InterHall Games 2008/09 Opening Ceremony

Article & Photos By: Xiao Shuang
Editor: KP

IHG 08/09 Opening Ceremony was held on 16th January 2009 at MPSH Hall 5. The Guest-of-Honor and Hall residents started to pour in by 5.30pm and two of our Residents Fellow, A/P Wong Yoke San and Mr Jenson Goh were present to lend KE sportsmen their support. Also present were the Dean and Vice Dean of Office of Student Affairs (OSA). The Convening Committee for this year’s IHG is Sheares Hall.

The opening ceremony started at 6pm with an opening speech by the Dean of Office of Student Affairs (OSA), A/P Tan Teck Koon. He mentioned about Singapore Universities’ achievements in the ASEAN University Games and hailed IHG games as a platform for nurturing national sportsmanship among students of Singapore Universities.

After the speech, an introductory video clip featuring interviews of Sports Secretary from each hall was shown. Our hall’s Sports Secretary – Musa – mentioned that our hall’s performance had improved as the years gone by. He took this opportunity to thank all KE captains for their dedication and hard work. This drew loud applause from KEVIIans.

The NUS cheerleading squad put up a stunning performance after the video. Various human somersault stunts were performed.

This was followed by the pledge, featuring the sportsmen of all the 6 Halls of Residence in NUS.

Then, the band from Sheares Hall gave an astounding performance by singing two songs “ It’s my life” and “We are the champions”. By then, the ceremony was over but one thing’s for sure – KE’s voice & spirit shall reign supreme this IHG!

Go KE! Let them witness our glorious victory!

What our Female Tennis Captain has to say about our IHG Gold!

Writer: Fang Chee
Editor: Janice Fan

Fang Chee’s personal thoughts as the Females Tennis Captain:

Overall, the team did an excellent job. We went there with the mindset that we were going to emerge as champions, and everyone worked towards that by putting all their efforts into the game.

The 1st singles match of the night, between Jenny and KR’s IVP player, Sherene, was kind of the deciding match for our gold medal. Jenny has always been a confident player, so she kept a cool head throughout and played her game nicely, giving no chance for her more experienced opponent to triumph over her. The 2nd singles match played by Geri portrayed her superb ability to control her balls. Despite a few costly mistakes in the beginning, Geri played on steadily and picked herself up. Soon, she had her opponent running around frantically in the court to return her balls! With excellent strokes, Geri eventually won the game with ease. In the 3rd singles, Jeana’s opponent was no match for her. However, Jeana did not take things for granted. Staying cool and calm like her sister, she played her game with minimum flaws and emerged triumphant from the court, thereby securing the gold medal for KE with a result of 6-0, 6-0.

Our doubles were less fortunate as we were playing against stronger opponents. The 1st doubles match that night (played by Jene and I) was a tough game. But we never gave up and continued fighting hard – we gave our opponents an especially hard time during the 2nd set, and had our scores tied for that particular set. Considering the fact that neither of us had undergone proper training under any tennis coach, it was a good experience that gave us greater exposure to the sport. The 2nd doubles (by Wei-tse and Mae Yue) tested our players’ patience, but Wei-tse and Mae Yue certainly gave the best they could. Even though they lost the game to their more experienced opponents, I knew that they had put in their best because of the look of satisfaction on their faces. I am sure that they have no regrets, especially since Wei-tse said that it was one of the best doubles matches she has ever played.

Sports are not just sports when it comes to tournaments. A lot of times, the key to winning is not one’s skills, but good emotional control, a positive mindset, patience and the strong will to fight back. This is especially so when one faces an opponent that is as strong as you. Like what Geri always says, no team is unbeatable, and the game should be played slowly and steadily: “One point at a time!”

It has been a long journey to the finals, and the finals itself was a long night as we fought our way towards the championship. But I have always had faith in my girls, and they had never once let me down. I am very, very proud of them! From the prelims to the semis, every match taught us new things and prepared us with better skills to win the next one. We thus performed better and better with every match, and made it into the finals. At long last, KE7 is able to wipe the smug looks off the faces of those who have been looking down on us.

I’d like to personally thank my vice captain, Jenny, as well as Jeana, for coaching the team well throughout last semester. Thanks again to them and also to Geri, for coaching the team during the matches, teaching us new things, and always perking us up with words of encouragement/jokes during the breaks. Thank you!

