Samsung Electronics has extended its deal to be a worldwide TOP sponsor of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) until the end of 2020, it was announced here today.
The South Korean multinational conglomerate, which has been a TOP sponsor since before the Nagano 1998 Winter Olympic Games, becomes the 11th company to commit to the programme for the next six years as the IOC continues to consolidate its financial security.
They will act as the official Worldwide Olympic Partner in the Wireless Communication Equipment and Computing Equipment category.
The extension of the partnership was made official during a Signing Ceremony at the Summer Youth Olympic Games here between IOC President Thomas Bach, and Samsung Electronics vice-chairman Jay Y Lee, who was acting on behalf of chairman Lee Kun-hee - his father who is also a member of the IOC - as the 72-year-old continues his recovery from emergency heart surgery earlier this year.
"We are delighted to be able to continue our partnership with Samsung," said Bach.
"The funding generated by the TOP Programme directly supports the staging of every Olympic Games, as well as every one of the National Olympic Committees, enabling athletes from all over the world to prepare for and compete at each Games.
"Samsung also supports the operations of each Games by providing leading wireless telecommunications and technology equipment.
"In addition, Samsung's technologies and global marketing reach will engage fans around the world with the Olympic values and the Olympic Movement."
Samsung will now support the next two editions of the Summer Olympics, in Rio in 2016 and in Tokyo four years later, as well as the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Games in South Korea.
They will also continue to support the IOC and every National Olympic Committee.
The deal is another major boost for the IOC as the organisation's strong foundations are further cemented into the future, with Bridgestone, Atos and Panasonic three other companies to have signed similar agreements earlier this year.
All of its existing TOP sponsors are now onboard until 2020.
"Samsung aims to spread the Olympic spirit through our innovative wireless and computing technologies, enabling all fans around the world to stay connected and share the excitement of the Games," said Samsung Electronics executive vice-president of Global Marketing, IT and Mobile Division, Younghee Lee.
"We are proud to extend our involvement in the Olympic Movement, as it is meaningful to us to inspire people through the passion that lies behind the Games and contribute to creating a smarter Olympic Games."
IOC Marketing Commission chairman Tsunekazu Takeda added: "I am delighted that we have now reached agreements with all of our existing partners through to at least 2020".
"This is a clear sign of the strength of the programme and the global appeal of the Olympic Games and the Olympic values."
T&T gives Battling Performances in Opening Day of Competition
Trinidad and Tobago athletes displayed grit and determination on Saturday the opening day of the 2014 Nanjing Youth Olympic Games.
At the Nanjing Olympic Sports Centre Natatorium, David Mc Leod was the first T & T athlete in action.
Mc Leod, a Caribbean Islands Swimming Championships (CISC) and Carifta champion, placed second in heat two of five in the Men's 100 m backstroke preliminaries but 27th overall in a new personal best time of 58.18. His previous PR was 58.72.
From the starter's signal, Mc Leod was always in second, splitting in 27.57 seconds at the midway point behind eventual heat two winner Canada's Javier Acevedo (57.87) and maintained his position for two laps of the Olympic-sized pool.
After the race, Mc Leod said:"I am pleased with my swim because I felt strong and did a new best time. It augurs well for my pet event, the 50 m back, on Tuesday (tomorrow) where I expect to be even stronger and faster and hopefully achieve a semifinal place. "
Mc Leod takes his final splash in the pool in the Men's 50m backstroke on Tuesday while World Juniors silver medalist Dylan Carter also dives into action on that day in the Men's 50 m freestyle prelims.
At the Youth Olympic Sport Park, T&T Beach Volleyballers Chelsi Ward and Malika Davidson battled but went down in straight sets 2-0 (21-17, 21-10) to Germany’s Sarah Schneider and Lisa Arnholdt.
Coach Sean Morrison said Ward and Davidson traded point for point up to 15 in the first set before the Germans imposed their will while the T&T team started too relaxed in the second set, making too many errors and conceding a big lead to the Germans from which they failed to recover.
