U15 FOBISIA Games
At the end of the holidays on Sunday 28th October, we fare welled our largest FOBISIA Games team ever to take part in the U15 Games hosted by Sports Camps Australia and held at the wonderful facilities of Thanyapura Health and Sports Resort in Phuket. It’s always a long first day of travel to reach Phuket but all were excited for the competition to come and for some, were thrilled to run into old friends from last year’s games during our transfer in KL.
The team had dedicated weeks of preparation in order to develop their skills and understanding across the four sports that they would compete in; swimming, athletics, football and basketball. Having been able to play matches in both Football and Basketball in the lead up to the competition meant that this years’ squad had a huge advantage going into the competition compared to previous teams. Once the team had arrived at the hotel and got a tour of the facilities the excitement levels only continued to grow.
Marching in behind the school banner to take their place in the team tent, smiling faces hid some pre-competition nerves amongst many of the students who had yet to experience a competition like this before. However, swimming proved to be a highly successful morning for the team as all were standing and screaming, getting behind their team mates as they dove into the competition. The first medal of the day came early on in the 200m IM in what was a very close race. Freya lead in the first 100m with brilliant butterfly and backstroke legs, only to just be beaten to the wall to win silver in what was the first of many medals for the day for her. From that point on we had Vipers on the podium in several races including Nikita winning 3 silver medals who put in a lovely performance in the 100m breaststroke A. Despite being unwell, Justin pushed himself to win both a bronze in the 50m butterfly and then a silver in the 100m butterfly. Jasmine refused to believe it when she stepped onto the podium to receive her bronze medal for the 50m Backstroke B and Alex put in an impressive performance to take out a silver medal in the 50m breaststroke. One of our relay teams finished off the day with a silver medal in the 4 x 50m freestyle comprised of Zach, Justin, Mathis and Alex. The ‘Golden Girl’ of the pool though was Freya who won 2 silvers and 2 gold medals in the 100m backstroke and the 100m butterfly where she blitzed the opposition, winning by half a pool length.
After such a successful morning, the team were enthusiastic (though some already feeling tired) to try their best in the athletics. Again, it didn’t take long for the medals to fall into Vipers hands as both Alex and Nikita took silver and bronze in their high jump events. Throughout the afternoon, the squad showed tremendous team spirit as they made sure there was a KIS Viper in every event, never backing out of a challenge. Celeste showed impressive athleticism winning silver in both long jump, triple jump and the 300m. In the middle distance events Romain took 4th place in the 1500m, while Freya added to her morning medal tally with another silver. Zen and Heng were thrilled to receive their medals for Long Jump and Triple Jump, while Kon Yi received bronze in a very rapid 100m race. Nikita impressed everyone around her including other competitors and coaches from other schools with her lightening performance in the 100m, taking the teams’ first gold medal of the day. The last event of the day was the girls 4 x 100m relay which was a truly outstanding performance to watch. Again, Nikita’s final leg of the relay saw her come from behind to finish first only to unfortunately be disqualified for an early changeover. Credit to the girls in the team though who took the disappointment with incredible grace.
The staff of Mr Wallker, Mr Kelly and I couldn’t have been more impressed with the teams’ performance over the first day of competition. The students showed themselves to be competitive, resilient and gracious in both their victories and defeats. Seeing students push themselves out of their comfort zones and see the positive results come from it was wonderful to see.
Day 2 of competition was an early start for the girls as they went to breakfast to fuel up for the day of football ahead. It was a tough day of competition for the team but with every match they improved as they came to understand better how to play as a team. Defensively, Cherise, Cheryn, Ludivine and Jasmine were tough when tackling and doing their best to clear the ball out of danger away from the goal. In the midfield, Nikita and Freya continued to work hard despite their efforts from the previous days. The team had some exciting games against POWIIS and ISB where they played some good football, passing the ball nicely and supporting one another as well as Jolin making some excellent saves in goal. Sadly, the team just lacked the final killer instinct in front of goal as they just couldn’t find the back of the net. They did themselves proud though as they fought hard to the very end of the day finishing in 6th place.