OF COURSE, the team also wishes to express our deepest gratitude to the following parties:

1) WELFARE COMM, for bringing down our dinner and also bottles of 100 Plus.

2) ALL KEVIIan supporters, for coming down to stand behind us and cheer us on (and also those who couldn’t come down but cheered us on by sending “all-the-best” SMSes).

3) Video comm, Photo comm, and KE Press, for taking nice shots and writing reports that made us look sooooooo good.

WELL DONE, GIRLS!!! WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!!!

Interview with KE7’s Female Squash Captain, Janice Lee

Writer: Michelle Perera
Editor: KP

During the recent interview of KE7’s winning Squash Team’s Captain and Coach, Sean Ang, we heard a lot about the victories and successes of the girl’s team, so I decided to have a chat with the captain, Janice Lee…

Sean & Janice at the Closing Ceremony of IHG 2007/08

Your comments on Sean as a coach.

Sean’s simply awesome. He’s totally passionate about squash. As a coach he’s been very approachable and patient with us, continuing to train and guide us even though we can be such ‘noobs’ sometimes! His 13+ years of squashing experience is also very useful as he can easily recognize our weaknesses and correct them in our game. From what I observe, he’s a much disciplined player, and strives for perfection.

The girls’ team won last year against KR. How are the confidence levels this year?

Well, firstly the situation was quite different last year for we had Yeelin (our coach and captain) on our team. She was a very good and experienced player who could beat the other hall’s IVP players. On the other hand, this year, we do not have such players who are able to secure points against other hall’s IVPs. To me, this has really given our confidence levels a blow. However, we will still continue to do our very best and we have been training vigorously throughout the 4 months before IHG. Our aim is to at least reach the semis this year, and if we manage to proceed on to the finals, that’ll be like our biggest “ang pow” ever!!!

Tell us a bit about yourself: your course, interests and personal experiences in squash.

I’m a Year 2 FASS student, majoring in Economics. I’m enjoying my course so far, although it’s getting tougher, but it’s also getting more interesting. I would say that I love doing stuff that most girls do for leisure (although some of my squash girls think that my life’s a total bore and revolves only around squash). Ha-ha. I love shopping, animals, playing badminton, squashing and jamming!

How long have you been playing squash and what got you interested in it in the first place?

I’ve been squashing for about 1 ½ years now. I first joined KE Squash because of my badminton background (and also 75% because I needed the points to stay in hall). I initially thought that both sports were quite similar. Oh boy, was I in for a SURPRISE! But overall, I’ve come to love squash over the past year. It’s a very interesting game as it requires one to think a tad more than the other sports as there are 4 walls, which could work to or against your advantage.

How hectic are the practices these days?

The guys and girls have been training very hard prior to our first match this coming Wednesday. Last week, we trained a minimum of 3 hours daily from Monday-Friday. I decided to give the girls a break during the weekend but we’ll be resuming the same training schedule for the upcoming week.

What drives you to go to practices each week and keep bettering yourself?

Well, I guess it’s the fact that there are so many other people on campus who are better than me that motivates me to want to train harder. But I think training sessions are fun lah! Especially court sprints. Ha-ha. The squash girls should know what I’m talking about.

Sakshi, Janice & Theng Wai during IHG 2007/08

How do you balance time between squash, school & your other activities?

Hmm, that’s a toughie. Because I totally SUCK at time management lorh! Ha-ha. I would like to extend my sincerest apologies to the badminton team and my band mates for not being able to join in most of the practices, and also to Sports Comm. and Welfare Comm. for having to accommodate me and my busy schedule!

Do you hope to pursue squash in the future?

Umm, “pursue squash” meaning? Oh well, I’d surely continue training as long as I’m still in KE and will definitely still be squashing in the years to come. But to pursue it as a profession – hmm…I think I’m a bit too old for that bah. Ha-ha.

What aspirations do you have for KE squash in IHG and beyond?

I hope that the future generation of KE squashies will take the sport seriously. I also hope that the JCRC would be able to fish in more potential and committed players to take over the duties of captains and coaches as we seniors would be leaving NUS in the near future.

