Time really flies, flipping through the Chinese lunar calendar, it’s here once again!!! IT’S CHINESE NEW YEAR, the year of Tiger.
According to the Chinese Zodiac, the Year of 2010 is the Year of a Golden Tiger. The first day of the lunar New Year falls on 14th February 2010, which is Saint Valentine’s Day, so it is a day the West celebrates as a lovers’ day, a day of romance.
To the Chinese, it is the start of the Golden Tiger Year. The Tiger is the third sign in the cycle of Chinese Zodiac , which consists of 12 animal signs. It is a sign of courage. This fearless and fiery fighter is revered by the ancient Chinese as the sign that wards off the three main disasters of a household: fire, thieves and ghosts.
MCs of the night: Shu Hui and Wee Leong.
Celebration started with the hall fellows and the residences gathering like one BIG family, watching the lion dance performance and of course enjoying the yu sheng and steamboat dinner. With games, lucky draw and bidding session going on while eating, having a table of alumni coming back to join us. Telling us how much they missed the hall and thinking back at the times they had in hall while they were undergraduates.
With attractive prizes for the lucky draw session, 4 prizes were “grabbed” away by JCRC members, which made a big commotion in the function hall where residence shouted “KELONG!!!” which brought in laughter to everyone.
It was a great dinner and there will be more to come!!!
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”
Theodore Roosevelt.
This quote by the 26th US president sums up Team Se7en’s efforts on the rugby pitch. Our target was the quarter-finals, but boooy, were we in for a treat. After a relatively easy path to the quarters, we were back to the field on a SUNDAY!?
For the first match against Hall 4, brilliant tackling by the team , especially winger Leslie and aggressive play by Front Rower Stanly kept Team Se7en in the game , with a penalty drop goal shootout deciding who went through in the end. We made it through courtesy of a well placed kick by Captain Chin Chun.
A superb 70m try during the semifinals by our W.M.D(weapon of mass destruction) Yuan Ming, a last minute inclusion into the squad sunk the hapless Hall 15. They literally ate his dust, as Yuan Ming made them look as if they were crawling on all fours relative to his blistering pace.
And the next thing we knew , we were facing a finals match VS Hall 3. The team was quietly confident, and everyone gave their all, fighting to the last minute, with thrills, and spills, and near death injuries, and shit , but I must say , the better team won that day, as we were no match for the fat blokes of hall 3, who steamrolled us into pulp.
That said, we were proud of our achievement, and the most important thing is, we gave it our all. Well done Team Se7en.
Written By Gerald Mok
On 31st Jan, our road relay team were at Hall 3 early in the morning for the race. The team was split into 2 groups. The first (in order of runners), comprised of Wee Leong (unfortunately arrowed by Leslie to join), Chian Yee (aka Legend), Jialing, Yuan Ming (return of the torn ligament!) and Chung Chi. The 2nd team had Cao Xun (China Whipper), Choon Rui, Deng Qiang, Lyanna (our underpaid overworked squatter) and Kian Tiong (Sportsman of the Year). Our reserves of Amirah, Christopher and Harvinder deserve a notable mention as well for making the trip down, in case any accidents did occur, like falling down, rolling over twice and scraping your knees in the process (true story! Just ask the China Whipper..)
We knew it was going to be a tall order repeating last year’s feat of achieving 2nd after some key members of the team either graduated, pangseh-ed and switched halls, fell sick, or had life-and-death matters to attend to, such as going.. to.. teach.. tuition.. The convening hall had also obviously put much effort into planning the event, suggesting a new route just days before the race. Nevertheless, our training time trials had been promising and everybody was determined to give the race their best shot.
The atmosphere was tense throughout as nobody knew what to expect from the new race route, coupled with the very unforgiving weather. One of the girls from Hall 6 almost collapsed upon completing her segment of the race. But the throng of supporters from our hall (all 8 of them) were in full voice and let our runners know in no uncertain terms that they were with them all the way, with 2 full 5-litre containers of 100-plus and water not far behind in tow.
Unfortunately for Hall 7, it seemed that the playing field was very uneven, as every other hall seemed to have a stable of very capable horses, I mean, runners, and the odds were firmly stacked against us. Singapore Pools stopped taking bets and decided to pay out before the race those who bet against Hall 7 winning 2nd again. Eventual champions Hall 6, who were also the defending road relay champions, took an early lead in the race and never looked like relinquishing it.
