Voting Commences For Singapore National Games 2012 Logo And Mascot

Voting Commences For Singapore National Games 2012 Logo And Mascot

Singapore, 26 March 2012 - The public can now vote for the logo and mascot designs for the inaugural Singapore National Games (SNG)! They can take part in an online public voting at SNG's official website from today till 8 April, and choose the SNG logo and mascot designs they like best.

2. The SNG is a community-based multi-sports competition jointly organised by the Singapore Sports Council (SSC), People's Association (PA) and its grassroots organisations, as well as 10 National Sports Associations (NSAs). Held once every two years, the SNG will offer sports enthusiasts of all ages an opportunity to be part of Singapore's exciting sporting landscape. The SNG 2012 will take place from 1 September to 9 September 2012, and community teams from 15 clusters will pit against each other in ten sports.

3. The SNG logo and mascot designs contest held in February 2012 saw some 35 logo and 16 mascot entries submitted from various design schools and tertiary institutions. After the first round of judging held in early March, four designs each for the logo and mascot were shortlisted. Commenting on the contest, Mr Ng Eng Soon, Co-Chair of the SNG 2012 Organising Committee said, "Judging from the number of submissions, the logo and mascot contest has served its purpose of engaging the community at large and getting them involved in SNG right from the start. It has definitely helped to create a sense of ownership among the young for the Games as most of the students didn't think twice about having to spend their school holidays working on the designs. We hope to see such involvement and support from the public throughout the Games."

4. Publicis Singapore, a leading advertising and communications company has been working closely with the SNG Organising Committee to manage the contest. The company's Creative Director, Robert Upton, who is also on the judging panel, said shortlisting the entries was no mean feat, "There was a lot of great thinking behind the entries both from art and design colleges. This made the judging process more challenging but the entries that came out on top definitely deserved it. I am eager to see which entry garners the most votes."

5. Students whose designs were shortlisted got a rare opportunity to be mentored by members of the Publicis Singapore's creative team. Yong Wen Yeu, a second year Graphic Design student at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, whose entry made it to the final round of judging recollects his experience, "I was pleasantly surprised when I got a call from Publicis Singapore and was told that I could attend a coaching session with their Creative Director Robert Upton. Mr Upton shared some insights on typography that helped to ensure the various components of my design complemented one another. It is not every day that design students get an opportunity to be supervised by people with industry knowledge. It was an enriching experience."

6. The winners of the logo and mascot contest will be announced on 15 April 2012 during the launch of the Community Games 2012 which serves as the qualifying round for SNG 2012. Participants with the winning designs will each receive $1,000 cash and an internship opportunity at Publicis Singapore.

Annex A: SNG - Shortlisted Logo Designs

Designer: Yong Wen Yeu
School: Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts
Rationale: The logo is formed by the characters 'S, N, and G' which stands for Singapore National Games. The 'S' in the design represents a person running and the 'G' represents a person swimming. I have chosen vivid colours such as red and blue as they lend a rhythmic feel to the logo. They also represent the spirit of sports; the energy and passion that bonds people when they play sports together.

Designer: Serene Khor
School: Singapore Polytechnic
Rationale: My tagline and logo depicts how our community can come together through sports. There are 5 people coming together to form the running man and the star. This brings out the message of community involvement in creating a sporting culture to foster the spirit of sportsmanship, and how this event is able to bring out the best (star) in every participant. The concept of it being an origami is to show how perfection and strategy is required in sports. The 5 vibrant colours represent people from different walks of life and various parts of Singapore!

Designer: Tay Yong Le
School: Nanyang Polytechnic
Rationale: The logo is based on the passion felt by all who are involved in sports. The flame, which forms the lion's mane, represents the fire in their passion. The lion represents Singapore and also symbolises the character of Singaporeans; courageous, full of strength and relentlessly striving for excellence. The colour red is used to further emphasise the Singapore Spirit.

