The Singapore Swimming Association (abbreviated SSA, but NOT to be confused with Swimming South Africa, also abbreviated SSA), has recently announced a three-year sponsorship agreement with Yakult Singapore. The deal runs to 2017 and is worth $350,000, which according to The Straits Times, is the largest fully cash sponsorship from a single company by the SSA.
The partnership includes Yakult being named as the SSA’s Official Healthy Family Drink as the brand helps to cover the cost of competitions and training by the associations national swimmers, divers, synchronized swimmers and water polo players. Yakult will remain as the presenting sponsor of the FINA World Cup in Singapore to the year 2017, as it has been since 2009, and is planned to sponsor other local meets throughout the agreement’s time span.
SSA’s Vice President of finance, Jose Raymond, tells Singapore Today that his association is “ecstatic to have Yakult coming on board as a long-term partner. The sponsorship makes the commitment of Yakult to collaborate in grooming young athletes into champions of tomorrow.” Raymond continued telling The Straits Times that “commercial partners and sponsors play an integral part in the development of sports in Singapore and in particular, the sustainable development of National Sports Associations.”
Singaporean swimming has made recent news as Bolles School’s highly regarded coach, Sergio Lopez-Miro, made the move last November to now be in charge of the sport at the Singapore Swimming Association. Lopez-Miro’s high profile protegé, Joseph Schooling, paired with Singapore’s state-of-the-art OCBC Aquatic Center, signals the country’s rise, both in talent and investment in the sport on the world stage.
