Fobissea Senior Games 2010

What was the activity?

This was a two day event which took place at our school during a weekend in February. Schools from all around South East Asia came together to compete in both basketball and football. Personally I only participated on the first day as that was when the senior girls’ basketball team had all of their matches.

Silver Medalists!

What were my aims?

1. To raise my heart beat and break into a sweat to know I pushed myself physically.

2. To be a risk-taker by attempting some shots and potentially getting a few points on the scoreboard for my team.

3. To be caring by offering to take the place on court of any of my team members who feel they need a rest.

4. To keep up the team spirit.

The Regent's School sports teams

What did I do?

The games began at 10.00 am on Saturday morning and went on till 15.00 pm. Due to the lack of time, not all the teams were able to verse each other but of our many matches we only lost one thus ended up coming second place! We were all really proud as we performed much better than expected and felt we truly deserved our silver medals. Unfortunately I didn’t manage to shoot any baskets but I was able to act as a good defender by preventing some shots from the opposing team which made up for it. I did however manage to meet my other aims. In terms of keeping up the team spirit I shouted out supportive words such as “Nice shot!” or along with my other teammates. Also I definitely began sweating and raised my heartbeat whilst playing which gave me a great sense of achievement.

All the participants prior to the matches

Did I encounter any problems along the way?

The main problem we encountered along the way was that a couple of the players on the opposing teams didn’t have very good sportsmanship when the game wasn’t going their way. They even went so far as to shout offensive remarks to the people on the opposing teams. To deal with the situation we decided to just focus on playing good basketball and ignore the inappropriate behavior.

Second place medalists!

What did I achieve?

I thought the senior games were really exciting and this is definitely an activity I want to partake in again next year. I learnt that the most important thing when playing sports is to have a positive attitude and to support your team members. Overall I was a risk-taker as I attempted a few shots and was also caring as I sometimes took the place of some of my team members who felt they needed a rest off court.

CAS Hours for Term 2 of Year 12

Basketball Training and Matches 2010

What was the activity?

Basketball training was held every Monday after school for an hour. I decided to sign up because I’ve always enjoyed playing but haven’t been particularly good at it. Also since being on the volleyball team last term was so much fun I decided I wanted to engage in another sport this term.

The team!

What were my aims?

1. To develop my basketball skills and to simply become an all round better basketball player.

2. To improve on my shooting and learn to do a layup shot.

I attempted a layup shot

What did I do?

During practices we (the senior girls’ team) trained together with the under 15 girls’ team. I don’t think this held us back at all, if anything it helped me push myself to work even harder as a most of the younger girls were really talented players. After a couple training sessions we began competing with the other local schools in the area. Several of the girls on the basketball team had also been on the volleyball team from last term and so most of us were used to competing with these schools before. We quickly realized that as a team we were much better at basketball than we were at volleyball as we managed to win most of our matches. Obviously it’s not all about winning though, the main point was that we all had fun and got to know our team mates better.

Some of my team mates

Were there any problems along the way?

The main difficulty I encountered was to reach my aim of learning how to do a layup shot. It took me a while but with the help of my teammates I managed to learn how to do a proper one. I’m not yet good enough to get the ball in every time I take a shot but at least I have the proper technique. My next aim is to continue practicing my layups and to ensure the ball actually goes through the hoop when I shoot. That way I’ll hopefully be able to use layups during matches and help to get some points on the scoreboard for my team.

Playing against the U15 girls

What have I gained from this experience?

Overall this experience has generally increased my love for basketball and made me want to continue playing. I have also learnt that practice really does make perfect. You can’t just expect to get better at something overnight you have to be prepared to work in order to improve. I am excited to participate in the schools up and coming senior games. By playing basketball I have become more balanced as I now play a sport alongside my academic studies.

Pattaya Bed Race Planning and Activity

What was the activity?

The Pattaya Bed Push is an annual charity event in which teams push beds along the streets of Pattaya in a race to cross the finish line. Participants have to pay an entry fee per bed as a source of fund raising. Roughly 15 of us Regents students decided to partake and represent our school.

Decorating our beds before the race

What were my aims?

1. To be an inquirer. I would achieve this by finding out more about the charities involved in the bed race through sources such as the internet.

2. To work well and cooperate with all my other team members.

2. To physically challenge myself and to do my very best to keep up with the rest of the team’s pace.

The finished result of our decorated bed

What did I do?

As we arrived around four hours prior to the start of the race we had plenty of time to decorate our bed and to converse with our team members. During this time we also managed to talk through tactics on how to get the best possible time. As we could only have a maximum of four people pushing the bed at any one point, we decided to have some people wait alongside different points on the track in order for us to swap runners when we got tired. As we took time to talk through this I definitely feel that I managed to cooperate and work well with my team, just as I’d hoped.

