On Tuesday, 1st May it was time for the BSB Sanlitun FOBISIA team to depart for the annual FOBISIA Games in Phuket. The mix of excitement and anticipation on the students’ faces was evident as they arrived at school looking very smart in their fresh, new kits kindly sponsored by VW.
On Tuesday, 1st May it was time for the BSB Sanlitun FOBISIA team to depart for the annual FOBISIA Games in Phuket. The mix of excitement and anticipation on the students’ faces was evident as they arrived at school looking very smart in their fresh, new kits kindly sponsored by VW.
Day 1 - Swimming and Athletics
After an early start, the team participated in the opening ceremony with a parade of the participating schools.
The morning was then filled with the swimming events. The first race was the u10 Boys’ 4 x 25m Medley Relay. Gabriel started the race with a strong backstroke, leading on was Alex with an impressive breaststroke, taking over was Ethan with a powerful butterfly stroke and to finish the race was Thomas with his freestyle. The team were placed 2nd which was a fantastic start to the day and the adrenaline was pumping.
Next were the u10 Girls’4 x 25m Medley Relay. Zoe started in the water on backstroke and ready and waiting was Loppi for the breaststroke. At this point in the race the team were in fourth place so they had a little catching up to do. As Loppi hit the timing boards, Sima wasted no time and powered off the diving blocks entering the water with determination. Up she came with strong arms and drove through the water with an outstanding butterfly stroke. Everyone was on the edge of their seats as the girls moved into second place! Kahupotiki, with a smooth dive, entered the pool beautifully and with her freestyle she took the team to 1st place. The girls were overjoyed, as were the coaches and parents, with their outstanding performance. Then emotions ran high as the team got a (DQ) disqualification as they didn’t finish with two hands on one of two strokes. This was very disappointing for the girls but they came out fighting and went on to win many more individual races over the swimming event.
In the u11 Boys’ 4 x 25m Medley Relay the boys were placed 6th and in the u11 Girls’ 4 x 25m Medley Relay the team were placed 3rd. It was certainly an excellent start to the games!
There were some great individual swimming performances including Mark wining gold in 25m Freestyle, Kahupotiki wining gold in 25m Freestyle, Kahurangi wining gold in 25m Breaststroke, Ethan getting silver in 25m Breaststroke, Eilidh bringing home gold in 25m Backstroke and Isabel getting bronze in 25m Butterfly. Several children won more than one individual swimming medal including Tanya who came home with five medals from this event and Alex who came home with four medals. Overall as a school we picked up third in the swimming competition which is an excellent achievement.
The track and field events took place in the afternoon. The girls started on the field events and boys on the track events. The field events are made up of the long jump, high jump and triple jump as well as the shot put, discus and javelin. Indi threw an unbelieve 18m in the javelin giving her 1st place on the podium. Amiee won gold in the u11 standing triple jump. In the discus, Isabel threw 10m placing her 3rd in the category. Kaila also shone with a silver medal in the u11 Girl’s shot put with a brilliant distance of 8.05m. Naobi and Jenny both had a very successful athletics event coming away with five medals each.
Moving over to the boys on the track, Rocky ran an impressive 9.84 seconds in the 60m sprint and was placed 1st. Roy was on form competing in the u10 Boys’ 200m winning gold with a time of 37.64 seconds. Ivan jumped to success in the u11 High Jump winning a gold medal. The medals just kept coming, for example Taylor came home with 4 individual medals. The team were on fire, performing with determination and a desire to do well.
Day 2 - Tee-Ball Tournament
The children were full of energy and enthusiasm at the start of the Tee-Ball competition. Three teams were entered. The A team were undefeated winning all of their games which resulted in 1st place. Marco captained the team and was outstanding in leading the team. Hamza and Tanner performed well for the team as the ‘big hitters’. The B team also came out on top, undefeated and winning gold. The teamwork and communication throughout their games played a significant part in their win. Last but not least, was the C team who won 2 games and lost 2 games and brought home silver. The school’s successes in this event reflect the dedication and hard work of the children over the last few weeks.
Day 3 – Football Tournament
Even though this event took place on the last day of the FOBISIA games, the children’s energy was still running high. The boys played football in the morning and the girls played in the afternoon. The boys’ A team played some outstanding football. Rocky led the boys and was very dominant in every game, showing his dedication to the team and holding them together as a unit. The boys added another 1st place to their achievements. The B team went undefeated and all the players showed their physical ability running up and down the pitch and fighting for every ball. Another haul of gold medals for BSB Sanlitun!
It was then the girls turn to shine on the football field and knowing that the boys had come out on top seemed to motivate the girls to try and do just as well. Despite losing their first match, the A team kept their spirits high. Kaila and Clara showed strength in the defensive line, throw-ins and free kicks. The girls went on to win two games, draw one and lose one placing them 4th overall. The B team girls were successful in all their games beating KTJ 4 nil and BIST 5 nil. The resulting gold medals reflected the outstanding teamwork and spirit shown by al the girls within the team.
The coaches would like to take this opportunity to say a massive congratulations to every single student who took part in this year’s FOBISIA games. The children’s dedication, hard work and positive attitude shown during every training session was just outstanding. The children represented the school on another level and myself, Mr Magson, Mr Allen and Mrs Hamilton are extremely proud of them as a team and as individuals.
Thank you to all the parents for their support and hard work throughout the training sessions and the FOBISIA games. We couldn’t have done it without you. A special mention for Ryan who was unable to attend the games but supported the team from a distance throughout all the events.
These were undoubtedly our most successful games with an unbelievable total of 195 medals!
By Zoe Martin
PE Teacher