On a much lighter note, the team still managed a respectable 6th position overall, despite all the setbacks prior to raceday. All of the runners outdid themselves by slashing on average 30 seconds off their time trial timings. Though we could not emulate the success of last year, the team can take pride in the fact that they did the best they could under such difficult terms.. The feelings of the runners were summed up in the words of one of the newest members of the team:
“Next year we must definitely train harder and do better!” said Wee Leong, in emphatic fashion, albeit in an equally cliched manner.
And that wraps up our road relay story.. There’s definitely room for much improvement, and the team will make sure they fill it up by race day next year, with enough inspiration and perspiration to make Thomas Edison proud. Till next year then!
Written By Elis Ong
Hall 7 0
Hall 3 0
STALEMATE
Hall 7 and 3 battled to a scoreless draw, with a replay due soon to play out the remaining minutes of extra time and possibly penalties. Hall 3 were the slightly dominating team as the game drew to an abrupt close as the lights went off.
As for the way the game went, both these tenacious sides seemed pumped up for the game with proceedings rather even. Both sides competed hard for the right to play, cancelling out each other’s work rate. The bubbling and nifty Shee Yin was again afforded acres of space and much of the attack went through her flank. Amanda Yee too was putting in a solid shift, with the stoic defender reading the game well and marking her attacker tightly. As half-time loomed, it looked as though it was going to take a stroke of genius or a major slice of luck for either team to score. On the sidelines, what was impressive was the absolutely vociferous support offered by both teams, especially for Se7en’s partisan crowd which all but drowned out Hall Three’s cheers.
The second half started like the first, with the pacy and dimunitive forward Jia Ling coming on to freshen things up after Fei Juan had suffered an injury. Thankfully, it was nothing too serious and she was able to run it off, coming back halfway through. Shee Yin too was now marked tighter and forced to defend more too. At times our girls tried hard but seemed unable to carve out openings and find avenues to play. With time running down, it was Hall Three dominating the game, with Jia Ling often seen isolated up top, starved of service and ammunition. Hall Three were launching wave after wave of attacking pressure and it was nail biting stuff at times, but Hall 7 remained organized and resolute. Extra-time beckoned.
Things got farcical as the floodlights then suddenly went out. The game could not be continued and we eagerly await a replay … GO Se7en!!!
Written by Scott Loh
Hall 7 : Hall 15
1 : 0
Shee Yin was the toast of Hall 7 as cheers of “DAMN ZAI” resonated through the NIE hockey pitch. She had scored the winning goal to send Team Se7en into the final. Her performance epitomized everything good Hall 7 stood for and advocates, tenacity, good technique combined with a never-say-die attitude. But the goal was as much hers as Lynn’s; the latter had waltzed her past a flurry of challenges in the build-up to Shee Yin’s goal. It was also good to see many short corners won by Se7en, hopefully the girls will be able to do this again in the final.
The game was slightly dominated by Team Se7en and was a slightly tense affair towards the ending minutes, as supporters of Hall 15 were egging on their team in desperation, while Se7en’s supporters were just praying their girls could see the game through. It wasn’t easy, at 1-nil, to decide which players to field towards the end. With one eye on the final, whilst revitalizing, putting on fresh legs could upset the fluidity and rhythm of the team. But credit to the girls, they bravely held on and JIA YOU FOR THE FINALS!
Written by Scott Loh
Hall Seven 2- 0 Hall Three
Team Se7en erupted with euphoria as the night ended on a sweet note for its players and fans, where goals from either side of the break not just ensured they won the GOLD but also meant that they have now won it THREE times in a row, which is a remarkable feat..
The match was played in a quick tempo with both sets of players giving their all, and no sign of it turning into a one-sided affair. Hall Three had reason to feel aggrieved, having lesser rest time than Team Se7en, but they could not argue about the two perfectly good goals they conceded. When the second goal went in, courtesy of Firdaus, who although had all the time in the world and the entire goal to aim at from close range, was still calmness personified enough to stick it into the far post. That moment was of great relief to Team Se7en which virtually meant that the tie was all but over, but the tempo and fight clearly wasn’t going to fizz off.
I felt the game was won because the team stayed disciplined and were tactically sound. That was probably the key. Much has been said about the abundance of skill and pace that Fazly, Hall Three’s star player, also national Hockey player, possessed. In games past he had been turning heads with eye-catching performances, dribbling past his hapless markers with ease. His tenacity and work-rate matched his talent too, which showed he was no prima donna. However, Jonathan, Se7en’s captain, had pointed out to his team mates of Fazly’s ability and tendency to dribble so he had advised them how to deal with him properly by not committing too early and to stand a proper distance apart so the next player could be well-placed to challenge for the ball if Fazly had gone past his marker.