The T & T duo will try and look for their first points of Group E competition when they tackle Indonesia today from 3 pm (3 am local).
" Indonesia is even a better team defensively than Germany but we will try to out-hustle them to score points tomorrow (today), " Morrison, a national Men's player, said.
Morrison added that he is looking to score wins over easier Group E opponents Bolivia and Congo for T&T to advance out of Group E, a group that also includes hosts China.
" Once the girls keep focus on their game throughout we will be okay against Indonesia, "he said.
In sailing, T&T' sole representative Abigail Affoo took to the waters of Jinniu Lake for the Women's One Person Dinghy from 11 am (11 pm Sunday TT time).
On Sunday, Affoo put the finishing touches to her Dinghy and also had a trial race in preparation for today's race.
T&T athletes get there track and field campaign on the way on Wed 20th, with Jeminise Parris in the women's 100m Hurdles.
Interested persons can follow the progress of the T&T team at the T&T Olympic Committee (T&TOC) social media websites, twitter www.ttoc.org and the Games’ websitewww.nanjing2014.org/en.
McLeod, Davidson and Ward set for Action Today
Trinidad and Tobago swimmer David Mc Leod and T&T Volleyballers Chelsi Ward and Malika Davidson will be the first athletes to compete for this country on the opening day of the 2014 Nanjing Youth Games.
Mc Leod will splash into action in the first of two events he is entered in today from 10:30 am in Nanjing (10:30 pm Saturday local time) in heat two lane two of the Men's 100 m backstroke at the Nanjing Olympic Sports Center Natatorium. He is seeded 29th in the event.
At 8:00 pm (8:00 am local time) at the Youth Olympic Sport Park, Ward and Davidson will spike off against the German team in Group E action in the 36-team competition. Group E is one of six groups and also includes Indonesia, Congo, Bolivia and hosts China.
IOC President Bach tours Youth Olympic Village as excitement for Nanjing 2014 builds
A sense of excitement is building on the eve of the Summer Youth Olympic Games here following a visit by International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach around the impressive accommodation and facilities for the athletes.
While the facilities and atmosphere seemed equally as spacious and luxurious as those during the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi earlier this year, the distinguishing feature, as befitting the ambiance of the Youth Olympic, was the wide variety of cultural entertainments on show.
These ranged from stands and presentations to a group of Chinese dancers performing a routine which would have seemed more at home in Germany than in the Far East.
It was this latter theme which best caught the eye of Bach, who appeared enthusiastic and keen to speak to as many of the 3,600 athletes attending the Games as possible.
Joined by an entourage that included IOC vice-president Yu Zaiqing and Executive Director Gilbert Felli, Bach walked around the facility before finishing with dinner alongside the budding athletes in the Village canteen.
This included a meeting with a South Sudanese runner, Margret Rumat Rumar Hassan, competing as an Independent Olympic Athlete during the Games because the world's newest country does not have a National Olympic Committee.
He also visited the accommodation of team members from Guinea affected by the Ebola outbreak which has already caused Liberia and Sierra Leone to withdraw from the Games.
Delegations from Ukraine and Syria where among others Bach met, with the German, who won a gold medal in foil fencing at Montreal 1976, visibly delighted whenever he chanced upon an exponent of his former sport.
He also met athletes from his native German team, as well as others from Romania to Jamaica to Mexico, as well as a multitude of Nanjing 2014 volunteers, workers and entertainers.
Bach's enthusiasm for the Youth Olympics may be less strong than that of his predecessor, Jacques Rogge, but he remained lively and his usual quick-witted self throughout the visit.
On several occasions he also asked athletes their impressions so far, and every time his enthusiasm was replicated in their responses.
Bach, attending the first Youth Olympic Games since he was appointed President last September, completed his visit by attending a Welcome Event in the Square at the heart of the Village.
"Head-to-heads" the key to athletics' future success, says Coe in his "spiritual home"
Sebastian Coe, back in what he describes as his "spiritual home town" of Zurich, where he broke world records for 1500 metres and the mile, has said the most important thing for athletics is to ensure the best competitors meet each other in both championships and other meetings.
