From the Head of PE & Sport, 02.03.19
MSSD Update
U18 Basketball
Over the past 2 weeks since Chinese New Year we have again had a number of students performing and indeed excelling in a range of sports competitions.
Two weeks ago, it was our U18 Basketballers chance to compete against some of the best schools in KK. The boys teams had a particularly tough first match coming up against Kota Kinabalu High School in the first round. The boys fought hard and played well but there was simply no way to get past the class act of KKHS on the court. In their second game, the boys played Shan Tao in a much closer and competitive match. Bobby led the team in points scoring including a tremendous 3rd quarter, scoring all 10 points. Unfortunately, after also losing to Shan Tao 50-31 they were knocked out of the competition. It is worth mentioning the average age of the team was only 15 despite it being an U18 competition. Marc, Keith and Victor all from Year 8 weren’t phased at all by their older opposition and performed exceptionally well.
After a couple of last minute withdrawals, the girls team faced a very difficult challenge as they were only six players for the tournament. In their first match against Tshung Tsin, the girls showed incredible determination and resiliency against a much larger and stronger side. Despite a big loss, the girls showed great character and pride in representing the school, and never gave up till the final whistle blew. Taking the court in the second game with tiredness setting in was tough but motivation was high. Against a physical Shan Tao team Jesse led the team by example with incredibly strong defense while Shim ran the ball from one end of the court to the other in multiple fast breaks resulting in lay-ups. What was even more impressive were her three 3 pointers! It was an incredibly close game and it was only in the last few minutes that the other side edged in front resulting in the girls losing 26-19. All 6 girls; Jesse, Shim, Cherise, Jolin, Jasmine J. and Moksha showed amazing sportsmanship and we couldn’t be prouder of the positive attitude they displayed in taking part despite a number of set-backs.
KIS will certainly have this event in their calendar next year and will be back bigger and stronger to take on the best ‘ballers’ in KK.
Congratulations to the following students on their participation.
U18 Boys Squad: Bobby, Vincent, Aru, Jonathan, Kelvin, Aleksis, John, Darrell, Marc, Keith, Victor
U18 Girls Squad: Jesse, Shim, Cherise, Jasmine J. Jolin, Moksha
Golf
On Wednesday 20th February, six students from Year 5-Year 9 took part in the MSSD Golf Championship hosted at Nexus Karambunai.
With 3 students having reached the MSSN National championships last year, expectations were high for more positive results this year.
Results:
Under 12’s (9 Holes)
Caleb (57) 5th
Liam (57) 5th
Allen (60) 11th
Under 15’s Boys
Timothy (74) 1st
Under 15’s Girls
Angelina (92) 3rd
Chanel (101) 6th
Congratulations to Angelina on her 3rd place overall and also Tim on shooting a 74, which was the lowest score on the day across all the categories, to take out the Championship in the U15 Boys. Both Tim and Angelina, along with Chanel and Benedict (wildcard) have qualified to play in the MSSS (Sabah State) championship next week. The event is being hosted at Sabah Golf and Country Club from the 5th-7th March. With the ‘home course’ advantage, we hope to hear about even more successes from our already highly accomplished golfers.
U13 FOBISIA Games
On Wednesday 20th February, 15 excited students from Year 7 and Year 8 arrived at the airport, sizing up each other’s’ suitcases; and waved farewell to their parents. Departing for five days of fun and sporting competition at the U13 FOBISIA Games, being held once again at the wonderful facilities of Thanyapura in Phuket, Thailand.
A smooth day of travel saw the team arrive on time in Phuket. Upon arrival at the Thanyapura complex they were given a tour of the facilities that they would swim, run, jump and throw, shoot hoops and score goals in over the coming intense three days of competition. A mix of nerves and excitement was clearly evident amongst all the team as they headed to bed nice and early (to the relief of all staff!) before a big day of competition to follow.
Day 1 – Swimming and Athletics
This is always an action packed but challenging first day of competition. A special mention needs to be made for all the students who took to the water in the swimming competition. A depleted squad but by no means defeated; KIS picked up 11 medals in total across the competition. A very strong performance from Nicholas as he took out silver in the 100m IM & 50m Breaststroke, as well as a bronze in the 50m Freestyle. Jonathan and Diego also performed well to win silver and bronze medals in their events, while Margot and Trinity capped off the teams results with gold medals in 25m Backstroke and 25m Freestyle.
Marc got the athletics competition off to a successful start, taking out the silver in the Boys High Jump. KIS students were frequently on the podium for the rest of the day, performing particularly well in the field events. Victor picked up medals in all three throwing events, while Margot was up and down from podium for both sprints and jumping events.
Jonathan, still full of energy after a busy swimming programme, added to his medal total with another silver in the 1500m. Special mention to Ben, who won the team’s only gold medal in the athletics taking out the Boys Javelin with a massive throw of 19m.
Late in the afternoon with just the relays to go, Thomas confidently remarked to Miss Dobson that whilst he had already got two medals, “soon it would be 3”. He wasn’t wrong as the Boys 4x100m relay team finished 3rd with a speedy finish from David.
It wasn’t until the Gala dinner on the last night that KIS were a little shocked when the overall athletics results were announced and the Vipers had finished in 3rd place! This wouldn’t have been possible without the efforts of all team members. Particularly those students who put their hands up to take part in events out of their comfort zone or on tired legs, picking up valuable points for the teams overall total.
