Rag Day 2010 – KE Soul (Our Best Float!)

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Rag Day 2010 Programme

1st Segment (Faculties)

2.30pm Arrival of Guests

3.00pm Opening Sequence

3.05pm Flag Day Prize Presentation

3.35pm Performance by Beneficiaries

3.45pm Faculty Float Displays and Performances

(11 Faculties, 1 Alumni and 1 Staff Floats)

5.20pm Closing Sequence

2nd Segment (Halls of Residence)

6.45pm Guest to be Seated

6.55pm Arrival of GOH

7.00pm Hall Rag Presentation and YOG Mass Displays (Dynamic Performance)

7.50pm Carousel of Floats

8.00pm Arrival of Youth Olympic Flame

8.06pm YOG Finale with Pyrotechnics

8. 10pm Departure of GOH

8.15pm Awards Presentation and Party

First come, first served. No tickets needed. To be safe, come down by 6pm :)

ROCKE Leaders Interviews: Sien Long

By: Wang Liansheng

Photos: Sien Long

It was euphoria for all when the KE Float was awarded “Best Rag Performance” and “Most Environmentally-Friendly Float”. The entire hall was absolutely beaming with pride over such awesome accolades – something we had desired for so long, and finally achieved this year. Months after the hard work, KE Press now turns to the heroes behind the scenes to hear their secrets to success, and find out all the juicy gossip they have to share. For this article, we have Sien Long, from the RAG team.

Thumbs up for KEVII! Sien Long is first from the left.

Q: For our audience, introduce yourself briefly!

A: Hello, the name’s Sien Long, a typical year 2 Food Science & Technology (FST) student who enjoys eating, playing but not mugging =) On top of that, this insomniac loves running, music, milk, and good food. And one thing I’d want to clarify that is its Sien Long and not Hsien Loong, they might sound the same but totally different persons.

Q: So what was the special, critical role you took on in Float?

A: I was the production manager (PM) of this year’s KEVII Float – KEnovo. I believe the “critical” role in float is not mine but those of each and every KEnovo floater that formed this incredible team, but I do admit that the PM is a special role because you are one of the only 2 who can get the kick of directing the float lorry during Rag Day itself =D

Q: Share with us what you thought was the most outstanding part of Float this year.

A: The most amazing part of this year’s float is basically the tremendous effort of the people behind KEnovo who made this happen. Whether it is ROCKE or the new blood of KEVIIans this year, I would like to thank every form of support you all have given.

Apart from that, I want to give a thumbs up to all KEnovo floaters. We walked out of our comfort zone this year and went all the way with such a daring and impossible float design. We’ve been through times when all the odds were against us, from a lag of 2 weeks behind production schedule to even lorry battery failure. I still remember this quote of a senior, “everyday in the morning when I enter the tentage, I see a different float”. I’ve seen my team conjure up countless miracles which brought us back on schedule especially the construction of Willy himself during the final few weeks of production.

Introducing the workers behind the scenes

Q: Time to confess, what was the most unforgettable snippet of event that happened during Rag? Any person left an indelible mark in your life? =)

A: The most unforgettable moment for me and every single KEnovo floater is when we marched our float gloriously into SRC on mounting night with our KE Chant deafening all the other Halls and Faculties. I believe those who were present on mounting night itself will definitely remember that moment for a lifetime.

P.S. : And the number of McD Deliverys we had =p

Q: What words of wisdom would you offer those interested to take on the time-consuming yet extremely rewarding Float next year? Any suggestions for next year’s theme or design?

A: If you want it, go all the way! It is not just a time when you don’t have to worry about studies and commit fully to a hall CCA, not just the time that you are upfront on the battlefield for your hall, but also a time to enjoy and make many friends of a lifetime. ;) But always remember, dare to dream and don’t constrain yourself to the traditions of KE7, be bold in your design and carry on that “New Beginning” that KEnovo has brought ;)

Q: Was it tough juggling work and hall activities for you? How was it possible for you to overcome all these problems?