On day 2, it was time for the Boy’s Basketball! The whole team looked excellent in their new KIS kit and this was the event they were most excited about. John was blown away by the setting and couldn’t wait to play the first game. The team had time for a brief warm-up before our first game, this ensured that they were ready for action. The Vipers came out fast and were awarded with 4 free-throws in the first quarter, however, we only managed to score 1 point from a possible 8. Unfortunately, we were made to rue these missed points as we fell to defeat in our first game. The boys kept their heads high and their team spirit was exceptional, no matter what the result. We recorded two more losses in the group stages which meant we were set to play in the 7th and 8th place play-off. It was time for a motivational team meeting, all of the team huddled together and decided that they didn’t want to walk away without winning. So they put their hands in and roared a thunderous ‘VIPERS!’ and set their sights on winning this final game… That is exactly what they did! A fantastic team performance, rounded off with some excellent lay-ups from Kon Yi, Alex, and John secured a 14-12 victory over our closest rivals, Garden International School Rayong. It was incredibly pleasing to see the team dig-deep in order to win this game and they are all a credit to themselves. The team were disappointed to finish in 7th place, but they performed to the best of their ability and did themselves proud, it is all a part of the ups and downs of sport. I was a very proud teacher and coach watching them throughout this competition.
Over on the football pitch, the KIS Vipers started rapidly. They were quick out of the gates and applied real pressure on our first opposition. We showed great composure on the ball and started to dominate possession. A fantastic move in the final third led to a cross being delivered by Romain for John to strike with his left foot, only to hit the post and rebound wide. The boys were in full flow and were rewarded when Romain picked up the ball in space around 20 yards out, he hit a powerful strike into the bottom right hand corner past the stranded goalkeeper. A fantastic way to start the day and the Vipers picked up the 3 points with a victory in their first game. Unfortunately, from this point forward the opposition were simply too strong. The team showed excellent character and managed to keep them at bay for most of the game, however, we lost the remainder of our games and finished in 6th place overall. There were lots of positives to take from the football pitch, some stand-out performances from Romain, Vadim and Kieran should give them confidence to continue to improve their footballing ability in the future. Well done, Vipers. A fantastic effort!
On the final day of competition, the girls were excited for basketball, knowing it was going to be their last event they were keen to play well and try their best to get a win. “1,2,3 – VIPERS” reverberated around the stadium announcing to all that they were here to challenge. Their first win came in the 2nd match of the day where the girls showed great defensive structure and confidence in shooting to beat St Regents Bangkok. Following on from that they had two very close defeats where they were unfortunate not to get more wins. Shim lead the team by example, continuously driving to the basket to score lay-ups and draw fouls that saw her sink some free throws for even more points. Celeste as well made sure that the opposition had no room to move as she shut them down at every opportunity. The level of improvement from Cheryn, Noah and Ludivine throughout the day was fantastic to witness as they grew in confidence on the court. It was a pleasant surprise to the team when it was announced that they had finished in 5th place for Basketball! With 12 matches of football and basketball over 2 days it was no wonder that the team were exhausted by the time the whistle blew at the end of a very physical final match. When the girls were asked if they thought if they could have given anything more for the team and all shook their heads, you can’t ask for anything more as a coach. At various times throughout the 3 days every player had had to push themselves physically and mentally to achieve their absolute best.
Like any good sports competition, the athletes had the opportunity to change out of their sports kit and get dressed up for Gala dinner on the last night and let their hair down with. A fun opportunity for all to mingle with new friends, trade stories and of course Instagram accounts! Special mention to John for being the best dressed kid teleported out of the 1990’s!
I’d like to congratulate all the team for their efforts not just over the course of the competition but also in the lead up. The maturity, dedication and manner in which they approached the competition was truly impressive.
