SINGAPORE - National athletes are encouraged to take the initiative to seek sponsorships for their sporting pursuits, and a new book launched by the Singapore Sports Institute (SSI) on Wednesday will provide pointers on how to do so.

Entitled "Sponsorship For Athletes", the book is funded by Deloitte and authored by Australian athlete sponsorship expert Vickie Saunders. The book aims to educate local athletes at all levels on how to seek partnership opportunities, to engage and maintain relationship with sponsors.

The book also contains examples of local athletes who have successfully sealed sponsorship deals by themselves, including swimmer Tao Li, bowler Remy Ong, para swimmer Theresa Goh, sprinter Dipna Lim-Prasad and golfer Koh Sock Hwee.

Saunders said: "One of the greatest challenges that athletes face in Singapore is their (lack of) awareness - they've got so much value to share."

On the limitations of crowdfunding, she said: "Crowdfunding works once or twice, people are not going to donate forever. (Athletes need) to get a sustainable source of income."

For athletes who are pursuing further studies, another option was also launched on Wednesday. The SIM Global Education/University of Stirling is offering a new sports scholarships for two local athletes to pursue a sports studies and marketing degree.

SIM Global Education's director for higher education Ho Soon Eng said: "Local athletes will be able to train and compete and at the same time pursue their degree aspirations..."

Said SSI's chief Bob Gambardella: "The two initiatives that we are launching today represent our commitment in helping our athletes achieve excellence in both sports and life."