A: Not as tough as one could imagine, some activities towards the end of semester 2, but other than that all I had to manage was the home sickness throughout the holidays. Thanks to all the support of friends and family, I survived =D

Q: Describe the days of post-float – Is it all back to studies and no more fun?

A: Definitely NO =p Though everyone is back to the normal semester life, we still get together often for birthday celebrations and gossip around on the potential couples of KEnovo haha. But its still amazing when you walk around hall and realize that even after float, those comrades who went through all the hardship with you are still alive, kicking, and fighting on for our Hall.

Q: Lastly, what’s up for you in the days to come?

A: Studies… and my other family – XQRJ of course =)

“Float is not just an activity, It is a way of life!”

“Once a floater, always a floater!”

Sien Long

PM KEnovo

Indeed, Sien Long has provided rare insights not only on being the Production Manager of KEnovo, but also several very interesting snippets on being a resident in KEVII. Now, who’s up for the job next year?

ROCKE Leaders Interviews: Xiao Shuang

By: Akhilesh Narayan
Photos: Xiao Shuang

KE’s spectacular, whimsical, sea-faring float, made an absolute splash at Rag Day 2009, plunging into victory, with the ‘Best Overall Float’ prize, an honour that King Edward VII Hall has not had for years. Behind this bedazzling work of genius, however, was an unforgettable experience for many, a summer of infinite memories, a treasure chest of burdens and hopes. Here to tell us the story is the little bundle of energy and enthusiasm, who managed the finances for KE’s Whale- Xiao Shuang, Treasurer and Operations Manager of ROCKE’s Float Committee for 2009.

The wording on the picture says it all.

Congrats on being treasurer and Operations Manager for KE7’s best float! What was special about KE’s float this year?

This year, our float adopted a different concept from our past floats. Our main concept was to have a main float, which have always been Kent Ridge’s and Sheares’ trademark, instead of the concept of having a montage float. Apparently it did the trick =)

That could very well be the secret behind our success. KE also won most environmentally friendly float. How did you make this possible?

Our team had gone all out to source for any and every creative material that they could lay their hands on. This included electrical appliances such as electric irons, telephones, electric kettles and also kitchen utensils such as butter beaters. The judges were especially impressed by our ‘Iron’ fish =)

Cheers on the day!

Describe life in the post-Rag euphoria.

Life goes on, apparently. But one day, long after Rag is over, you will suddenly think of it and smile and say to yourself, “I’m glad that I joined and experienced one of the most meaningful activities in my life!”

Tell us about your experience as a member of the Float Committee last summer.

My experience is quite different from others. I am more involved in the admin side. I was responsible for liaising with the Hall management, other ROCKE members, companies (sponsors) and NUSSU.

What was your role as a treasurer, exactly?

Well, it was just normal stuff that a treasurer does. Plan a budget and keep an eye on it among other things. One additional thing I had to do was to hand in the financial statements to NUSSU towards the end period, when things were getting physical and mentally draining!

Describe a typical day of Float-work over the summer.

Wake up → switch on your computer → start work =)

Dedicated hard workers feeling tired...(L: Xiao Shuang, R: Sien Long)

 

Describe one special memory of your work in Float Comm?

A very special bonding session was when we cut and processed almost all the cans we got from Mega Metal (weighs up to 47 KG!!) in two consecutive nights. We chit chatted along the way and it was truly an unforgettable experience to me.

Describe one point when you and the Float Comm felt slightly down or bugged with the progress on the float.

There was one point of time when we had a miscommunication problem and were pushed to the brink of collapse. Luckily everyone sat down, discussed and probed every possibility that could be done to overcome the crisis. The crisis, in fact helped to bond our team even more!

Ok! Tell us one funny/ interesting thing about each of the other main committee members from float! (Please!!)

