JR. NBA MALAYSIA PRESENTED BY DUTCH LADY EXPANDS IN PROGRAM’S FOURTH YEAR

The National Basketball Association (NBA) announced that the Jr. NBA, the league’s global youth basketball program for boys and girls, returned to Malaysia for the fourth consecutive year.  This year’s program will expand to three cities, including a first time stop in Johor Bahru and return visits to Kuala Lumpur and Penang, reaching more than 6,000 boys and girls at more than 200 schools.  Online registration is open now at www.jrnba.asia/malaysia.

Dutch Lady, one of the brands of Royal FrieslandCampina, will serve as the presenting partner of the Jr. NBA in Malaysia for the fourth consecutive year.

“Dutch Lady is honored to return as the presenting partner of the Jr. NBA Malaysia program as part of its Drink. Move. Be Strong (DMBS) platform to encourage an active lifestyle and a healthy diet among Malaysian children,” said Dutch Lady Malaysia Marketing Director Ashlee Ng. Dutch Lady will continue to educate Malaysian children on the essential nutrients of milk to help address the low intake of calcium among Malaysian children found in the South East Asian Nutrition Survey (SEANUTS)* which shows nearly 50% of Malaysian children studied in the survey have calcium insufficiency. Milk is one of the richest sources of calcium and is easily accessible, helping children to grow and develop, building muscle, keeping bones strong while also filling up and rehydrating.”

A range of edu-tainment activities will be conducted at Dutch Lady’s DMBS in-school roadshows alongside the Jr. NBA program to engage and educate Malaysian children on the importance of a healthy and nutritious lifestyle. Malaysian children will be able to learn and absorb the key messages of the beneficial program in a fun and engaging environment.

“Since its launch in 2014, the Jr. NBA has played a key role in the development and growth of basketball in Malaysia,” said NBA Asia Vice President, Global Marketing Partnerships Francesco Suarez.  “With the continued support of our local partners, this year’s expanded Jr. NBA program will reach even more youth and coaches nationwide, promoting health and wellness while teaching the fundamentals of the game and the positive values of sport.”

The program tipped off today in Kuala Lumpur with a coaches clinic and an open clinic for kids at SJK(C) Kwong Hon in Kuala Lumpur, and will run through July 2017.  All three cities will host a series of school clinics, followed by the selection camp on July 8 in Kuala Lumpur.  The top 32 boys and girls from the selection camp will be invited to participate in the Jr. NBA National Training Camp in Kuala Lumpur from July 28-30.

The National Training Camp will once again be attended by a current or former NBA player.  The program will culminate with eight boys and eight girls being named 2017 Jr. NBA Malaysia All-Stars.  These standout campers will embark on a unique overseas NBA experience together with fellow Jr. NBA All-Stars from Southeast Asia later in the year.

As part of the NBA’s continued commitment to providing youth with increased access to play the game, the NBA will refurbish a basketball court in Malaysia and dedicate it to the local community in July.

The Jr. NBA program is free and open to boys and girls ages 5-14.  Players between the ages of 10-14 will be eligible for the top selection during the selection camp and National Training Camp.  Participants are trained in the fundamentals of basketball and learn about the importance of proper nutrition as well as the Jr. NBA’s core values of sportsmanship, teamwork, a positive attitude, and respect.  In addition to the presenting partner Dutch Lady, the event is supported by the Ministry of Education Malaysia, Spalding and Westports Malaysia Dragons.  Astro is the official broadcast partner of the Jr. NBA in Malaysia.

The Jr. NBA, the league’s global youth basketball program for boys and girls, teaches the fundamental skills as well as the core values of the game at the grassroots level in an effort to help grow and improve the youth basketball experience for players, coaches and parents.  During the 2016-17 season, the NBA will reach more than 18 million youth in 53 countries through its youth participation initiatives.  