Thanks a lot, Janice, and we wish you and your team all the very best for the upcoming games!

Rackets, Shoes and Squeaky Echoes… Let’s Get Ready to Squash Them Again!

Interviewer: Michelle Perera
Editor: Angel
Photograph: KE Vision (Photocomm)

A fervent excitement sweeps over KE7 with the onset of the all-conclusive Inter Hall Games: the ultimate battle of victory amongst hall-dwellers. And there’s one word that always puts a smile on KEVIIans faces when it comes to IHG… I’m talking about squash… The sunny yellow fruit… the sparkling orange juice… squash is a word that encompasses it all. But the most exciting version of the word here at KE is the one which sits on a board near a white walled, shiny floored room near the KE Main Entrance.

Part of the appeal for squash here at KE is that it is a sport with a history of victories. Having won the IHG Squash Tournament for 3 consecutive years, the anticipation that greets this year’s tournament is to be expected. We speak to Sean Ang, coach of KE7’s boy’s squash team, as well as ex- captain of the NUS Varsity Team, to get the inside story…

Hi Sean, I’m sure it must be an exciting (not to mention hectic) time for you. How does it feel to be the captain of the reigning IHG Squash Championing Team during the onset of the games this year?

It feels great! Ever since I came here, I wanted KE to win. Last year, KE won a double gold, and for me, that was like a dream come true. The guys have been winning for several years, but when the girls won against KR last year, there was a lot of hype and excitement. We are hoping to do well again this year.

Tell us a little bit about yourself, Sean. What got you interested in squash in the first place? How long have you been playing the game?

I’ve been playing squash since I was 13. It began as a CCA at secondary school, because I was kicked out of badminton and the coach didn’t let me stay on to fight for my place in the team. I continued to play for my JC, Hwa Chong. I now play for KE and coach the team, and I am also playing for the NUS varsity team, as we as my squash club, New Pioneers.

I am from pharmacy, and I eventually picked KE as my hall of residence, due to its close proximity to the faculty. It’s been great to coach and train with the team these past 3 years, and my goal is for KE to keep winning. The team is extremely committed, especially the girls. In fact, last year some of the girls request for training sessions at 1am! They are a hardworking bunch, and I’m certain they would go a long way.

You have achieved great things in squash… To be the captain of the NUS Varsity Team is obviously no easy task. So did you ever consider playing squash professionally?

I haven’t thought of playing professionally, simply because it is extremely difficult to be a professional squash player in Singapore. I started at the age of 13. Professional players begin at the age of 5 and pretty much don’t do anything other than squash for the rest of their lives. Also, it isn’t that easy to earn a living just by playing squash here.

What does it take to succeed in squash?

First of all, fitness. Here we get fit to play squash, not play squash to get fit. A survey was done recently, which showed that squash is the 2nd best sport next to swimming, because it really trains all parts of the body.

Agility is also very important as the ball moves very fast and we need to be quick to react to those shots.

Other than that, you also need to develop finer skills and know where to place the ball so that it is out of reach of your opponents, so that you put them under pressure. It’s very much a “thinking” game.

Sean Ang at last year's IHG match

What makes the KE7 team so good at squash? What are the strengths of our team? Who are the ‘star’ players on the team?

The guys team is very experienced, and even a little experience can carry you a long way in IHG Squash. On the other hand, the girls team is less experienced but extremely hard working. Hard work pays off.

There aren’t any ‘stars’ in particular, but I think that is the best thing about our team. A winning team is always a balanced team, and I guess we’re fortunate that the general level of the guys team is rather commendable

Who are KE’s main competitors? Do you know the opponents you would be playing against at the upcoming tournaments, and do you use specific strategies when planning games against players or teams you have played against in the past?

Well traditionally, KR and Eussoff. In fact, may of the teams are coming up quite well, like Raffles Hall. And yes, I do know my opponents. Many of them are my friends and we play together at inter-varsity level, or I know them through IHG last year when I was the convenor.

Could you describe a typical day at squash practice?

Well, we start out with a warm up, and finish up by doing court sprints that involve running across the length of the court 20 times in one minute. We do this in sets of 1, 3 and 5. The girls are already doing sets of 5. You should ask them how strenuous it is. As I said before, squash is a game that really tests your limits and our training sessions are definitely quite strenuous.

