Sembawang GRC residents and youths together with Guest-of-honour Minister for Health, Mr. Khaw Boon Wan and witnessed the signing of the partnership with FAS, SFA, SRU and RP at its Open House on 10 January 2009 after a community brisk walk in the morning.

Programme

Time	Event	Location
8.00am	Arrival of Brisk Walk Participants	Entrance of Sports Complex
8:30am	Arrival of GOH, Minister Khaw Boon Wan	Sports Complex
8:35am	Brisk Walk	RP and Admiralty Park
9:10am	End of Brisk Walk	Entrance of Sports Complex
9:15am	Signing of MOU with FAS, SFA & SRU	Entrance of Sports Complex
9:30am	Commencement of waterpolo / Soccer / Rugby / Floorball Match	Swimming Pool Soccer Field Multi-Purpose Hall
9:35am	Sports Complex Tour & Reception	Sports Complex
10:00am	GOH takes his leave
10:15am	Best Dressed Contest prize presentation	Entrance of Sports Complex
10:30am - 6:00pm	Commencement of Sports Carnival at RP Open House 3 on 3 Floorball Competition 3 on 3 Basketball Competition Koh Wei Meng Water Polo Championship Workshop Aikido Judo	Multipurpose Hall Competition Hall Swimming Pool   Martial Arts Room

You may refer to details of the Open House via http://www.rp.sg/openhouse/. Photographs of the event are available. We welcome requests for telephone interviews.

Republic Polytechnic
Tan Lay Pheng / Benjamin Chow
Tel: 31001779
Email: tan_lay_pheng@rp.sg / benjamin_chow@rp.sg

Mileage Communications Pte Ltd
Ooi Kelly/ Ronald Wong
Tel: 62221678
Email: kelly@mileage.com.sg / ronald@mileage.com.sg

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About Republic Polytechnic

The first educational institution in Singapore to adopt the Problem-Based Learning approach for all its diploma programmes, Republic Polytechnic has six schools and one centre offering thirty diploma courses in Information and Communications Technology, Engineering, Applied Science, Technology for the Arts, Sports, Health and Leisure, Events and Hospitality, Innovation and Enterprise, and Culture and Communication. Republic Polytechnic is committed to nurturing innovation and entrepreneurial learning in an environment that develops problem-solving process skills and a life-long learning attitude. Its holistic, broad-based curriculum, covering culture, enterprise development and cognitive processes, prepares students for an active and meaningful role in society. Republic Polytechnic strives for excellence by achieving various national and international accreditations, including People Developer Standards, ISO9001, ISO14001, OHSAS 18001, Singapore Quality Class, Singapore Innovation Class, and the Singapore Health Awards (Gold). For more information, visit http://www.rp.sg.