• Vincent likes to play with the kitten in Comm Hall.
• Sien Long cannot survive without milk.
• Zhi Peng was forced to wear one of the ‘sexy’ costumes =) (Zhi Peng, im soooo sorry!)
• Anthony likes to order large coke from Mcdonalds
• Xiao Han also likes to drink milk
• Wen Hao is another big fan of Coke.
• Sharlene is always painting =)

 

Finally, congrats on been selected to JCRC this year! What are your hopes and plans for our Hall (and possibly float) in the coming year?

Since we are a bit tight on our budget this year, I hope that all of us can work together and try to cut down unnecessary expenses so that we can still achieve what we intend to achieve when we made our plans for hall’s CCAs.

 

—

And those were the parting words of our Financial Secretary (she’s perfect for the post, I feel). This has been a wonderful way for all of us to gain a sneak peek into the world of our Float Comm. While many of us went back home, they stayed on and built for King Edward VII Hall a beacon of pride…

ROCKE Leaders Interviews: Vincent

 By: Avik Sarkar
Editor: Janice Fan
Photos: Jessica Lau, Grace Chan, Ngyuen Kahn An

8^th of August 2009 was the day which went down in history as KE was honored with not only the Most Environmentally Friendly Float Award , but also the Best Overall Float Performance Award – an honor which has tantalizingly evaded KE for the past fifteen years. Behind the stunning show lay the countless days and nights of selfless sacrifices and team work. From the deep waters of hard work and commitment of this year’s Float Committee, a magnificent float arose- KENOVO!

So, here we are with the one person whose vision, perception and leadership added yet another feather in KE’s cap. Yes, my fellow KEVIIans, it is none other than the head of ROCKE’s Float Committee 2009. In a candid chat with me, this key person bares his soul about Float 2009…

Presenting… VINCENT LIM!

Vincent & Sien Long, with the two awards!

Congrats on the achievement of the float committee 2009. How do you feel about the success?

 Like I’m not truly a part of it. I have always believed that the members who put together the float are the rightful owners of the float and not the head. I could only share their joy of creating a masterpiece from scratch. However as their head, I could not have been prouder to be able to form and lead this team to victory 

 

What was the experience of leading the float committee 2009 like?

It is probably the slackest and most stressful post in the entire committee. Slackest because all you need to do is look through the paperwork done by others, attend meetings chaired by others as well as giving instructions to others. Most stressful because you’ll have to appear to be the slackest despite all the deadlines, screw ups, complains, dissatisfactions as well as misunderstandings directed at you.

  

How do you feel now, looking back at those grueling float practice sessions during the summers?Do you mean the rehearsals/dry runs and dance sessions or do you mean the production of the float as a whole? If you mean the rehearsals and dance practices, I’m probably very relieved because every sessions, I’ll have a surprise and usually not in a good way. If you meant the entire production, then I would say, I missed it quite a lot, I’ve never been on Facebook so frequent in my entire life.  Also the fact that being surrounded by friends who are working towards a common goal everyday adds to the entire float experience.

 

How did you feel when you walked up the aisle to receive the awards?Honestly, I was rather puzzled initially. After going through 3 floats, I was rather sure of the  scoring system for Rag Day. Since Eusoff Hall have won the Best Performance as well as the Best Design, which constitutes a large percentage of the overall scores, we were rather skeptical of being able to win the best overall float. Furthermore, the announcer called the award Best Float Performance for the Day, which I thought already went to Eusoff. Therefore I wasn’t too sure of the award we won until I read the title of the award on the Shield.

 

Vincent and an overjoyed crowd! (when the results were announced during Rag Day)

 

a close-up of Vincent

 What is the one thing you would like to change about KE float 2009, given the rare chance of time travel?

Why would I change anything? We did win the best overall performance right? I’m sure there are parts of the float that could be improved on to win the other awards as well but what happens if in the midst of trying to improve a certain aspect of the float, we forgo some other important aspect which cost us the ultimate award.

 

Tell us about one moment you hated the most and one moment you cherished the most during your term in office as the float head 2009…

I probably hated the times we have the weekly general meetings the most. Reason being nobody actually listens to what was being said especially during the later period where everybody is shagged out. But the meeting is still necessary for those who actually listens to update themselves on our progress. I’ll also cherish the moment the general meetings the most not because the meeting’s finally over but because we’ll have our float cheer at the end of the meetings where you get to see everyone re-energized.