Squash is very much an individual game, in that you play your opponents alone or with just one partner. Is there such a thing as teamwork in squash?

Well, it is an individual game. Doubles squash requires a different court size and such courts are very rare in Singapore. We don’t have them here at NUS so we play singles. And yes, the great thing about squash is that you can train individually. But it is also a team sport in that we train together and drive each other to give our best. Because if you play for yourself, you can’t go very far. Ultimately, it is the team spirit that keeps us going, and every shot we play is a shot we play for our team. That’s what drives us to train hard, test our limits and succeed. Just ask the girls team last year

Any final comments you’d like to add?

Well, I’d like to wish everyone all the best for the upcoming games – Yes, winning is important, but we must also remember to go forward and make friends. Because that is what sportsmanship is all about – challenging yourself, working as a team to support each other and reaching out to make friends. That is the spirit of IHG.

I’d also like to thank Janice and Christopher Tham for all the good work they’ve put in to the teams this year. Without their commitment, things would not be as wonderful as they are now.

Thank you very much Sean, and wish you all the very best for the upcoming IHG games and your future.

Thanks!

Handball Camp 2008

Writer: Eric Wu
Editor: Angel
Photos: Eric Wu

29th Dec (Monday) was the day we had our annual Handball Camp.

Handball camp 2008 got off to a rainy start, resulting in a shift of our training area from the MPC to the communal hall. We started the day with some basic warming-up passings and basic attack and defend games. The moment the sun emerged from the clouds, we eagerly moved back to the MPC for some real action. The pace of the training picked up from our usual shooting drills to 3-on-3s, and we worked ourselves all the way until noon.

Pakkin (Captain) flying past the defence with the ball

Jonathan (Vice-Captain) ensuring that no balls gets pass him

Finally, our stomachs beckon us to take a break for lunch. The entire team of hungry handballers stormed the ARTS Canteen and ate to our stomachs’ fill. After lunch, we continued the camp with tactical discussion where we decided the strategies for our up-coming IHG matches. After the mind-boggling discussion, we took a short break in our own rooms before commencing the afternoon training.

The sun was hanging high and the court was sizzling hot for our afternoon training, in contrast to the cold morning we had earlier. Nevertheless, we started our tactical training with much zest. Tactics that were discussed earlier were now put to practice. Discussions were made and we were continually improvising the initial tactics for them to be fail-safe. After the practice, we decided to put the tactics into practice in a handball game. We tried and failed several times but we never gave up and eventually we managed to pull off several good setups. However, amidst the game, Greg (an German exchange student) accidentally tripped and landed on his elbow. This was the first and last casualty in the camp (in contrast to the numerous casualties in last year’s Handball Camp).

Time flew past while we were having fun and soon it was time for dinner. The team proceeded straight to the PGP canteen for dinner since everyone’s stomachs were growling by then. After the quick dinner, the team went to wash up before proceeding to the main lounge to enjoy an Olympic Handball match between Germany and Russia, in which both teams ended in a draw. The end of the video marked the end of Handball Camp 2008.

It was an enriching and tiring day but we all had fun!!!

One Team, One Family

Interview with KEVIIan runners Kelvin and Melvin

Written by: Ho Kinh Dat
Edited by: Jonathan Chan

Residing in blocks G and F respectively, Kelvin Ling and Melvin Lee have once again put our KE7 Hall on the map with their recent resounding championship in the Singapore University Game – Road Run 2008. Both of them have taken up road run not only as a sport, but more than that, because of a genuine passion that has come to play an important role in their daily schedule. To achieve such a success, they have encountered several obstacles, some of which might have appeared insurmountable. Nevertheless, with an unwavering spirit to fulfill their potential, these two sporty figures have made it to the top.

Many seniors would remember Kelvin as the freshman Captain of the Road Relay Team during the last academic year leading his members through a hotly contested IHG event to a respectable 3^rd place against all odds. In Melvin, himself a freshman this year, we also catch a glimpse of perhaps one of the runners of a future IHG team.

Melvin Lee

Kelvin Ling

Can you tell me why you chose running as a sport, and more than that, a hobby?

