BOSTON, MA- The Boston Bruins are teaming up with Velcro Companies to introduce the “Battle of the Books” competition. Classrooms in schools across New England will compete in a bracket-style competition, similar to the NHL Playoff brackets, to see which book will reign supreme. The Boston Bruins and Velcro Companies hope to encourage reading amongst kids of all ages through this fun and engaging competition featuring Bruins-themed and VELCRO® Brand prizes.
Each participating classroom will select sixteen books to start their bracket then select their favorite books to advance to the next round and eventually name a “Battle of the Books” winner. Boston Bruins players nominated their favorite books to give classrooms a few ideas to start their bracket. Patrice Bergeron suggests “Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption” by Laura Hillenbrand, Brad Marchand’s pick is “The Amazing Spiderman” by Frank Berrios and Bruins Captain Zdeno Chara recommends “An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth” by Col. Chris Hadfield. A full list of the Bruins recommended books can be found at BostonBruins.com/Battleofthebooks.
The Bruins will provide weekly Bruins-themed prizes for select participating classrooms, winners will be selected based on photo submissions of “Battle of the Books” participation. At the end of the competition, the school with the most classrooms registered will win a Boston Bruins Spirit Day featuring Bruins mascot Blades. Velcro Companies will be providing three Grand Prize $500 gift cards and a classroom supply of VELCRO® Brand products.
“Encouraging literacy and advancing education are deeply important charges for the Velcro Companies,” said Fraser Cameron, CEO, Velcro Companies. “Partnering with the Boston Bruins to promote reading was a natural decision. Like the Bruins, the Velcro Companies champion a commitment to the community, focus on excellence and celebrate a strong New England heritage. Together, we’re excited to encourage reading education in our community.”
All school classrooms are eligible to participate. Please visit BostonBruins.com/Battleofthebooks for more information.
Contest Information:
• March 1 – Round 1 starts
• March 11 – Voting for round 1 & round 2 starts
• March 18 – Voting for round 2 & round 3 starts
• March 25 – Voting for round 3 & round 4 starts
• April 1 – Championship voting ends & winning book is chosen
About the Boston Bruins:
The Boston Bruins, founded in 1924, are one of the Original Six teams of the National Hockey League and are six-time Stanley Cup Champions, most recently winning the title in 2011. Jeremy M. Jacobs has been the owner of the Boston Bruins for 41 years, and the team plays its home games at the TD Garden. Fans interested in learning more about the Boston Bruins organization, players, or ticket options, should visit the team website at www.BostonBruins.com, follow the team on twitter @NHLBruins or call 617.624.BEAR.
About Velcro Companies:
Velcro Companies is a technology-driven, global organization providing fastening solutions that solve problems in simple, elegant and surprising ways for businesses and consumers around the world. We have a heritage of innovation spanning more than 50 years and own over 400 active patents and numerous trademarks, including the VELCRO® trademark, which is registered throughout the world. We develop and deliver solutions for customers through an integrated production and service system that includes manufacturing locations in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Spain and China and sales offices around the world. To buy genuine VELCRO® brand products and to find out more about our company, visit www.velcro.com.
Note to editors:
At Velcro Companies, we are proud that VELCRO® brand products have become a part of everyday life, but that ubiquity sometimes produces confusion. The VELCRO® trademark should be used only when referring to genuine VELCRO® brand fasteners. Non-VELCRO® brand products should be identified by their functional terms, such as “hook and loop,” “self-adhesive straps,” and so forth. The VELCRO® mark should always be used as an adjective and never as a noun or a verb. The term “Velcro Companies” should be used when referring to our company and its executives.
The proper use of the VELCRO® trademark assists us in safeguarding the integrity of the VELCRO® brand, and helps to protect consumers from products incorrectly sold as VELCRO® brand products. For further information on the proper use of the VELCRO® trademark, please see the guidelines on our website.
For additional information please contact:
Julie Barry
Velcro Companies
jbarry@velcro.com
617-946-5536
Amy Thompson
FleishmanHillard
amy.thompson@fleishman.com
617-692-0508