The man now considered favourite to take over as the next President of the International Association of Athletics Federations next year, who had chatted briefly in the stands of the Letzigrund Stadium with another illustrious visitor, Usain Bolt, on Wednesday (August 13), said: "We have to get more young people to love athletics.
"I think, that's our great challenge major championships and great one-day meetings are a great tool to do that."
He made it clear that what the sport needed most were head-to-head meetings at both championships.
"My sons get up in the middle of the night to watch [Roger] Federer play against [Rafael] Nadal, or [Sebastian] Vettel race against [Lewis] Hamilton," said Coe, who has been speaking at the European Athletics Forum for Young Leaders in Sport being held here in accompaniment to the European Championships.
"Great duels are that extra something in sport."
There is, admittedly, a faintly ironic edge to Coe's statement given the relative infrequency with which he and his great rival of the time, Steve Ovett, met on the track.
Coe added that Sir Roger Bannister, the first man to run under four minutes for the mile and a gold medallist at Berne in 1954 at the last European Championships to be held in Switzerland, was one of his great role models.
"He inspired every athlete of my generation," said Coe, who first broke the mile record in the 25th anniversary year of the Four Minute Mile.
"If it was not for him, an Australian would have become the first human to run the mile in less than four minutes.
"That would have been hard to swallow for us British.
"Without Roger, the history of the mile would be less British. I always call him the Senior Partner of all great British runners.
"We all look up to him."
‘PE, sport results were best overall’ ...Of CSEC exams written this year...
OF all the subjects written for the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) this year, the results of physical education and sport were the best overall.
Public information officer for the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) Cleveland Sam yesterday issued a news release revealing CSEC’s statistics and analysis.
This year, there were 142,884 candidates—41 per cent male and 59 per cent female.
Mathematics was the largest subscribed subject, with 98,542 entries; followed by English A and social studies.
The CSEC exam is written in 19 Caribbean countries and 35 subjects are offered on the syllabus.
Sam said since 2012, there was an upward trend in the exam, with 66 per cent achieving grades one, two and three. Last year, 65 per cent received those grades; and in 2012, some 62 per cent.
Sam said: “Of the subjects offered, performance improved in 12, declined in 19 and remained constant in five.”
He said 99 per cent of the 10,000 entries for physical education and sport received the top three grades compared with last year’s 94 per cent. Theatre arts was the subject with the next best results, with 94 per cent obtaining acceptable grades; followed by food and nutrition, with 91 per cent.
Sam said: “Mathematics saw the most improved performance of all subjects offered in 2014 compared with 2013.
“Forty nine per cent of entries achieved grades one to three, which is a 14 per cent improvement over 2013.
The Subject Awards Committee attributed the performance to improvement in most areas on the examination with the exception of trigonometry and geometry.”
Additional mathematics also recorded an improved performance, he said.
Performance in English A saw a one per cent improvement, and there was a marginal decline in English B, Sam said. There was improvement in chemistry and physics, but a decline in biology.
All the subjects in the business cluster recorded a decline in performance.
Sam said: “The Subject Awards Committee noted that questions relating to the business environment, exchange rates, economic integration and balance of payments posed challenges to candidates. Candidates were also challenged by topics such as financial services, closing stock, and operating balances.”
With the exception of visual arts, the subjects relating to expressive arts recorded improved performance. There were mixed performance in the technical and vocational subjects, and a decline in performance in humanities.
According to Sam, “Performance in geography remained steady over the two-year period, at 67 per cent.
“The Subject Awards Committee noted once again that there is a general weakness in map reading, physical geography and exposure to field work.
During the Final Awards Committee meeting, it was noted that several teachers of geography are not geography graduates, and this impacts their ability to adequately deliver the syllabus.”
On Monday, the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) will be officially releasing results during a function in St Vincent and the Grenadines.
The event will be streamed online.