Melvin: I first took it up because I was inspired by my sister who was a national runner. Then when I started running, I enjoyed it a lot, so I have continued running since Secondary 1. More than a sport, it has been my hobby for 6 years.

Kelvin: I took up running two years ago. I was influenced by my officer in army who loved running to the max. At that time, I couldn’t imagine someone taking up running especially the marathon distance of 42.195 km so I decided to just try out running. Since then, I have never looked back and got really addicted to running. I have never regretted taking up running as a sport as there are many benefits accompanying it, such as becoming more disciplined, confident and definitely becoming healthier. Just to note that I was 90++ kg before I took up running and now I’m around 73kg.

If you are really interested in this sport, I bet you have obtained quite a lot of achievements. Can you tell me some of them?

Melvin: I didn’t have lots of achievements, but quite recently, my partners and I came 2nd in a team run competition – Singapore University Games Road Run, Sep. 2008

Kelvin: My first race was the standard chartered marathon 2006 in which I completed the gruelling distance of 42.195km in 4 hrs 12 mins.

Another significant race of mine is the Macritchie Runners 25 Ultramarathon in which I completed 75.6km in 11 hrs 42 mins. This race was very special to me as it was one of the toughest race I’ve ever run.

In my 1st year, I was the Captain for KEVII Road Relay team, I managed to lead my team to the 3rd position despite having no IVP runners in our team. As such, I received the “Outstanding Student Leader” in Sports last year.

I took part in many races but the only one which I made it to the top 15 was the Swissotel Marathon (Southeast Asia’s Tallest building), in which I climbed 73 storeys comprising of 1336 steps.

Wings Cross Country 2007: Team Champions.
Run NUS 2008: Team Champions

Currently, I’m the NUS Cross Country team captain leading a team consisting of runners from many countries and also runners from the Singapore National team.

Wow, that’s very impressive. Keep it up guys. Can you tell me the greatest satisfaction that Road Run has offered you?

Melvin: I think I feel a great sense of satisfaction whenever I push myself to complete a good training session. Sometimes training is tough, but once it’s done, you feel a huge sense of accomplishment.

Kelvin: The feeling of pushing yourself to the limit even when you feel tired and upon completing, the sense of satisfaction is indescribable. And I think many runners feel this way, that is what makes us addicted to running.

Regarding this race, how was the competition like? What new experience did you gain from it?

Melvin: The main challengers were NTU who fielded a very strong and experienced team of runners. As they could send in trainee teachers from NIE to run as well, they had a huge talent pool. The other universities like SMU and UniSim ran well too but I guess we had quite a solid team and we had been training together quite consistently so we beat them. It was my first experience competing at university level so I have gained an idea of the level of competition and the pace you have to race at to do well. I think the most memorable thing from this race is the fun that my teammates and I had when racing together. Doing well was a bonus.

Kelvin: Hmmm, this race was actually rather competitive and due to some reasons, we couldn’t send in our best runners (that is why we didn’t get the champions). Experience-wise, not really a lot, just another race to me.

What do you think about winning the race?

Melvin: NTU were a much stronger team so 2nd place was good to me. I think as a team, we still have to train well and improve a lot more to be champions.

Kelvin: Hmmm, as I remember, I always checked out the route before going for the competition and I think 2nd is good for me since the champions NTU sent in their best runners while we only managed to send in our 2nd team . Nothing is impossible, but at that time, 2nd was quite a good result.

Share with us your training methods, how you can improve over time and get the best potential out of yourself?

Melvin: We do quite a lot of interval training (Yannick’s favourite for road relay training). I think to do well over time, you must take care of your health and just go out there and enjoy your runs.

Kelvin: Hmmm, currently, I’m training 6 days per week (Tue: Speed intervals, Wed: Recovery run, Thu: Long Intervals, Fri: Strength Training, Sat: Recovery run and Sun: Long Run), but it’s a very brief workout though. I think to improve, consistent training is the key and to do that, self- discipline and good planning is much required.

Something personal you want to share?

Melvin: I’m from medicine year 1. I hope to be a good doctor. My favourite food is banana which gives me quick energy release.

Kelvin: I’m currently under the Sembcorp Industries scholarship, I’m in year 2 reading Chemistry from the Faculty of Science. My favourite food is Mr.Bean’s product and my worst habit is probably smiling too much

Would you like to say some words to KEVIIans?