For more information, visit the official event website at www.jrnba.asia/malaysia and follow the Jr. NBA on Facebook at www.facebook.com/jrnbamalaysia.  For all things NBA, visit www.nba.com and “Friend” the NBA’s official account on LINE by adding @nba_global. 

Reference:

*Nutritional status and dietary intakes of children up to 12 years: findings of the Nutrition Survey of Malaysian Children (SEANUTS Malaysia), British Journal of Nutrition (2013), 110, S21–S35.

About the NBA

The NBA is a global sports and media business built around three professional sports leagues: the National Basketball Association, the Women’s National Basketball Association, and the NBA Development League.  The league has established a major international presence with games and programming in 215 countries and territories in 49 languages, and NBA merchandise for sale in more than 125,000 stores in 100 countries on 6 continents.  NBA rosters at the start of the 2016-17 season featured a record 113 international players from 41 countries and territories.  NBA Digital’s assets include NBA TV, NBA.com and the NBA App, which achieved record viewership and traffic during the 2015-16 season.  The NBA has created one of the largest social media communities in the world, with more than 1.3 billion likes and followers globally across all league, team, and player platforms.  Through NBA Cares, the league addresses important social issues by working with internationally recognized youth-serving organizations that support education, youth and family development, and health-related causes.

About Royal FrieslandCampina

Every day Royal FrieslandCampina provides millions of consumers all over the world with food that is rich in valuable nutrients. With annual revenue of 10.3 billion euros, FrieslandCampina is one of the world largest dairy companies, supplying consumer and professional products, as well as ingredients and half-finished products to manufacturers of infant & toddler nutrition, the food industry and the pharmaceutical sector around the world. FrieslandCampina has offices in 32 countries and almost 20,000 employees, and its products are available in more than 100 countries. The Company is fully owned by Zuivelcoöperatie FrieslandCampina U.A, with 19,487 member dairy farmers in the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium—making it one of the world’s largest dairy cooperatives. For more information please visit: www.frieslandcampina.com.

About Dutch Lady Milk Industries Berhad

Incorporated in 1963, Dutch Lady Milk Industries Berhad (Dutch Lady Malaysia) is a leading dairy company in Malaysia. It is owned by one of the largest dairy cooperative companies in the world, Royal FrieslandCampina NV, a Dutch multinational dairy company.

Dutch Lady Malaysia was the first milk company to be listed on Bursa Malaysia in 1968 and the first to introduce Formulated Milk Powder for Children in Malaysia in 1988. Dutch Lady Malaysia, awarded as the Company of the Year 2014 by The Edge Billion Ringgit Club, manufactures and sells a wide range of quality dairy products for the home and export market, with all products enjoying a strong following in brands like Dutch Lady and Friso Gold. 

Through a unique collaboration between FrieslandCampina and four international research teams/universities, the South East Asian Nutrition Surveys (SEANUTS) study was commissioned to study the nutritional status and insufficiency thereof found to be present in South East Asian children up to 12 years of age.

More information can be found on www.dutchlady.com.my.

About Drink.Move.BeStrong

Drink.Move.BeStrong is Southeast Asia’s first integrated activation and advocacy campaign which aims to cultivate an active and healthy lifestyle among children through play, sports and proper nutrition.  This campaign is founded upon the findings of FrieslandCampina’s South East Asian Nutrition Survey (SEANUTS) on nutrition in four countries – Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam –to acquire an understanding of the nutritional status and dietary intake of children up to 12 years of age. 

The key findings show that high percentage of Vitamin D insufficiency among the children despite the amount of available sunlight, low levels of physical activity and 30-40% of kids are not getting enough of the right nutrition, regardless of age, location or income.

This multi-stakeholder, multi-channel campaign encourages children across the region to drink two glasses of milk a day and spend an hour a day on outdoor exercise.  This regional campaign offers a host of activities including the distribution of free milk cartons to schools, a dedicated health and nutrition education programme and Jr NBA camps.