From the Head of PE and Sport 04.03.2023

U13 FOBISIA Games – Celebrating our fantastic athletes!! (Part 1)

A week has already passed since our Under 13’s returned full of excitement and fond memories from a highly successful trip to Pattana Sports Resort competing at the U13 FOBISIA Games against 5 other schools from around Asia.

With this being the first FOBISIA games that these students had competed at, it was understandable that there were quite a few parents keen to see how the games run and so the squad had a large touring support crew traveling with us on the Sunday when setting off for Bangkok. A wonderful Vipers banner had also been created to showcase throughout the competition that was unfolded for the final team pic before departing.  

DAY 1 – Swimming & Athletics

Excitement was high as the Vipers walked across from the hotel to breakfast. From the outset, I knew ‘fueling up’ was not going to be a problem for this group as all the students filled their plates with eggs, bacon, noodles, pancakes, fruit and more ready for a massive day of competitions starting with swimming.

Walking in as a team led by team captains Ian Zi and Mischa waving the Vipers flag whilst being welcomed by many of the competition staff and supporters was a wonderful experience for the team. It really accentuated the ‘Olympic’ feel and pride of representing KIS at the FOBISIA Friendly games. 

The team went over final preparations in the warm-up, checking starts and finishes and getting some of the competition nerves out of the system. With such limited time spent on training and preparing for swimming we knew this was going to be one of the harder events for KIS. However, every Viper played their role to perfection. We talked a lot before the trip that everyone would be challenged and pushed out of their comfort zones and this was evident so much in the first morning of competition. It was impressive to see students stand up and overcome any anxieties that they had and give every event their best effort! 

The cheering from behind the barriers from both students and our traveling Viper Support Crew could be heard reverberating around the poolside spurring on our swimmers to some phenomenal finishes. Our medley relay teams narrowly missed out on podium finishes with a series of 4th place finishes, but it didn’t take too long for the first Viper to claim their first medal as Abraham raced brilliantly in the 100m IM and in a very close race managed to get the touch on the wall to claim Gold! 

That was the start of a very successful morning in the pool for Abraham as well as many other swimmers. Aldrich, Helena, Ian Zi and Janice all successfully picked up bronze medals in some of their races, with Aaron claiming gold in the 25m Breaststroke. Abraham went on to have a superb day in the pool collecting 2 Golds and 2 Silver medals from his four individual races which earned him the squads “Most Valuable Player” nomination for his achievements. While Melanie was recognised for her unrivaled shouting from the sidelines for all her teammates.

Spending the morning completing multiple high intensity swimming races would have been enough for most people, but the Vipers were only half done and a great deal more energy and team spirit was going to be needed as they made their way to the field for athletics after lunch. 

As always it was the high jumpers out early and setting the bar for what was to come, and our four jumpers certainly set the bar pretty high in both competition and personal best performances. In the girls competition Mischa walked away with a 3rd place in the Girls A event, but it was Dashie who impressed all in attendance with her seemingly effortless flight over the bar to dominate her competition setting a new personal best of 1.28m to win Gold in the B event.

What followed thereafter was an action packed and intense afternoon of athletics with Vipers taking part in throwing events for the shot put, discus and javelin as well as long and triple jump in the field events. Before moving onto the track events ranging from the 100m sprint to the brutal 1500m in the afternoon heat. 

Staff moved between events coaching and offering encouragement while making numerous trips back to the medal podium to capture the constant parade of Vipers making their way onto the podium to receive their medals.

Ms. Young  and all athletes and family supporters were relentless in their efforts in the stands urging on the runners as they flew past and shouting words of encouragement to those in need as they pushed themselves to the finish line.

