6 minute read
Sports Invitationals
Netball
at Dulwich College Singapore
On Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 December, Dulwich College (Singapore) had the honour of hosting the inaugural FOBISIA netball invitational.
The College welcomed 28 teams comprising 311 students who took part in 234 matches across multiple locations over the course of the weekend. With festivals for U13, U15 and U19 squads, it was a huge celebration of netball for students from all across South East Asia.
Each age group's festival resulted in exciting cup and plate competitions and the standard of play was high. Also highly visible was the gracious spirit 10
in which all the matches were played.
All 28 teams celebrated each other's successes which clearly reflected the coaches' dedication not only to performance but to the students' conduct and attitude.
The atmosphere at the final was electric with over 400 spectators cheering on the teams. Despite their nerves the girls all played tremendously well and provided their supporters with an outstanding display of competitive netball.
As well as multiple awards for plate and cup participants and winners, one student from each team was also given an award for their behaviour and attitude; for reflecting the values of Dulwich College (Singapore): Determined, Courageous, Skillful and Gracious.
This first ever FOBISIA netball invitational at Dulwich College (Singapore) was a resounding success and the College will look forward to hosting this event in the coming years and helping grow the profile of netball across the region.
Wellington College teams participated in their first FOBISIA netball tournament between the 6 and 9 December, two U19 squads from Wellington College Shanghai joined teams from across China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia to compete in the FOBISIA Netball Invitational hosted by Dulwich College (Singapore).
Captains, Coco of the A team, and Zehra of the B team, describe their preparation and participation in the tournament, as well as what they learned from the experience.
Preparation for FOBISIA Coco: This was a fantastic tournament as it really gave us the chance to match ourselves against some of the best netball teams in our age bracket. I think both teams can be very proud of their performance, as the A team won the tournament plate while the B team came 3rd in the plate. Given the extremely high standard of competition provided by the other schools at the tournament, this was a big success for our first appearance in a FOBISIA event. Zehra: Both teams trained really hard for this. We knew we would face tough competition from across the region. We worked specifically on fitness throughout to improve on where we were last season. Also a lot of training time went into gameplay and strategy – how we move on the court, our positioning, making the best use of space to maximise coverage, and so on. The A and B teams also played each other many times. This was very helpful in letting us get a feel for different playstyles and often we would pause the game to analyse tactics or mistakes to address.
Hitting the Court Coco: We definitely discovered that the training was necessary when we arrived in Singapore! Watching the Singaporean teams was an education in of itself; their passing was just so clean, they made zero mistakes!
It definitely gave us something to work towards, as their set play and general ball control was admirable and something we want to emulate. In this sport, even a couple of poor passes or mistakes can add up quickly and cost you the game.
Zehra: The heat and humidity was a significant factor that gave us a bit of a shock initially, even though we were told to expect it.
What really made the tournament enjoyable for everyone was the friendly and welcoming atmosphere.
There was a good competitive spirit overall and even though we were cheering on our own sides when the A team watched B team games and vice versa, the atmosphere was a very genial one.
Everyone was determined to do well and play their best game, but not at the expense of fair play; I think that was the attitude displayed by all the teams throughout the tournament.
The Lessons Learned Coco: Watching a range of other teams play is always a valuable experience, as is playing against them! In some cases we got the chance to observe our opponents in other games before playing them, which gave us opportunities to assess their strengths and weaknesses and adjust our tactics accordingly. Sometimes this helped, in other games the opposition were just too good! Zehra: Going to a FOBISIA tournament and experiencing a completely different opposition and different playing conditions is very helpful in making us more versatile and resilient players. The heat was a factor to overcome, but we managed pretty well after the initial shock of the first game. Generally, I’d say it’s more valuable to face off against better quality opposition, as it pushes us to play our hardest and make every play count. overconfidence to set in, which generally tanks the quality of your game. Coco: Given the quality of the opposition we faced, I think that all the teams involved in the tournament can be proud of their performance and overall attitude towards the competition. It was a pleasure to compete against the region’s best and I hope that everyone involved learned a lot from the experience. Tournaments of this nature are invaluable for showing us the level of sporting performance to aspire to while giving us all the chance to show our true colours both on and off the court.
Gymnastics
" There were many outstanding performances and the level of gymnastics has certainly improved over the past five years". at Bangkok Patana O n Saturday 30 November till Sunday 1 December, Bangkok Patana School hosted the annual FOBISIAGymnastics Invitational in association with the Ploenchit Fair. Up to 500 students, from 17 different international schools, representing five different countries across Asia, participated in this wonderful celebration of gymnastics. FOBISIA Gymnastics directly corresponds with Bangkok Patana School's Mission; to ensure that students of different nationalities grow to their full potential as independent learners in a caring British international community. The routines on show were a testament to the hard work and dedication young gymnasts, their coaches and parents have put in. There were many outstanding performances and the level of gymnastics has certainly improved over the past five years. Particularly impressive is the growth in WAG (Women’s Artistic Gymnastics) Levels 5+ and all of the MAG (Men’s Artistic Gymnastics) levels. Bangkok Patana is also a notfor-profit school and put a big emphasis on being respectful contributors to our local communities, are inspired to improve global sustainability and promote active volunteerism among students and staff..
As a direct result of hosting FOBISIA Gymnastics, Bangkok Patana School and all the students involved we raised 137,400 baht in donations to for the British Community in Thailand Foundation for the Needy (BCTFN).
Bangkok Patana School had the great honour of His Excellency, Brian Davidson, The British Ambassador to Thailand, alongside Carolyn Tarrant MBE & President of the BCTFN to visit the event and receive the donation on behalf of the BCTFN.
Article by: Cindy Adair, Assistant Principal Extra Curricular Activities & Sport Bangkok Patana School