True enough, throughout the course of the game, Fazly ran his heart out, but tried too hard to carry his team’s attacking burden all by himself, repeatedly trying to carve openings by beating his marker. But Se7en’s players stood firm and made sure he almost never cleared more than one player, although they were a tad lucky that on several occasions, Fazly failed to spot open team-mates on the wings he could have laid passes to. But that was an inevitable consequence of trying to mark Fazly tighter and stay more compact. Today, we were all given a lesson and appreciate the fact that team sports is still a team game after all. For all of one’s individual brilliance, that isn’t sufficient to win. When the right tactics are applied, it is virtually impossible to break when the players are disciplined, focussed and know their roles, inscribed into their muscle memory. I felt our guys showed us that today.
At the other end of the pitch, Fazly’s national team-mate, Se7en’s star player, Kai Bin, was running defenders scared and ragged with his electrifying pace on the ball, superb balance, direct yet intelligent running and close control. This made for an exciting match, and thankfully, Se7en will be bringing home the GOLD yet again. Kudos to Hall 3, for trying very hard and contributing to this sporting spectacle. We really could see it in their faces that they really wanted it desperately, which in part, led to their frustration boiling over at times, which didn’t really aid their cause. But nonetheless, a really good game put up by Hall 3.
Looking ahead, let’s hope things stay rosy for the hockey guys, who have and hopefully will bring more honour and glory to Se7en’s sporting scene. They have a great spine of players, with Kai Bin leading the line ever so well with his experience and ability, and Stanley at the back, a figure of calmness, composure and good positioning egging the freshies on, reminding them the nitty gritties and so on. At the wings they have willing, fit and hard runners, and that can only augur well for the future. Pepper that with the array of technically adept players across the field, from Steven to the Squatters, and what you get is, VICTORY!
CONGRATULATIONS, TEAM SE7EN! You have made everyone’s day! May the girls team next emulate your victory and sterling performance!
Written by Scott Loh
Schedule
Week 6:
Wednesday 17th Feb 2010
Thursday 18th Feb 2010
Friday 19th Feb 2010
Saturday 20th Feb 2010
Sunday 21st Feb 2010
Week 7:
Tuesday 22nd Feb 2010
Tuesday Volleyball Female Quarters
Hall 7 Vs Hall 9
2 : 0
Wednesday Volleyball Male Quarters
Hall 7 Vs Hall 5
1 : 2
Wednesday Table Tennis Semis
Hall 7 Vs Hall 14
1 : 3
***For updates on upcoming games!!!! Click on the tab “Inter Hall Olympiad” ((=
Looking back at everything that we’ve been through together the past few months, i personally feel that we have come a long way. Despite various setbacks and injuries that we’ve encountered, we still managed to pull off an unprecedented consecutive win two years in a row. The many times we went through our routine and our various stunts the sweat blood and tears, the injuries were all worth it.
The excitement on that day was palpable. Before our turn came to perform, everyone was busy mentally preparing and going through the routine in our minds. Cold hands and nervous smiles were all around. However, all changed when the MC announced our team. Running in to the large hall filled with a thousand odd people was exhilarating. The feeling of so many people cheering for our team was really amazing. When we heard the shout “SEVEN READY!” our months of training took over. We moved to the music and routine flawlessly as we had practiced over and over again during our nightly trainings. Our momentum grew with each and every successful stunt. At the end of the routine with every single stunt successful we felt ecstatic that we were able to pull off such a wonderful performance for the entire crowd.
Waiting in the crowd for the results to be announced was the most nerve wracking part of the entire HO. After knowing the results of 3rd and 2nd, the knowledge that we would either get 1st or nothing terrified all the waiting cheerleaders. Gripping each other’s hands tightly we waited with bated breath when the first place champion was going to be announced. When the MC announced us as the champions, we really felt on top of the world. To hold the trophy was to realise all our dreams, hopes, blood, sweat and tears.
Trudging down this path to the gold was certainly not an easy task for everyone on the team. To the seniors who have made history by being the first Hall to win cheer champions consecutively and to the juniors whose first taste of cheerleading was winning the gold, this certainly was the perfect end to the perfect day.
For the last time this year, SEVEN! FOR GOLD!
Written By Benjamin Lee
*** Video of the great performance by Team Se7en Cheer is available on Facebook!!!