It was already getting dark when the team were finally able to make their way straight from the athletics track to the restaurant for dinner in order to replenish the energy stores for the next day of competition.
Day 2 – Boys Basketball and Girls Football
Boys Basketball
All of the hard work and dedication payed off… CHAMPIONS! A fantastic experience and remarkable achievement, truly well deserved. Our U13s Boys Basketball team came away victorious with their first place medals and winning trophy after a long day of intense competition. The team were successful in winning all four of their games against tough opposition and they enjoyed every minute. The Vipers managed to convincingly win 3 of their games by the 20 point mercy rule, stopping the scoring with time left on the clock. Every single member of the team played a large part in the success, rotating the players to ensure everyone had sufficient rest was crucial. Captain Marc performed excellently, scoring 76 points in total across the four games. Victor showed his strength in the key by winning 14 rebounds, which was a pivotal factor in the team’s success. The attitude, enthusiasm and work rate of the boys were second to none and they grew in confidence after every game. Not only were the team exceptional on the court, their spirit and behaviour ‘off the court’ was also complemented by other schools. It was an absolute honour to coach this team and they certainly deserve the accolade they worked so passionately for. Well done, Vipers!
Girls Football
The fiery heat of the Thanyapura football pitch has been known to melt the glue on a pair of boots. The scorching temps were certainly no less fierce on the Friday morning when the girls lined up for football.
In the Football competition, the girls went from strength to strength with every match. After 2 very close losses 0-1 to Dover Court and a 2-3 loss to Sri KDU and finally a 2-4 loss to Garden Rayon (the only 2 goals that were conceded in the competition by the eventual champions!). A semi-final loss against Garden saw the team face off against Sri KDU in the Bronze medal match.
When the girls were asked if they wanted to win the match and the trophy that would be theirs as well, it was a resounding and confident “YES” that echoed around the field. Despite the fatigue after their previous losses, they tackled hard and ran fast to beat Sri KDU to the ball. They were definitely the best team on the pitch and deserved 2-0 winners of their Bronze medal. Posing for pictures afterwards it was amazing to see the satisfied smiles on the girls’ faces. A truly exceptional result from a team that had only been formed a few hours earlier!
Day 3 – Boys Football and Girls Basketball
Boys Football
After a long day full of excitement and success on the Basketball court, the boys woke up still feeling very tired and walking with lots of aches and pains. However, their attitude didn’t slip. The team knew that the football competition was going to be challenging, but they all pulled together and showed excellent spirit and mentality. They managed to keep a clean sheet and complete four shots on target in the first half of their first game and started to grow in confidence. However, the opposition teams were simply too strong. Losing all four games, the Vipers never let their heads drop and they battled courageously in every single fixture. Using this experience as a learning curve the team competed positively to become better players for the future. Our spirit and attitude was again commended by the officials and parents watching. I am very proud of every single member of the team because they have proven themselves to be humble in success and gracious in defeat. I would like to thank the students for their positivity and approach to the games. Well done!
Girls Basketball
It’s difficult as a coach to know that your players have given so much of themselves already but you have to ask them to continue giving more despite physical and mental fatigue. But that is exactly what the case was during the Basketball on the final day of competition.
With results in all the basketball games going all over place, it was clearly evident that all teams were suffering from tiredness and it would be a ‘war of attrition’ to see who would hold the Champions trophy at the end of the day.
Following on from the football results the day before, St KinMandu continued their transformation into “Team United” in a blaze of glory! Finishing with one win from three matches in the round robin the team had a stellar performance in their semi-final against Garden to move into the basketball final. With a guaranteed medal regardless of the outcome the girls were fired up to try their best against a physically strong Sri KDU team, keen for revenge after yesterday’s defeat in football. Despite their best efforts, it was a silver medal for ‘Team United’, which the girls were incredibly happy with.
One of the best outcomes off the sporting field of taking teams to the FOBISIA Games is seeing students from different schools, experiences and backgrounds meet, mingle and form new friendships from their shared experiences. For the three girls, joining forces with three other players from St Stephen’s in Bangkok and three girls from The British School of Kathmandu; the opportunity to come together and form a new team for the competition was a wonderful experience. To walk away with a bronze and silver medal was an added bonus!
It was commented on by the organisers what a unique challenge it was for the nine girls to come together in such a short space of time and achieve such unity and resultant success in each of their competitions. All three KIS Vipers played pivotal roles in both competitions and went from strength to strength in each of their matches. I am incredibly proud of the attitude they displayed and their level of commitment throughout the competitions!
Saturday night was party night, as all competitors from the six schools in attendance had the opportunity to eat, enjoy the Thai dancing entertainment and relax their aching muscles with have a bit of dancing during the disco. Never one to shy away from attention, at one point, Mr Walker even had the entire dance floor following his choreography for YMCA!
Despite the exhausting nature of these trips, Mr Walker, Miss Dobson and I thoroughly enjoyed the five days with such excellent ambassadors for KIS. As has already been commented on, their individual and collective sporting achievements were secondary to the manner in which they approached every challenge set before them. Consistently demonstrating outstanding sportsmanship, support for each other and their fellow competitors and determination to achieve their own personal best in every event.
Parents and the wider KIS school community should be incredibly proud of all the ‘Vipers’ who attended: Victor, Jack, Alexis, Thomas, Toby, Nicholas, Margot, Trinity, Jonathan, David, Diego, Benedict, Keith, Marc and Amos.
Miss Catriona Watt
Head of PE and Sport