I’d like to thank Mr Kelly for all his help during the trip and a special mention to Mr Walker for his outstanding coaching and mentoring of the team along the journey.
Finally, thank you to the parents for your support and encouragement of your children to attend events such as these.
The PE Department are already looking forward to the next FOBISIA Games. Let’s go Vipers!!!
U15 Vipers 2018: 9K – Ludivine, Romain, Kiran, Noah, Freya, Cheryn, Kon Yi, Hanson, Austin, 9S – Zen, Heng, Darrell, Ashton 10K – Jolin, Zachary, Celeste, Justin, John, Vadim, Mathis 10S – Nikita, Shim, Alex, Jasmine, Cherise
A few students were asked to share their experiences and how they feel they benefitted from taking part in this competition.
My trip to Fobisia was an experience I’ll never forget. The energy there was electric. Everyone had heart for sport. All the teams, especially KIS had a drive to win, a drive I’ve never seen before. I’m so proud of the team as we gave it our best whilst still enjoying the experience. We poured are hearts out in all the four events. Even though we didn’t win any of the competitions, I know for sure we won in our hearts.
3… 2… 1… VIPERS!
Zach (10K)
This year’s FOBISIA in one word was, unforgettable! The experience, the fun times and the exciting competition is what shaped FOBISIA and made it so enjoyable for everyone. From day 1, from our tiring journey to Phuket, then going on to break our swimming record, excelling in athletics as a team, then to start my personal favorite day, the boys’ basketball. Where we tried our hardest in each game for ourselves and KIS; while the girls gave it their all in their football games. To the last day of competition where we played football winning our hardly fought game against Garden International School, while the Girls did brilliant in their basketball games. Finally to the night gala where we saw an amazing video of the whole event, and right after that had an amazing disco night. We longed for this to continue but as they say all good things must come to an end. We took our flight back to KK bringing back memories and experiences that were again, just amazing! The best thing that happened to me throughout this event, was a three pointer that I shot in the first game in basketball as our first shot as a team, from a very far distance from the basket, my heart pounded as that shot went in! I was shocked and was so happy. Overall this was an experience where we bonded with new people from other schools, but at the same time bonding with our own schoolmates and having a fun time while giving our full efforts in the U15 FOBISIA Games and if you would ask me this was one of the best experiences of my life till now! I would especially like to thank Ms Watt, Mr Walker and Mr Kelly for coaching us throughout this competition and chaperoning us throughout this journey.
John (10K)
The FOBISIA 2018 games was undoubtedly the most memorable event I’ve experienced at KIS. Carrying along the brand new Vipers name, it amazed me at how the other schools were equally as competitive as we were. Even though we didn’t place in the Football and Basketball category, it is safe to say that everyone put in their very hardest and we didn’t give up on ourselves at all. I thought I would leave FOBISIA with the same friends, however, I certainly made new friends along the way from different schools. The meals definitely kept me fueled for the day to give in my very best, continuously pushing myself to get better and better. As this was my first and last Secondary sports FOBISIA, I encourage anyone interested to join as this will definitely be something you will remember for years to come.
Jasmine (10S)
This year’s FOBISIA trip was amazing. I had a very fun time in FOBISIA this year, it was a blast, Even though we didn’t get a lot of medals or trophies, we were happy to be participating in the competitions. Thanyapura was an amazing place. They provided all the things we needed. I can’t explain how delicious the food was there, it was incredible. They had a giant pool, a pool table and table tennis.
From the first day of competition, it was so fun and exciting. Every school was amazing and friendly. You get to make friends from different schools, from different places. It gets you out of your comfort zone. Overall it was an amazing experience, it was so fun that I would not hesitate to join the team next year. If anyone that’s U15 wants to join the team than be our guest! We would be happy if we can get new team members to join our FOBISIA Squad for next year.
Cheryn (9K)
Photos from the Games are available to view on our Flickr account: https://www.flickr.com/photos/kisweb/albums/72157673278760277