Melvin: I hope all of you enjoy your hall sports trainings. I think the most important thing about sports is to have fun!

Kelvin: I want to share my favourite quote: “Life is just like running and winners are not created overnight, you will have to accept the races that you have lost, learn from it and believe that you will win the next one, knowing that you will probably lose that as well – Victory belongs to those who try!”

Interview with The Fan Sisters

Writer: Nicholas Chai
Editor: Jonathan Chan
Yearbook Photo: Wen Jun

We all know the famous twins residing on the fourth floor of F block. Their appearance in KE Vll hall has had phenomenal impact. Everybody wanted to know who they were, mainly due to the fame that came along with them, and partly out of curiosity. They send chills up every KEVIIan’s spine with their naturally flawless chemistry during Orientation and IBG games. There were no chances of winning (for girls that is) if the Fan sisters were hot in action, especially in tennis.

I caught up with Jeanaline and Jennyline, better known as Jeana and Jenny, following yet another resounding success in their sports calendar, and this time, it was the Singapore University Games (SUNIG), where they’ve managed to clinch gold in tennis doubles.

Me: Wow, so tell me how you guys are feeling now.

Jeana: Happy. Haha, pardon my lack of flowery vocabulary but that’s about the only word to
describe how we feel. It’s our first ever victory in 7 years ever since we’ve came to
Singapore from Malaysia. Previously, the best achievement we’ve had was during our JC days.

Me: You guys seem so cool every time you’re playing tennis. We can’t really tell what’s really
going on down there. Were there any difficulties during the match?

Jenny: Well, the only difficulty we ever had was with ourselves. We lack self- confidence. You see,
we haven’t really been training enough because there’s only one coach in the NUS
team, and most of the time we’re just waiting for our turn to train.

Me: Well, but despite that, it’s undeniable that the both of you have made NUS proud. Did the
victory come as a surprise? Or was in a piece of cake?

Jenny: We’re really honoured to have represented NUS and actually won something. We’ve never
really expected to win anything, especially since CCA is not a major component in University -
people tend to focus more on their studies.

Me: So how does being twins make the both of you different from other doubles’ players?

Jeana: Apart from the chemistry I would say that being sisters allows us to vent our frustration at
each other. Sometimes we really get irritated at one another and we would just say it out
loud. I bet you can’t do that if your partner isn’t someone close who knows you inside-out.
Other players can’t voice their dissatisfaction like we do for fear of hurting the other party.
Being sisters simply eliminates all the awkwardness.

Me: How long have the both of you been playing tennis. What made you guys take up this
sport?

Jenny: It’s been 9 years. Both our elder brother and sister play tennis as well. Our sister was really
good because she used to be a national age-group player back in Malaysia.

Me: Woah okay. So are there any other competitions you guys have won previously?

Jenny: We used to play for combined school. Most of them were single matches.

Me: So have you guys actually played against one another. Who do you think is better?

Jeana: Haha yes, but only back in primary school. We can’t really tell now, so I’d say it’s a 50-50
chance of winning.

Me: Which teams are the both of you currently representing? And are there any other
tournaments worth looking forward to?

Jeana: We’ve only joined the NUS and KEVII Hall team. It’s quite enough. For the tournaments, we’re
currently representing NUS in the inter-club doubles league. In the next semester we’re
quite looking forward to the Inter-club singles league.

Me: Alright, looks like you guys are going to be quite busy. But what about IHG in the next
semester? You two would definitely be playing, no doubt. Which hall do you think
would pose the greatest threat to KE Vll?

Jenny: Definitely Kent Ridge and Eusoff Hall. Kent Ridge has a couple of IVP players as well and
Eusoff had a prominent history in winning tennis.

Me: What do you think of our hall’s tennis standard then? We know that Jenny is the vice-
head of the female tennis team, how do you think that we can improve on the standard?

Jenny: I think our standard is considerably good, because we’ve managed to clinch 2^nd place in the
last IHG despite the lack of formal training. For the guys team we can’t really comment because
we haven’t really seen them train before.

Jeana: A good coach would be helpful in improving our tennis standard. Hopefully the 52nd JCRC can
consider employing an experienced player to guide our team as there really are players with high potential in the hall.