Designer: Kyle Ngo Wee Hian
School: Singapore Polytechnic
Rationale: I used the first letter of each word in the slogan 'Singapore National Games' as the concept of my design by combining strong fluid figures along with refined shapes. Dull tones of red were used as it represents the passion and spirit of coming together as one. Each figure represents a different sport - for instance, the 'S' resembles an athlete swimming. I hope that my logo not only invokes a sense of bonding among Singaporeans, but reiterates the fact that sports is for everyone.

Annex B: SNG - Shortlisted Mascot Designs

Designer: Serene Khor
School: Singapore Polytechnic

Rationale: My mascot's name is Kucinta. It is unique to Singapore but not many people of my age are aware of it. It being a street cat is part and parcel of the community, or used to be when people would play with street cats. This action shows the friendliness and warmth among the community during the kampong days. Furthermore, the name Kucinta consists of the term 'love', which symbolises the passion in sports and care for the community. I think Kucinta would serve as a good reminder of the good old days.

Designer: Beatrice Cho
School: Singapore Polytechnic
Rationale: When we utter the word 'Lion' the first word that comes into our mind is strength. It also upholds many beliefs, such as courage, power, royalty and wisdom. Sang Nila Utama, founder of Singapore and the Merlion is the reason I decided to name my mascot 'Nila'. The SNG will create friendly rivalry and bring friendship to another level. These elements are infused and depicted in my mascot by the fiery mane and the heart shaped face. The fiery mane symbolises the burning passion of the athletes fighting to win. The heart-shaped face displays love which represents how people interact with one another and come together as a community.

Designer: Lim Chi Yang
School: Nanyang Polytechnic
Rationale: The character design was greatly inspired by the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games' mascots. Therefore, the concept was to use the lion as a symbol of our nation, as it has an active and strong character. The orange colour used for the mascot represents passion and participation while the red fur represents competitiveness. I have named my mascot 'Jian Kang' to promote an active nation that leads a healthy lifestyle.

Designer: Jon Tan and Eng Sui Kee
School: Singapore Polytechnic
Rationale: Unique (to Singapore) yet commonplace (in Singapore), the Singapura cat perfectly represents the nature of the Singaporean spirit. The familiar sight of this adorable feline is a comforting reminder that this is home. Competitor or supporter let Kuching bring the joy and camaraderie of the Singapore National Games into your heart!

Annex C: Fact Sheet on Singapore National Games

The Singapore National Games 2012 (SNG) is a new biennial sports festival that bridges community participation and sports excellence will offer residents from all ages, races and estates the opportunity to be part of Singapore's exciting sporting landscape. From the Sunday sports enthusiast, the arm-chair commentator, to the serious athlete, all can now play, compete and volunteer.

The inaugural SNG will see community teams pitting against each other in ten sports, with a trophy awarded to the overall champion of teams. The SNG will be jointly organised by the Singapore Sports Council (SSC), People's Association (PA) and its grassroots organisations, as well as the National Sports Associations (NSA) of the ten sports in the inaugural SNG. It aims to be a meaningful and memorable sporting festival that ignites passion, builds character, and connects people and bonds Singaporeans.

The Community Games (CG), which now runs annually, will serve as the qualifying round for the SNG in the years when it is held. For 2012, CG will be held from April to July and the SNG will be held from 1 to 9 September.

The ten sports featured in 2012 are: Athletics, Badminton, Basketball, Bowling, Dragon Boat, Football, Netball, Sepak Takraw, Swimming and Table Tennis. To bring the competitions to the heart of the community, the 2012 Games will be held at various venues around Singapore, including schools, the Bedok Reservoir and the Singapore Sports School. Teams will be formed according to geographical clusters based on community groupings. Members of the winning teams will each be awarded a medal, with trophies being awarded to the winning teams.

Participation will be open to Singapore Citizens as well as non-Citizens, including Singapore Permanent Residents. National athletes are also eligible to compete. However in general, National athletes and non-citizens may only make up at most 20% of the team size, or one member of the team, whichever is higher. In order to encourage wide participation from all age groups and races, as well as residents living in both public and private estates, team composition for all sports have been formulated through discussion with the respective NSAs. With various team mix requirements, it is intended that more enthusiasts with different abilities will be able to be part of this nation-wide competition.