The financially ailing Bermuda Olympic Association (BOA) received a tremendous shot in the arm today when it formed a strategic alliance with an unlikely bedfellow in TV program Songopoly.
The music trivia show, which ran its first season on VSB-TV 11 earlier this year, is gearing up to hit the TV screens for Season 2 in October with a 30-show series - the largest in Bermuda's TV history.
Judy Simons, a former Bermuda national rep in field hockey and now President of the BOA, said last night that "any one with a passion for helping the BOA and its athletes is welcome through our doors.
"We met with Ric Chapman, the host of Songopoly, and he had an idea which he thought might galvanize public interest in our Olympians and their need for funding and of course focus attention on them as young people striving to make a mark in this world.
But a major injection of funds for struggling athletes cannot come without corporate support and so Logic Communications was approached.
"Ric came to us with an ambitious plan," said Diana Winfield Head of Marketing and Customer Operations at Logic. "He has such passion when he sets his sights on something and he knew that corporate Bermuda would support this concept of helping raise funds and publicity for what he calls the Fab 4 athletes who are preparing for London. When he presented his strategy to us, and remember he did at a time when we had low funds available as most had been allocated to our own re-branding and major move of Logic to its new home this week on 30 Victoria Street, we could not say no as Bermudians must have the chance to participate and represent our country in the Olympics. We are very proud to announce that we will provide the funding to help one of the Fab 4 athletes via his TV show."
And just how the scheme works is simple.
"What it will do is show the four sports stars that Bermuda is in their corner and is proud of them as we head towards the biggest global sports event mid next year," said Chapman.
"I come from Australia and we have an astonishing record at the Olympics. Mainly because the media and the people of Australia make heroes of our Olympians. They become household names, get major corporate sponsorships, and the lucky medalists are amply rewarded financially by the government. It is a very different structure to here...but that doesn't mean we cant steal from that model. As the next few weeks unfold, we will reveal through Bda's media platforms the four athletes Songopoly has chosen to support through this initiative. In that way we start the first phase of the idea - attracting public interest to the athletes. I will feature their names and profile them on the show each episode as well, and when possible, get them to make guest appearances. Nothing draws more attention to a cause then revealing to the public what it is about and that is the philosophy in Australia re Olympians. I intend through Songopoly and the media outlets on this rock, to make household names of these four stars. Once that occurs, as Kevin Costner famously said in his movie Field Of Dreams, If you build it they will come. They in this case being the island based business houses. Any of them who chooses to join in with Songopoly and the BOA to help make this scheme a reality, will be richly rewarded. Right now Logic is the first to have the vision, so I am proud to announce that Tyrone Smith, the outstanding long jumper from Bda, is the first of the Fab 4 athletes named to receive Songopoly funding."
BOA President Simons added, "I wish we could help fund all of Bermuda's Olympic bound athletes through this intoxicating initiative, but maybe what Ric is doing will start the ball rolling for other concepts. I hope so, because he is right - we need to make Bermuda Olympians household names especially in an Olympic year."
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