Me: Are there any other sports which you would like to play apart from tennis?

Jeana: Basically we like every kind of sport. Well, perhaps excluding golf, volleyball and soccer. You
know, our leg co-ordinations are not that good.

Me: I think all KEVIIans out there would like to know this. Do the two of you ever bicker and
why?

Jenny: Yes we do it all time over almost everything. But most of it was because of disagreement
over the court. Like we’ve said before, we rarely acccept each other’s advice when it comes
to tennis.

Me: We all know that you two are hardcore tennis players. Are there anything else apart from
sports that the both of you enjoy doing?

Jeana: Gossiping! Well, which girl doesn’t? All right, perhaps Jenny does not. But seriously we
enjoy listening to some good music and watch DVDs whenever we’re free.

Me: Hehe, well here’s the last question for the day – Who’s your all time favourite tennis
player?

Jeana & Jenny: Pete Sampras!

The Twins & Nicholas Chai (The Interviewer)

IBG 2008 (+ Photos!)

Author: Nguyen Phuoc Lam

Edited by: Chan Yu Kit

IBG 2008

Needless to say, sport is one of the indispensable activities to NUS as a whole, including all the Halls. Every year, sporting events always draw a great deal of attention from NUS students and for KEVIIans, we have one especially unforgettable and exciting event, namely, the Inter Block Games (IBG). Just like previous IBGs, IBG this year was really a chance for freshmen to show their talents and skills in popular sports such as football, basketball, volleyball etc and their aptitudes in other sports which are relatively new to many of them such as Sepak Takraw, Touch Rugby and so on so forth. Moreover, IBG is considered to be an important preparation process for IHG as it helps hall team captains form their ideal team and inject their teams with fresh players to enable them to proceed with training for IHG in the near future. Not merely a sporting event, IBG is a good medium for freshmen from different countries to get acquainted with other freshmen and seniors too, while sharing a common experience through the games and hence forming mutual relationships which has undoubtedly become one of the unique qualiites of KEVII. Exciting games with a fair-play sprit and the encouragement that blockers gave to one another along with the vigorous cheer songs contributed to the success of this year’s IBG. There were also some people who tried their best to practice for IBG but unfortunately sustained injuries before fully participating in IBG. Yet, they still came down every single day to support their block’s teams, which is truly commendable and admirable.

 

Below is a brief summary of the various winners of IBG 2008:

	CHAMPION
Basketball	CD
Soccer	GH
Handball	GH
Netball	F
Floorball	GH
Volleyball	E
Touch Rugby	E
Sepak Takraw	GH
Badminton	F
Squash	GH
Table Tennis	GH
Tennis	F
Road Relay	GH

 

There's No IBG Without The Cheers and Supporters!

Soccer

Floorball

Sepak Takraw

Volleyball

Jensen @Table Tennis

Raymond Lim (51st JCRC President), Hall Master & Dr. Seow (F Block RF)

The Coveted Award

The CD Spirit!

Presenting the Award to the Overall Champions, GH Block!

The Overall Champions, GH Block!

F Block!!

E Block!!!

CD Block!!!

KE KeMaMa!

KE KeMaMa!

Photos by: Weiqin, Kok Pun & Other Photographers

Note: IBG 2008 photos are currently being uploaded to the KE Photographers website: http://kephoto.multiply.com/

IHG 07/08 Closing Ceremony

Pubz Comm Reporter: Jason Lun Leung 

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After the races were over, the closing ceremony proceeded. While the points were computed and the results were being finalized, those who came were treated to some performances. Temasek and Kent Ridge sent their cheerleaders to do some stunts and celebratory performances, while KE sent its own Wushu & Dance teams.

Overall, the public watched and liked the spectacle, which were all greeted with applause. Shortly after, the prize- giving ceremony began, with Jeevan and Adelyne as MCs. Every hall cheered loudly for the winners. For KE, the highlights were when our Gold medalists were called to collect the trophies for Squash and Softball. The overall winner was Eusoff Hall, and they celebrated their title by running around the track wildly and cheering.

IHG was over. In spite of some minor incidents, it was overall a well- organized event. Congratulations to the Convening Committee!

