Federation of British International Schools in South East Asia and East Asia

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Games

Primary FOBISSEA Games (China Group), 9th - 11^th June 2011

The second China Group Primary Games were hosted by The British School of Beijing. The event started with a Welcome dinner where schools from Beijing, Shanghai, Suzhou and Guangzhou were presented with a Games memento. Following this all of the participants took the time to renew friendships from last year and to begin to make new friends for this year.

The competition began with following an Opening Parade with team flags held high and a few words from Executive principal Mike Embley. In the field all athletes threw and jumped giving their best efforts as did the track athletes. As the morning progressed the number of supporters increased and the morning closed on a exciting high with the shuttle relays that were fast and furious. After a short lunch the participants relocated to the BSB pool for the swimming. The competition picked up where the athletics left off. There were several outstanding swimmers from each of the schools and all races were keenly contested right down to the 'touch'.

Day 2 was dedicated to T-ball, with six diamonds in use it was another action packed day with each match being contested over two innings. There were impressive displays in the field with some outstanding catching, quick thinking and accurate throwing. There were equally impressive displays from the power hitters who were able to send the ball back, way back deep into the outfield.

Day 3 completed the sports with the soccer tournament. Again six pitches were in action for the day with some skilful individuals working to help their teams succeed. The day was made even better by the turn out of the huge number of supporters; loads of shots, lots of save and too may 'oohs' and 'aahs' to keep track of.

Congratulations to all the participants, officials and organisers and thanks to all of the supporters for the part in making this an excellent three days of competition that stayed true to FOBISSEA spirit; they really were ‘the friendly games'. Until next time, train hard...

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U13 FOBISSEA GAMES 2011 (GROUP B) - hosted by elc International School

The 2011 FOBISSEA Under-13 Group B Games, were hosted by elc International School from 18 – 20 March 2011.  The Games were officially opened on the 17^th March with an evening of musical performances. Starting with the Malaysian national anthem, “Negaraku”, and the elc school song, “Learn to Aspire”, the choir then entertained the audience with “KL State of Mind” and an elc cover version of “Firework” by Katy Perry.  These two songs of the evening were chosen for their inspirational themes, as it was hoped that they would serve to lift the spirits and bring a positive energy to the “The Friendly Games”.

On Friday the Games began with swimming, and right from the offset the excitement was already bubbling over.  And it was here, at the start of the tournament, that the friendly nature of the games became apparent, as all teams cheered no matter what position their team-mates were in.

At 9am the spectators’ cheers were boosted by the arrival of the elc school students, who had come to give support and generally add to the atmosphere of eager anticipation.  The Lower Primary students were particularly non-partisan as, in their general delight at the event, they cheered everybody.  The swimming finished with the British International School, Vietnam (BISV) taking first place with 455 points and elc as runners up with 425 points.

In the afternoon, basketball at Setia Badminton Academy was a thrilling event, packed with fevered competition.  The teams were mostly well-matched, making for some tight struggles and close finishes.  The students were bouncing almost as much as the basketballs, as they steamed with high energy.  Sheltered from the elements, the games continued through the KL afternoon thunderstorm.

Saturday morning held the always hotly contested Athletics events.  The events started with a bang (literally, with the rather loud starting pistol!), beginning with the long haul of the 1500m races.  Heroically, all competitors made it through, with the supportive crowd cheering on those who struggled to the end.  Good spirits and sportsmanship prevailed throughout the day.  Athletics finished with the BISV taking first place (again) with 360 points and elc as runners up (again) with 321 points.

The afternoon was spent once again at Setia Badminton Academy, continuing the basketball matches.  All the matches were fast-paced and exciting, filled with great team work and some spectacular shots.  The tension mounted, up to the exciting climax, with International School Brunei (ISB) winning overall for the girls and Taipei European School (TES) for the boys.

Sunday morning found us at the Royal Selangor Club for the football competition.  With the matches played on four pitches simultaneously, it was hard to know where to look first, as the excitement was high all around.  There was a good turnout of dedicated parents, who added to the yells of advice and instruction from the coaches, and provided their own running commentary on the state of play.

Despite all the good spirits, after such a strenuous weekend the fatigue was beginning to show in some of the young players, but determination won through.  The expectations were high entering into the boys’ final between elc and Jerudong International School (JIS). With elc one goal down, the game was halted by threat of lightning. Recommencing, elc equalised with their own lightning goal, only to be followed by a second postponement when the rainstorm hit full on.  At this point the coaches decided that they could not continue the Games and so elc & JIS were both awarded the coveted gold for the boys!  Meanwhile on the girls’ pitch BISV managed to narrowly defeat ISB by one goal to nil and gain the gold.

Congratulations and thank you to all participants, elc students, teachers, coaches, and parents for making these Games so memorable.  We hope that friendships forged here in Malaysia stand the test of time and that we all meet again at the next FOBISSEA Event!

By: Ms. Leyow, Head of Lower Primary