Saturday, December 10, 2005
My Life As A 'Carrot': A Tribute to RV Athletics
when i was studying in rv, the feeling of wanting to leave the school at that very moment was so strong that i could have exploded anytime in class. however, when it was time for me to leave, i somehow felt sad about it. ironic isn't it? it didn't happen only once in my life though...
one major factor that contributes to my unwillingness to leave the school is probably my cca - Athletics. over the years, i've watched how the team grew from a 20+ athletes team to the team we have today. i've watched how the athletes matured and excelled, winning many races and never letting the school down. it's really hard for me to go, after all we've been through together.
it's kind of wierd on how i came into athletics. before i even joined rv, i had never been running much. my only racing experience was my primary school sports day and 2 years of participating in nationals track where i didnt even do well in the heats. my primary school cca wasn't even a sports cca. when i came to rv, i wanted to join a sports cca, and since there were no soccer, i tried basketball and badminton instead. i didn't even consider athletics as my choice. after failing to get into either of the 2, i was posted to dance society with some other guys. of course, i was reluctant to and asked for a transfer. that is how i came to the team i am in today.
i have no cross-country background, i had never done long distance before. when i came to athletics, i thought i'll be doing sprints. i didn't expect to be doing long distance running when i came in, simply because i suck at long distance. i was one of the slowest runners in the team, even slower than almost all the girls. my first 2.4km timing was an embarrassing 12:30++, and the subsequent few were about the same. horrible, isn't it? however, due to some unnatural force that guided me, i did a 10:57 on my last 2.4 run in sec1. that was when i started to realise that i have SOME ability in long distance.
my second year is the one which there is much to rejoice about. rv 'c' boys emerged as a dark horse and beat acs(i) to clinch the fourth place in the nationals school cross-country championships. i could still recall the trainings we did, how we reflected on our attitudes then, how we started to get serious, worked hard before winning our well-deserved victory. sadly, the 'c' girls lost out in the finals due to injury problems... when we were transfered to track for the first time, all of us were complaining about how tough the trainings were and how we wanted to go back to cross, but we held on nevertheless. we did well at nationals track that year too. zhenjie clinched the 3rd place for the 400m 'c' boys. our 'c' boys 4x400m team missed the finals by merely 2 seconds. 2003 is probably the highlight of my 4 years in rv athletics.
2004 is the year when the guys came crashing down and the girls starts to win. michelle's team came in third for nationals schools cross-country. during the track season, many unhappy incidents erupted. one reckless tackle during a normal street soccer game sent me crashing out of the soccer court and the nationals track competition. a mistake of not going to training saw zhenjie, darius and a few others being banned from the competition. it was a miserable year for the sec3'04 guys. on the brighter side, michelle came in 3rd for the 'c' girls 800m and the 4x400m 'c' girls clinched the 3rd spot as well. the 4x400m 'b' boys team'04, consisting of soon hock, cejin, chia ming and peng bo put up a great fight during the finals. there were many things to cheer about at national stadium that day.
this year... well... the 'c' division guys and gals did great at the nationals schools cross-country, with the girls coming in 2nd and the guys missing the 4th spot by 2 points. zhenjie bounced back from his mistake last year and became the 'b' boy 800m champion during nationals track. many of us also made it into the semis and finals of the competiton. i must say that the rv athletes did extremely well this year.
yup, glad to have been in this team all this while. i've had few but respectable seniors, and a handful of playful but great juniors. we've all gone through a lot together, as a team, we motivate and encourage each other, cheer for and spur one another to strive and excel. though at times, we tend to cause trouble. but hey, that's part and parcel of a secondary school life isn't it? we've had much fun together as well, especially during the perth trip. the hot chips and the red rooster joke from the all time crapper lirui.
all these are precious memories would be etched deep in my heart. may the bonds we've forged stay strong always. i came into rv athletics without any running background. through the years, it had helped me to find my potential and my passion, and making the athlete i am today. to the team: thank you.
aaron | 7:37 PM