See you all next year, when we can hopefully improve on this year’s performance.

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With this, Pubz Comm would like to thank all those of you who have faithfully read our reports during the IHG period 07/08, and we apologize again for the minor mistakes we committed along the way.

Track and Field

Pubz Comm Reporter: Jason Lun Leung 

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Last Friday, the track and field events were held at the SRC, followed by the IHG closing ceremony. KE supporters went down to the field to cheer up our athletics team and for the ensuing ceremony.

At around 5pm, the first people started arriving. The athletes began preparing and the first supporters arrived. Very soon, the place was bustling with activity. Our athletics team had been training for this event under Ying Rui, but during the last weeks, many runners had to pull out because of injuries. Thus, with the team of runners stretched for numbers, our prospects looked quite grim. This was very sad, especially considering that some had been training months before in the hope of mounting a serious challenge for this event, in which, it has to be said, our hall generally performed poorly in the previous years.

Nevertheless, those who were still fit were there on the track, preparing themselves for their race, while those who had trained but would not be able to run simply joined the groups of supporters.

The 4×100m (Men), one of the most anticipated races for KE, was the second event of the day. Initially, there had been 6 guys contending for the starting places, but because of injuries, two of them pulled out. Nevertheless, we knew of their training, and were quite expectant on this one. But our injured runners were no match for those from the traditional athletics power houses, and Yong Shen, Pak Kin, Han Sheng and Joe could not bring us the medal we had hoped for despite their best efforts.

The following events were also quite dispiriting. KE never managed to really put up any challenge for any of the races. The final event of the day, the medley, ended with KE last.

It would not be fair to indiscriminately criticize the athletics team. Those who ran trained diligently for several months. Some of them ran through pain and injuries to complete the day’s events. Bad luck made it so that they were not able to compete with the other halls even after they have dedicated so much of their time to preparing for this day.

However, some things can definitely be improved.  I thought that there was no ‘squad depth:’ we had too few runners. Some of them had to pull out, leaving the remaining few to run 2, sometimes even 3 races on the same day. KE residents are not usually super- athletes. The fact that the few who do go to trainings end up running all the races by themselves will not help. Maybe if we could get more people to train, they could specialize in an event, and, hopefully, this would give us a better chance of competing.

Also, the supporters can do better. Here again, those who did come down cannot be criticized. Over the whole of IHG, KE supporters have been quite few, especially when compared to those of other halls. One good thing is that those who came down were never afraid to shout and cheer as loudly as they could. Here, the message would be to come down in large numbers, and then, just shout and cheer with everybody. Cheering is a simple thing: there will always be somebody to try something funny or start a new cheer. The hard part is getting enough people to follow. So, yeah, do come down to support next year.

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Touch Rugby (Male)

Pubz Comm Reporter: N Puneeth

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This year’s Touch Rugby for guys was held at the SRC fields on the 16th of February, a Saturday of the month. The event kicked off at about 3 PM.

Our starting line consisted of Horace Owino /H, Jialun (Vice Cap.), Wei Liang(Cap), Dominic, Kevin and Paul.

First Match: KE vs EH. 0-5

We kicked off the proceedings for the day with the first match against a very strong Eusoff team. We were completely outplayed in this match which we lost by a margin of 5 tries to nil.

Second Match: KE vs KR, 2-4

In the second match we had a better outing and we managed to score two tries courtesy of our star player H and Paul, but we conceded some easy tries, and in the end went down by a margin of 2-4.

Third Match: KE vs TH, 0-4

We were up against a very strong and competent Temasek Hall. Again, we were outplayed by a much better team and we let them score four tries. As was the case for the majority of the evening we ended up losing this match as well.

Fourth Match: KE vs SH, 1-2

We had a very good match against Sheares Hall, the defending champions. We put in a tough fight and the writer’s opinion is that we should have gotten way more out of this match.

Fifth Match: KE vs RH; 1-2

Once again a tough opponent for us to play against. We were up against the eventual champions of the IHG Touch Rugby, Raffles Hall. We managed to score a try thanks to Paul but we again let in some easy tries in the second half, and we ended up losing the match by a margin of 1-2.

On the whole, we really ended up having no points to show, but the most important thing is that our boys had fun playing.

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