Our bed was ready to go!

Were there any problems along the way?

During the actual race one of the problems I encountered was the fact that I was tired out faster than expected and was therefore finding it difficult to keep up with everyone else. I did push myself just that little bit further though, and definitely managed to work up a sweat. Fortunately my other teammates helped me out when I was too exhausted to run any further. On a personal level I can say I was very pleased with my efforts and as a team we managed to come in third which we all felt was a really big achievement considering there were around 100 beds in the race. If we participate again next year, then I will make sure I hydrate myself properly before the race so that I don’t tire out as fast. At the end of the day though the event was about the charities and, considering the vast number of participants, I’m confident a substantial amount of money was raised.

The road we ran on

What have I achieved?

From this activity I have learnt that when it comes to team based activities, communication is vital. We spoke to one another and delegated tasks very well which I think is why we performed so successfully. I have also learnt that it’s important not to give up even when I really feel like it. Pushing yourself that little bit further can really give you a strong sense of achievement. I was a successful inquirer as I found out a bit about the charities involved and the event organizers (Interact Rotary) through website such as the one below.

Learn more about the event and the charities involved: http://thailandlandofsmiles.com/2010/01/30/pattaya-international-bed-race-2010/

Round Square Conference 2010 Steering Committee Meetings

Our final t-shirt designs

Continuing on from term 1 I have been working with 15 other student in preparation for the International RS conference which we will be hosting this October.

What did I do?

This term we got a lot of feedback from the delegates who just returned from the latest conference in India. They explained to us what was successful about the conference and what could perhaps have been done better. Any good points we have tried to merge into our program and we have taken note of any points to improve on. As mentioned in my previous post, everyone has been categorized into one of the 5 subcommittees: creative committee, barazza committee (discussion groups which will be help during the conference), entertainment committee, activities committee or the miscellaneous committee. We are hoping this will make us able to work more efficiently and precisely as we can each focus on a smaller aspect of the conference. As I am part of the creative committee, we have spent the majority of this term designing and producing a digital copy of the conference t-shirts which will be given out to all the delegates.

Did I achieve my goals?

This term I have continued to send out the minutes on time which was one of my main aims. I have also been participating actively in discussions and taking detailed notes and any important issues. For next term I hope to continue work on the t-shirt designs, as well as to get started on the delegates’ goodie bags and their contents.

Were there any problems along the way?

The main problems we encountered were trying to fit all the necessary info onto the t-shirts in a nice presentable manner. However after a lot of discussion, sketching and a little help from the school’s marketing director, we managed to get a design which we are all happy with.

What have I learnt?

I have learnt that splitting the workload amongst all member of the committee (through using subcommittees) is the most effective methods for getting work done. Feedback is necessary as well in order to get everyone’s input and thus, the best possible outcome.

CAS Hours for Term 1 of Year 12

Volleyball Training and Matches

Shaking hands after the match

What did the activity involve?

Volleyball training was held during Thursday and Wednesday lunchtimes in the gym. A couple times during the term we also had the opportunity to travel to different schools in the area in order to compete.

What were my main aims?

When I signed up for this activity I was mainly hoping to develop my volleyball skills and to work on my serve in particular. I was also hoping to get to get to know each and every one of my teammates a little better and to make new friends. As I haven’t played much volleyball before I was also aiming to step outside of my physical comfort zone.

What did I do?

Practices were more intense than I’d originally expected. They required a lot of focus and effort which definitely paid off in the long run as I am proud to say that my serving, although not perfect, is definitely much better than it was prior to commencing this activity. Everyone on the team got along really well and I even managed to make a couple new friends like I’d hoped. The strong friendships we created made it easy for us to communicate on the court which definitely helped when it came to competing against other local schools. The other teams in the area had clearly had much more practice than we had because when we competed for the first time we lost all our matches. By the end of the term though every one of us had improved and so when we competed again, although we didn’t win the whole tournament, we managed to win a couple of our matches which made us proud.

Were there any problems along the way?

Occasionally a team member would be unable to show up for practice which complicated things a little but we quickly filled them in on what they’d missed and trained with them outside of practice time instead. Another minor problem we came across was the fact that the teams we were competing against had had far more training than us. This turned out to only be a minor setback though because if anything this disadvantage only made us more eager to learn and improve our skills. The most important thing we did that helped us overcome all our difficulties was to keep team spirit high. We did this through always having a team shout before and after any match. We also complimented people on any good hits or passes and encouraged them when perhaps a serve didn’t go as planned.

What have I learnt?

Overall this experience made me realize how much I truly enjoy participating in team sports and how much I can achieve when I really put my mind to something. In the future I will definitely be participating in more of our school’s sports fixtures.