 

Did you think we had a high chance of winning before the “big day” arrived and why did you think so?

I’ve never once believed that it was by any chance that we won. Since the design was finalized and all the members started on the float, we’ve already won. There were times when the team was demoralized and we were far behind schedule. I did get worried during these few periods. However, the team managed to pull through and proved that my worries are groundless.

 

KENOVO is a brilliant idea and an apt answer to NUSSU’s Rag theme 2009…How did the idea come about? Tell us also how it was developed into its final magnificence…

To be honest, I’m rather clueless on how KENOVO actually came about. As mentioned, I just put the team together and World War III didn’t start between the departments. A better person to ask would be our Chief Designer, Anthony. However, if you want to know how such a wonderful team is formed, I could share that with you though it might be rather boring for this interview.

 

Finally, perhaps a few words of encouragement for the upcoming Float Committee 201o?

I really hope there’s no need for any words of encouragement as that would mean they’ve hit a wall and are demoralized. Why else should they need any encouragement? Here’s a few words of advice though: Float is all about believing in what you do. As long as you believe your float is the winning float, it will be just that; the winning float.

 

Last but not the least, congrats on being selected to be part of the JCRC again. As the sport secretary, what are your plans for our hall’s sports in the coming year?

If this is to be put into the year book, it’ll probably be too late to know about my plans. On the other hand, if this is to be up in the hall blog, why would I share my plans with the other halls? What I can say is I foresee a rising KEVII in the sporting front. 

Thank you for your time and a wonderful interview! All the very best in your future endeavors :)

Rag Day Coverage on NUS News Portal

From here.

RAG AND FLAG 2009 WINNERS

Chancellor’s Shields

• Overall Champion for Faculty Clubs: School of Business
• Overall Champion for Halls of Residence: Kent Ridge Hall

NUS Presidents Shields

• Best Total Collection for Faculty Clubs: School of Business
• Best Total Collection for Halls of Residence: Kent Ridge Hall
• Best Rag Performance for Faculty Clubs: School of Design and Environment
• Best Rag Performance for Halls of Residence: King Edward VII Hall

NUSSU Challenge Shields

• Best Float Design for Faculty Clubs: University Scholars Club
• Best Float Design for Halls of Residence: Eusoff Hall
• Best Presentation for Faculty Clubs: Medicine
• Best Presentation for Halls of Residence: Eusoff Hall
• Least Cost Float for Faculty Clubs: School of Computing
• Least Cost Float for Halls of Residence: Raffles Hall
• Best per Capita Collection for Faculty Clubs: School of Business
• Best Total Coin Collection for Faculty Clubs: School of Business
• Most Environment-Friendly Float for Faculty Clubs: School of Design & Environment
• Most Environment-Friendly Float for Halls of Residence: King Edward VII Hall
• OSA Most Creative Float Award for Halls of Residence: Eusoff Hall
• OSA Most Creative Float Award for Faculty Clubs: Medicine

Photos of Rag Day 2009

by: Stephanie Kho

080809. With much anticipation, the day was finally here! NUSSU Rag Day 2009 with the theme Exploding Colours, Exuberating Zest!

First of all, CONGRATULATIONS KE NOVO! The achievements we had obtained marked another milestone in history that all KEVIIans will be proud of. It had been quite a day for everyone, with bursts of joy and laughter mixed with tears of happiness as well.

Not forgetting all KEVIIans too who came down to support our Float performance! Here are some memorable snapshots of NUSSU RAG DAY 2009.

Group photo with the Best Float!

Proud KEVIIans!

The people who worked hard to put up the best float.

We finally got it! =D

The sea of red supporters.

On the way to SRC

A spectacular view from afar!

Intricate designs that manifest the burning passion of KE NOVO

Let's cheer out LOUD!

KEVII supporters dressed in red/shades of red!

 

KEVII, we made it this year!