It was our most successful afternoon of athletics in recent years with the team surpassing the U15’s FOBISIA Games results and amassing an impressive 22 medals in total with 6 x Golds, 7 x Silver and 8 x Bronze! Medals were spread out across 11 different athletes and in almost every single event! Benson, Aaron, Ian Zi, Taylor, Mischa, Janice, Amanda, Melanie, Helena, Kimberly and Dashie. The golden girl of track and field though and team voted ‘Most Valuable Player’ was Dashie who picked up 3 Gold and 2 Bronze medals in her 5 events. An even more impressive performance when you take into account that she was one of the younger students at the competition.  

The team spirit award for athletics goes to the entire team as with a Viper represented in every single event, it really was a true team effort and successful afternoon! 

The sun was already going down as the team made their way back to their hotel rooms to finally put their feet up and replace the energy stores that they had run down throughout the day at the buffet dinner with multiple servings of pasta, burgers and ice-cream!   

….TBC next week with a full account of Basketball and Football! 

Liga SupaRimau Wrap-up – Saturday 25th February

It was another ‘KIS derby’ in the Under 10’s competition. It’s so wonderful to be able to report on the impressive progress of all players throughout their season so far. 

“Despite having played only four matches so far, both Vipers A and Vipers B have shown significant improvement in their skills and abilities. During the match, both teams displayed much improved ball control, passing, and shooting skills and the game was always played in the positive spirit that underpins all Vipers teams.

Compared to their previous matches, the players showed greater discipline and better decision-making skills during the game. Special mentions to our Players of the Match, Benjy for showing 100% commitment throughout and Eliza for showing the most progress over such a short time. I’m looking forward to her and the rest of both teams’ development through the rest of the season.

Overall, both teams showed significant progress in their abilities and teamwork. With more games and practice, both teams will undoubtedly continue to improve, and it will be exciting to see their progress over time. Go Vipers!!” 

– Under 10 B’s Coach Andy Clifford

Congratulations to the following players for earning the “Player of the Match Award” for their outstanding performances last week. 

Under 10 A’s – Benjy

Under 10 B’s – Eliza

Under 12’s – Justin

Best of luck to our Under 10 teams in their matches this morning, while our Under 12’s have a week off. 

With our first season taking part in Liga SupaRimau already nearing the end, we are keen to look at what systems we can improve on and how to best support students as they make this important transition to competitive sport. Myself, Mr Bromley, Mr Clifford and Coach Roberto met on Friday to discuss plans for Season B and beyond. Look out for information next week with details on how to join Liga SupaRimau for Season B!

Season B will take place following Ramadan from May-July and we are keen to expand our involvement and will be opening up registrations for teams to enter an Under 8 league which will allow some of our Year 2 students the opportunity to also get involved. 

Our ability to run teams in the Liga SupaRimau competition is fully dependent on KIS community members, parents and staff alike, volunteering their time and efforts. I would again like to thank those who have been able to support the KIS Vipers in this first season and look forward to working with all those involved going forward to continue to improve sports opportunities for all students at KIS.  

FOBISIA Updates

We are close to confirming flights for our Primary FOBISIA Games and once those have been booked I will send out details to parents as well as confirmation of the final Payment. 

The level of excitement at training is off the charts for our youngest Vipers! During the week the girls created their own Vipers chant and it is sure to motivate the team to achieve great results! 

The team will finally start their swimming preparations this coming Tuesday 7th March. Students should bring their swimming clothes to school and are asked to change at lunch so that they can then get on the bus straight away and be ready to swim as soon as we arrive at the pool. 

Students will travel to Penampang pool by bus with a teacher and then will need to be collected at 3:30pm by a parent. 

Students will need the following items for their swimming lessons. 

• Swimming clothes (please avoid loose fitting shorts and shirts) Note: they do not have to be the KIS swimming costume.
• A towel
• Goggles and swim caps are recommended but optional according to student preference.  

Secondary Offsite Lessons Term 2

Please see here the locations for offsite lessons in the coming week. Note: Year 11 will be split into two groups with IGCSE PE students undertaking practical coursework in the pool with Mr Bromley, while the remainder of the students will enjoy some recreational Ten Pin Bowling!

Miss Catriona Watt

Head of PE and Sport